Technology

By Tessa R. Salazar In 2021, news broke that MINI and BMW were abandoning animal-based leather in favor of vegan upholstery. Carbuzz quoted MINI’s chief design officer Oliver Heilmer when he announced that the brand no longer needs leather: “Because we don’t believe it’s sustainable.” With MINI phasing out leather across its vehicle lineup—beginning with

Scientists from the University of the Philippines–Diliman College of Science (UPD-CS) have advanced a greener approach to silver nanoparticle (AgNP) synthesis by using gamma irradiation in combination with the natural seaweed-derived biopolymer ι-carrageenan. While gamma-radiolytic routes for AgNP formation have been reported previously, the specific role of ι-carrageenan in stabilizing and influencing nanoparticle formation during

Large boulders, some weighing as much as a large truck, are scattered along the rocky coastline of Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte. These enormous boulders, which sit on an uplifted reef platform far from the sea, are not random. They are fragments of an ancient coral reef that were torn from the reef and hurled inland by

By Tessa R. Salazar Mazda buyers are drivers rather than just passengers. They don’t buy a car for badge snobbery or purely for utilitarian reliability. They buy it because they appreciate Jinba-Ittai (machine and rider as one in complete harmony). They read the spec sheets. They know what “torque converter-less transmission” means. They are willing

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is taking a significant step toward modernizing medical research by reducing the pharmaceutical industry’s reliance on animal testing. A new draft guidance specifically for monoclonal antibody cancer drugs suggests that developers can now bypass animal toxicity studies if sufficient human-based data exists. This marks a pivotal shift

By Tessa R. Salazar Porsche is setting high safety and durability standards for its high-voltage electric vehicle (EV) batteries, aiming to match the lifespan of combustion engines—at least 15 years or 300,000 km. This rigorous approach is detailed in the company’s recent publication, “Cell research at Porsche: Durability by design.” Extreme tests Porsche subjects its