The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
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Copper3D, a Chile-based tech start-up, is harnessing the power of copper, 3D printing and an open-source design to help ensure there are enough face masks to go around during the COVID-19 pandemic. Working under the hashtag, "hack the pandemic," this innovation company has designed a N95 mask – a close-fitting respiratory device that filters at least 95% of very small particles – that can be printed with a patented material that has nano-copper additive that works as an ant...
Graphene has emerged as a powerful antimicrobial that can prevent the spread of bacteria and viruses when added to masks, paints, sports gear, and other products. Now, initial tests by a leading infectious disease specialist in Canada indicate that a graphene-based compound may be able to treat a broad spectrum of pathogens that make it past the first lines of defense and into the human body. This graphene-based antibiotic, antiviral, and antifungal compound developed by...
A fresh coat of Copper Armor, an antimicrobial paint developed by Corning Inc. and PPG, could transform surfaces at high-risk for the spread of COVID-19 into self-sanitizing areas that are deadly to bacteria and viruses. Leveraging the glass and ceramic expertise that makes its kitchenware a staple in homes around the globe, Corning has developed a copper infused glass matrix that is a highly effective and continuous killer of germs, including the virus that causes COVID-19....
Zen Graphene Solutions Ltd. has cut a deal to supply Canada-based Trebor Rx Corp. with enough COVID-19 killing graphene-based ink to treat 100 million personal protection masks and mask filters. "The signing of this significant commercial agreement is a watershed moment for our organization. Moreover, it is an honor for Zen to partner with a Canadian company like Trebor and develop a 100% Canadian solution in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic," said Zen Graphene...
With growing commercial interest in its coronavirus killing graphene-based ink, Zen Graphene Solutions Ltd. has expanded the laboratory and office space needed to meet demand. In September, the Ontario-based graphene technology company announced that independent lab testing shows that its patent pending graphene infused ink is 99% effective at killing the virus responsible for COVID-19. While non-treated masks and protective equipment can be effective at trapping viruses...
Scientists in Italy, United Kingdom, Canada, and now Hong Kong are researching graphene-enhanced masks ability to kill viruses and bacteria, further increasing the face covering's effectiveness in preventing the spread of COVID-19 and other disease. While face masks made from cloth and other materials provide varying levels of protection against the direct transmission of COVID-19, the virus can live on the surface of most mask materials for up to several days. This poses a ri...
After five months of optimization and testing, ZEN Graphene Solutions Ltd. says it has developed a graphene-based ink that is 99% effective at killing the virus responsible COVID-19. Applied to materials used to make face masks and other personal protective equipment, this virucidal ink shows the potential to help prevent the spread COVID-19 as the world braces for a second wave of the disease. Earlier this year, the company sent samples of its graphene-based ink to a...
Researchers in a Swiss laboratory have developed a membrane made of titanium oxide nanowires with antibacterial and antiviral properties. The membrane, which resembles filter paper, may be used in the fight to curtail the COVID-19 pandemic more effectively than paper masks, which are increasingly becoming made mandatory, according to scientists at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne in Lausanne, Switzerland. While the relative effectiveness of paper masks is no longer in...
An easily administered COVID-19 test that delivers accurate results nearly instantaneously would be a game-changing technology that could slow the spread of the virus as governments look to re-open economies. One Canada-based technology company says it has developed such a test, thanks to the special properties of graphene. Consisting of a single layer of carbon atoms arrange in a hexagonal lattice, graphene is a two-dimensional material that is highly conductive with other...
GrapheneCA is looking for entrepreneurs who want to get into the business of painting high-risk public surfaces with the New York-based company's tested and certified antibacterial and antiviral coatings. Graphene, a material made from a single layer of carbon atoms linked in a hexagonal pattern, has been hailed as miracle material for its immense strength and high conductivity. This 2D material has also been proven to upset the function of the membranes of bacteria and...
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, ultraviolet light has emerged as a popular way to kill novel coronavirus without the use of harsh chemicals. While research has shown that UV light is an effective destroyer of viruses and bacteria, the devices that emit a strong enough dose to get the job done tend to be bulky and expensive. "You have to ensure a sufficient UV light dose to kill all the viruses," said Roman Engel-Herbert, Penn State associate professor of materials science,...
Graphene Composites and G-Form are teaming up to develop and distribute athletic protective equipment that not only guards the wearer against blunt trauma but also from viruses such as COVID-19. G-Form already rides on the cutting-edge of technology when it comes to manufacturing comfortable athletic protective gear. The company's SmartFlex pads are constructed from materials that can change molecular structure on contact – soft when lightly touched, becoming harder with s...
Graphene's ability to kill viruses has captured headlines as companies look to add it to face masks, sporting equipment, paints and numerous other products aimed at stemming the spread of COVID-19. Now, it seems this 2D carbon material may also have a role to play in advanced detection of the disease. University of Ottawa Professor Maxim Berezovski, head of the Berezovski Research Group, is developing a dual detection testing method that can be performed in two hours and will...
Zen Graphene Solutions is collaborating with Graphene Composites Ltd. to develop a COVID-19 killing virucidal graphene-based composite ink that can be applied to fabrics, including N95 face masks and other personal protective equipment. Graphene Composites, a United Kingdom-based company with offices in the U.S, specializes in the technology of nanomaterials. Focusing on the usage of graphene and other distinctive materials, such as aerogels, they produce a range of products...
With many mineral exploration geologists self-isolating behind a computer screen instead of out in the field breaking rocks, artificial intelligence offers a means of generating new exploration targets with the reams of previously collected geological, geochemical and geophysical information. Minerva Intelligence, which is redefining the emerging industry of artificial intelligence-assisted mineral exploration, believes the TERRA Mining AI suite of software services it has to...
Texas Mineral Resources Corp. and USA Rare Earth LLC April 2 said the COVID-19 outbreak thus far has not held up progress on their Round Top critical minerals project in Texas and pilot heavy rare earths separation plant in Colorado. "Our first priority is to safeguard the health and well-being of our employees, partners and contractors," said Texas Mineral Resources Chairman Anthony Marchese. "Fortunately to date, the COVID-19 outbreak has had a minimal effect on our...
Vale, a Brazil-based mining company with operations in Canada and around the globe, is challenging innovators to come up with solutions to minimize the societal impacts of COVID-19 and is offering US$1 million to get those innovations deployed to those who need them as quickly as possible. "Around the globe, industries and individuals alike are working diligently to find innovative solutions to combat this invisible enemy," said Vale North Atlantic Operations and Asian Refiner...
U.S. Vanadium Holding Company LLC, an Arkansas-based producer of the world's highest-purity vanadium pentoxide, intends to maintain manufacturing operations at its flagship Hot Springs, Arkansas production facility. Vanadium is among the 35 minerals and metals the U.S. Geological Survey deemed critical to the United States and is considered essential to the U.S. Defense Industrial Base. Due to these factors, U.S. Vanadium has decided it is important to keep its Hot Springs...
Can zinc lozenges and syrups galvanize our bodies' defenses against COVID-19? Research and clinical trials have demonstrated its ability to lessen the severity and duration of similar severe acute respiratory (SARS) coronaviruses and would likely help your body put up a stronger fight against this latest strain. Inside your body, zinc galvanizes your immune system on two fronts – it has natural antimicrobial properties and it boosts the white blood cells that fight off coronav...
The strongest and most conductive material known to man, graphene is considered a miracle material that will likely change how we construct things in the 21st century – from micro-electronics to mega-building structures. But, can this single layer of super strong carbon atoms also protect us from the spread of diseases like COVID-19? GrapheneCA, a New York-based producer of graphene and developer of technologies that use this miraculous allotrope of carbon, believes the a...
U.S. automakers are assessing whether they can convert their plants to manufacture critical medical equipment, like ventilators, that will be in short supply as the COVID-19 pandemic spreads throughout America. The Food and Drug Administration has temporarily waived its enforcement and inspection requirement to allow companies outside the healthcare industry – such as automakers and other manufacturers – to begin manufacturing much-needed parts for ventilators and other respir...
Italy-based Directa Plus says the coronavirus killing properties of its graphene-enhanced COVID-19 masks have been confirmed by scientists in Rome. Already independently certified as antiviral by ISO, an international standard-setting organization based in Switzerland, a mask with the company's Graphene Plus, or G+, antiviral graphene has been on sale since June. "Most of the other masks are currently not able to inactivate the virus but they are able to just decrease the...
Over the last couple of months, as the world has gone into lockdown in an effort to save lives during the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen a few amazing things. First, we have seen the resilience of nature. Secondly, if you live in a metropolitan area, you are probably seeing truly blue sky over your city for the first in a very long time. NASA photographs as well as those on social media have shown how prevalent air pollution is over our metropolitan communities and how it...
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, a group of women miners are calling for more copper and its natural virus fighting properties in hospitals and other public places. "Copper has proven antimicrobial and anti-viral properties that could play an important role in fighting the COVID-19 virus and in minimizing the spread of other viruses and bacteria that could cause future pandemics," the Women's Mining Coalition penned in a recent paper on the public health benefits of...
Ucore Rare Metals Inc. says the COVID-19 pandemic shines a spotlight on the need for a domestic supply of rare earth elements and other critical minerals and the company continues to make headway toward helping to fill that supply with its mine-to-metal-to-market "M3" strategy. "The current crisis underscores the extremely vulnerable nature of critical materials supply chains in the U.S. globalization and single-source foreign dependencies are not mitigating this risk – t...
