Heather Hansman

Heather Hansman

 

Heather Hansman is a Seattle-based freelancer who writes about science, the environment, tech and people, and how they all interact. Her work has appeared in Outside, Popular Science and Grist.

What Is a Personal Food Computer?

A farm the size of a desktop could change the way we grow food in cities

Skimming Oil in the Gulf of Mexico

Scientists Find a Natural Way to Clean Up Oil Spills, With a Plant-Based Molecule

Researchers at the City College of New York are testing a spray made of phytol, a molecule in chlorophyll, on oil in lab wave pools

Injectible contraceptives give women options.

A New Report Identifies 30 Technologies That Will Save Lives in the Next 15 Years

A panel of 60 health experts creates a short list of easy-to-use devices and treatments that could dramatically improve global health

What’s the Deal With Google’s Sidewalk Labs?

The tech giant's first move in urban planning is installing Wi-Fi hubs throughout New York City. Next, it could take on inefficiencies in public transit

Checking the plants in Nemo's Garden

Off the Coast of Italy, Two Divers Are Building Underwater Greenhouses

The biospheres could provide an alternate means of farming in regions with unstable growing conditions

Seven Ways to Revamp Deserted Spaces Under New York City's Highways and Elevated Trains

The Design Trust for Public Space reimagines neglected areas under the city's infrastructure

A tiny chair 3D printed from cellulose

You Can Now 3D Print With Liquefied Wood

A chemist at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden is making sustainable 3d printing a reality

EJSCREEN overlays demographic data with EPA pollution data.

The EPA Has a New Tool For Mapping Where Pollution and Poverty Intersect

To better target its efforts, the agency is identifying problem areas, where people are facing undue environmental risks

The Yampa River in Dinosaur National Monument

Twenty of the West's Leading Water Managers Raft Colorado's Yampa River

In a historic drought, a group of decision makers take to the water to discuss the future of rivers

Cyclists won't have to look away from the road with head-up display.

Five Tech Ideas That Could Improve City Bike Commuting

A group of London designers imagines Google Glass-like visors and buses that project outlines of their blind spots on the road

Joe

These Stirring Portraits Put a Face on Homelessness

Rex Hohlbein's method of using social media to get tents, clothing, car repair and other needs to Seattle's homeless is catching on in other cities

Probiotics for cancer detection

The Same Probiotic That’s In Your Yogurt Could Detect Liver Cancer

Take a dose of this bacteria, genetically altered by scientists at MIT, and your urine will glow if liver cancer is present

BioTech students prepare a solution for orchids.

Can Young Botanists at a Magnet School Play a Vital Role in Protecting an Urban Ecosystem?

Miami's BioTech, the country's first ever botany-focused magnet high school, is teaching kids real-world plant science

A monarch feasting on milkweed.

Migrating Monarch Butterflies Might Actually Take to the Highway

Threatened pollinators get a trans-continental right of way

Not pretty, but still edible.

To Cut Down on Food Waste, a San Francisco Startup Is Selling Ugly Fruits and Vegetables

Looks aren’t everything, say the founders of Imperfect, a CSA-type service that delivers odd-shaped produce to customers' doors

The SE200 kit, which includes the chlorinator, salt and measuring tools.

The Developing World Could Be One Step Closer to Quick, Easy Water Treatment With This New Device

Outdoor retailer MSR and global health non-profit PATH have teamed up to create on-demand chlorine to fight waterborne illness in Africa

Maze-like landscaping has cut the decibel level of the ambient noise at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport in half.

This Crazy Land Art Deflects Noise From Amsterdam's Airport

To drown out flight noise, the Amsterdam Airport turned to large-scale landscaping

A Harvard Student's App Could Bring 911 Into the Future

With just one click, RapidSOS sends GPS and medical information to emergency dispatchers

Is This Plan to Combat Climate Change Insane or Insanely Genius?

Harvard physicist David Keith wants to use two jets and one million tons of sulfur dioxide a year to halt global warming

Designer Ross Atkin has created pieces of street furniture—lights, signs and seats—that can adapt in the moment to fit a pedestrian’s particular need.

What If City Streetlights Brightened and Signs Spoke As You Passed?

A British designer has found a way to make urban areas work for all types of pedestrians

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