Bio-designer Lucia Giron has worked with the University of Cambridge's Department of Biochemistry to develop prototypes of an algae-based battery alternative, which harnesses the power of photosynthesis for electricity. More about Algae "biocells" powered by photosynthesis could replace disposable batteries
North Carolina furniture company Studio TK has designed furniture utilising manufacturer Plantd's panels, which are made from perennial grasses and marketed as an alternative to traditional engineered woods such as plywood. More about Studio TK uses Plantd's pressed-grass panels for furniture line
Design studio Other Matter has built on its flagship product, a petrochemical-free signage film, by recycling it into an upholstery material called Other Matter Leather, on show this week at 3 Days of Design. More about Other Matter launches bio-leather made from single-use signage
Texas lighting company Lucifer Lighting has integrated ocean plastic into its Atomos downlighting, melting down millions of feet of fishing lines and nets into its injection moulding processes. More about Lucifer Lighting puts recycled ocean-plastic lights into mass production
Fashion designer Iris van Herpen has created a metamorphic dress covered in thousands of iridescent glass spheres that appear to gradually disintegrate for Olympian Eileen Gu, who debuted the garment at last night's Met Gala in New York City. More about Iris van Herpen crafts "dissolving" Met Gala dress from 15,000 glass bubbles
British designer Justina Alexandroff has created a fake flower that stands out to insects, potentially helping them navigate polluted city air and fighting declines in pollination. More about Faux Flora helps pollution-blinded bees to find real flowers
University of Edinburgh researchers have used bacteria to turn plastic waste into a Parkinson's drug, advancing a new approach known as "bio-upcycling". More about Plastic bottles recycled into Parkinson's drug using bacteria
Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have unveiled the Heirloom House project, a series of nine structural-concrete components that can be manually rearranged and that are intended to last for 1,000 years. More about MIT researchers design Heirloom House concrete components to last "1,000 years"
Inspired by local microbreweries, London-based start-up Arda Biomaterials has made a plastic-free leather alternative by altering the protein structures in brewer's spent grain. More about Arda transforms beer waste into plastic-free faux leather
Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers have made recycled plastic into floor trusses for housing, arguing the waste stream could provide an abundant and sustainable structural building material. More about MIT researchers developing process to make houses from recycled plastic
Dutch designer Vera van der Burg aimed to "slow down" AI by combining it with a ceramics practice in the project From Text-to-Clay, which has seen her exhibit several unworldly creations. More about Vera van der Burg puts AI and ceramics into "reflective" feedback loop
Singapore tech company Flint has announced production on a rechargeable "paper battery", which it claims will biodegrade at the end of its life cycle, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. More about Flint announces production of biodegradable "paper battery"
British company Carbon Cell has used agricultural waste to make a carbon-negative and compostable alternative to polystyrene packaging and building insulation that avoids contributing to plastic pollution. More about Carbon Cell makes plastic-free alternative to polystyrene
French flooring brand Tarkett has announced that its linoleum is now carbon-negative across all stages of its life cycle, from sourcing raw materials to end-of-life deconstruction and recycling. More about Tarkett achieves "world's first" carbon negative linoleum
Stone makes up the facade, frame, foundations and floor slabs in the Stone Demonstrator, a project by London's Design Museum aimed at getting the British construction industry to embrace the "ultra-low-carbon" material. More about Design Museum pushes for stone construction in the UK with Stone Demonstrator
Researchers at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia have created a building material where rammed earth is encased in permanent cardboard formwork, eliminating the need for cement. More about RMIT researchers reimagine rammed earth by encasing it in cardboard tubes
London's discarded takeaway coffee cups are given a long and useful life in Cupsan, a new biomaterial that local design practice Blast Studio has started producing at scale. More about Blast Studio launches Cupsan biomaterial made from London coffee cups
Dezeen has teamed up with German appliance brand Gaggenau to showcase its newest oven, as revealed in this video created by Dezeen for the brand. More about Gaggenau unveils oven featuring "floating control ring" in Dezeen video
New materials brand Hyphyn has launched what it claims is a first-of-its-kind biodegradable performance vinyl fabric, which breaks down over 90 per cent in two years in landfill conditions without leaving behind microplastics or toxic chemicals. More about Hyphyn impregnates vinyl with plastic-eating enzymes to enhance biodegradation
Wool takes the place of wiring, plastic and circuit boards in electronic devices created by designer Hinna Khan, a recent Central Saint Martins graduate inspired to find a new use for the material after watching farming documentaries. More about Conductive wool replaces wiring and circuits in WoolTech electronics