Advertisement

Inhabitat's Week in Green: dog with prosthetic limbs, glowing sheep and gourd building blocks

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.

DNP Inhabitat's Week in Green TKTKTK

The start of May saw an abundance of groundbreaking stories about flora and fauna -- first, there was the heartwarming story of Naki'o, the first dog to be fitted with four prosthetic limbs after losing his legs to frostbite. Then we were surprised and slightly disturbed to learn that scientists in Uruguay used genetic engineering to create glowing sheep with genes from the Aequorea victoria jellyfish. In other illuminating news, a team of bioengineers in San Francisco is using genes from fireflies to create plants that glow. And the Institute of Space Systems in Germany announced plans to use Heliospectra's new LED lighting systems to conduct research into growing vegetables in outer space.

Energy-harvesting architecture was another big theme this week, as San Francisco's Temple Night Club installed an LED-lit Energy Floor that converts club-goers' dance moves into energy. Fitness guru Jane Fonda teamed up with Elli Studio to produce an off-grid house that's powered entirely by exercise machines. In other clean energy news, Kyuho Song and Boa Oh unveiled the Window Socket, a conceptual solar-powered outlet that can be easily stuck on any window. And Point Source Power has released the VOTO charger, which uses the energy generated from a fire to charge mobile phones.

In the world of green transportation, Inhabitat reported live on the launch of the Solar Impulse airplane's flight across America, and Solar Flight unveiled the world's fastest two-seater, solar-powered plane in Germany. We were also intrigued by the 4 Strike Bike, a high-tech cycle with handlebars that double as an extra set of pedals. Dutch designer Maarten van Soest created the Tonke Fieldsleeper -- a spacious mobile home for two that can easily be attached or removed from a van. And for the young'uns, we took a look at Volta Racers, a new set of speedy DIY toy cars that are powered by an on-board solar panel.

In energy-efficient lighting news, Inhabitat announced the finalists for the Lighten Up! LED lighting design competition -- be sure to check them all out and vote for your favorite. As a preview for this year's ICFF show in NYC, we took a look at the latest LED lighting designs from Molo, which feature shades that are made from 100 percent recyclable Tyvek. We brought you Bocci's gorgeous new recycled-glass lamps that double as hanging planters, and we checked out the latest OLED lamps from the new lighting company Blackbody.

This week, BotObjects unveiled the ProDesk3D, which is being billed as the world's first full-color desktop 3D printer. Meanwhile Hot Pop Factory unveiled the world's first 3D-printed wooden necklaces. In other wearable tech news, Thalmic Labs unveiled the Myo, a biometric controller that converts movements into digital commands. In one of the neatest examples of living architecture we've encountered, artist Andrew Mowbray figured out how to train gourds to grow into square building blocks that are both sustainable and sturdy. And Foster and Partners unveiled an updated, bike-friendly plan for Apple's new $5 billion Cupertino headquarters.