Tiles decorated with hair and a dissolving washbasin made of soap are among the student projects featured in Behind Closed Doors, an exhibition by the Design Academy Eindhoven and Kaldewei at Berlin design festival Currents. More about Design Academy Eindhoven students reinvent the bathroom for a resource-scarce future
Researchers in China have created a textile from living mycelium that is self-cleaning, near self-repairing and can be coloured or made UV protective through "plug-and-play" add-ons of different fungi or yeast. More about Dress made of living mycelium can renew and repair itself
Designer Audrey Levy has reimagined a common household appliance with her project How to Grow a Refrigerator, applying sustainable insulating and cooling technologies that take advantage of the power of bacteria and the sun. More about Student grows fuzzy fridge from bacteria to challenge norms around cooling
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
Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin of design studio Formafantasma have been named the first-ever lead research and development fellows of ecology for London's Serpentine Galleries. More about Formafantasma announced as ecology advisor to Serpentine Galleries
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
This week's 3 Days of Design is an opportunity to challenge the idea that new is better, writes Katie Treggiden. More about "Design weeks need to start framing repair as aspirational"
Dezeen Showroom: Dutch sustainability platform Front and biotechnology company Biomason have launched a low-carbon, concrete-like floor tile strengthened by bacteria. More about Mimmik Tile by Front and Biomason
Paris-based Baguette Studio has developed a range of wax lampshades that can be melted down and recycled without any loss of material using its own custom-built rotational moulding machine. More about Meltable wax lamps by Baguette Studio can be endlessly remade
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
The Salone del Mobile fair stand of Italian tapware brand QuadroDesign is on its way to Masala, Zambia, having been designed by Giacomo Moor to have a second life as a public bathroom. More about QuadroDesign sends Salone booth to Zambia to become public bathroom
Researchers at Finland's Aalto University have salvaged 300-year-old wood from the wreckage of a cargo ship in Oulu, which was transformed into yarn and knitted into a zero-waste dress. More about This dress is made from the remains of a 17th-century shipwreck
Copenhagen-based Natural Material Studio has created speckled pendant lighting out of kelp waste, salvaged from miso soup that would otherwise be thrown away at Sticks n Sushi in Lyngby, Denmark. More about Natural Material Studio crafts lighting from leftover seaweed at Sticks n Sushi restaurant
As countries drag their heels on adopting right to repair legislation, designers are forging ahead and reimagining some of our most used products – from sofas to whole electric cars – so they can be fixed by anyone. More about Five everyday products that are leading the self-repair revolution
British company Team Repair has launched a STEM learning kit specifically designed for grown-ups, using a dummy object to teach people how to fix their own phones. More about Team Repair's adult STEM kit shows how to fix your phone
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
Danish mycelium company Rebound has partnered with architecture studio Det Levende Hus to create a sustainable interior door with a core made from cultivated fungi. More about Rebound and Det Levende Hus develop "world's first" mass-produced mycelium door
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
Dezeen Showroom: Andreu World and Patricia Urquiola have evolved their Bolete chairs to incorporate the brand's BIO thermopolymer, a material produced from living microorganisms that is said to be biodegradable. More about Bolete chair and armchair by Patricia Urquiola for Andreu World
With climate change threatening ski towns around the world, recent design graduate Tanay Wadodkar has created a small-scale geoengineering intervention in the form of snow-generating stickers. More about Snow-generating stickers help fight climate change effects in ski resorts