Animal rights organisation PETA has launched the Vegan Wool Challenge, calling on designers and researchers to develop a vegan alternative to sheep's wool with a lower environmental impact. More about PETA launches million design competition to create vegan wool
As part of the Design Academy Eindhoven student show at Dutch Design Week, graduate Jelle Seegers has presented a smelting machine with an oversized magnifying glass that focuses the sun's heat to melt metal more sustainably. More about Solar Metal Smelter uses giant magnifying glass to melt metal
After Seratech's carbon-neutral cement won the 2022 Obel Award, Dezeen has rounded up six ways in which researchers are working to decarbonise concrete – the single most polluting building material in the world. More about Six material innovations aimed at slashing concrete's outsized carbon footprint
British company Seratech has won the architecture-focused Obel Award with its prototype carbon-neutral concrete, which it says is low-cost and easy to scale. More about Seratech carbon-neutral concrete wins Obel Award 2022
Zane Cerpina and Stahl Stenslie's have collected experimental food designs, including whisky made from urine and cows that harness energy, for their Anthropocene Cookbook. The authors chose 10 of their favourites for Dezeen. More about Ten experimental designs that tackle the food challenges of the Anthropocene era
Ithaca, New York-based design studio Hannah has begun work on Cores, a building in Houston that it says will be the first multi-storey 3D-printed structure to be completed in the United States. More about Hannah begins construction on "first multi-storey 3D-printed house in the US"
The sun will power a key part of NASA's upcoming Artemis 1 mission via a solar sail developed by Alabama company NeXolve to fly a craft into deep space without needing fuel. More about NASA space mission to demonstrate "very high velocity" solar-sail technology
Biobased material developer TômTex collaborated with New York-based fashion designer Peter Do to create two looks for his Spring Summer 2023 collection at New York Fashion Week. More about TômTex and Peter Do create garments from shrimp and mushroom food waste
US company Ubiquitous Energy has invented a thin coating that turns windows into transparent solar panels, providing other ways to harvest renewable energy in buildings beyond rooftop panels. More about Ubiquitous Energy aims to make transparent solar windows a global standard
University of Virginia researchers have invented a method of 3D printing with seed-impregnated soil, which could be used to create walls and roofs teeming with plant life. More about University of Virginia 3D-prints living soil walls that sprout greenery
Australian biomaterials company Great Wrap has created a compostable bioplastic alternative to clingfilm that is made from waste potatoes. More about Great Wrap is a clingfilm alternative made from waste potato peels
University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers have invented a biofilm that sticks to the skin like a Band-Aid to harnesses sweat for electricity that could power wearable devices. More about Biofilm developed to power wearable electronics with sweat
Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have developed a way of using algae to create carbon-neutral or even carbon-negative concrete. More about Algae-grown limestone provides route to carbon-negative concrete
Welsh startup Space Forge has developed the ForgeStar-0 satellite, which will make electronic components and materials that are "impossible to manufacture on Earth" in space. More about Space Forge to launch satellite factory to manufacture components in space
Researchers at technology university ETH Zurich have created a deeply ridged ceiling called the HiRes Concrete Slab, which they claim saves energy while offering a spectacular aesthetic. More about ETH Zurich creates dramatically contoured concrete slab ceiling
Material research firm Studio Lionne van Deursen has showcased its Unfold designs, made from a material created by bacteria, as part of the Isola Design District exhibition at Milan Design Week. More about Studio Lionne van Deursen exhibits material created by microorganisms at Milan Design Week
Colorado-based Prometheus Materials has developed masonry blocks from a low-carbon cement-like material grown from micro-algae. More about Prometheus Materials uses algae-based cement to make masonry blocks
Melanin-enriched building materials and decomposing pavilions are among the pieces on show in San Francisco Museum of Modern Art's exhibition of Neri Oxman's work, Nature x Humanity. Curator Jennifer Dunlop Fletcher discusses five key works. More about SFMOMA exhibition explores the architectural provocations of Neri Oxman
Discarded tree forks could replace load-bearing joints in architecture projects using a construction technique developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. More about MIT engineers build load-bearing structures using tree forks instead of steel joints
The Eindhoven University of Technology has led a project building a bridge that is partly made from flax in The Netherlands, aiming to demonstrate the material's potential to replace steel in construction. More about Smart Circular Bridge built with flax completes in The Netherlands