On this week's news update…

Parrot Calls

Parrots that make video calls…

Portable Wind Turbine

A portable wind turbine…

Experiment Capsule

And a capsule to carry out experiments.

First up…

Parrots are sociable animals that live in groups in the wild, but pet parrots can become lonely without the company of other birds.

To help them feel less lonely, scientists in America taught some parrots to make video calls to one another. They worked with 18 birds over three months, and together the birds made nearly 150 video calls. To make a call, the parrots were taught to ring a bell and then tap a picture of the bird they wanted to contact.

Scientists recorded and studied the birds’ behavior during their calls. They noticed that some birds would sing or play together, and others cleaned themselves. Similar to the ways parrots in the wild communicate.

Scientists found that the parrots who took part in the study were much happier and appeared less lonely. So much so that their owners plan to continue allowing the birds to make calls.

Up next…

Eco Zone

It’s Eco Zone…

Wind is the second largest producer of clean energy in the world, but most people don’t have direct access to wind turbines and the power they generate.

Shine

So, a team of female engineers have created Shine, a portable wind turbine that allows users to make their own electricity from wind.

The turbine’s three blades spin in the wind. The energy generated is stored in Shine's internal battery until it is needed. Shine can be used outdoors to create enough power to charge electronic devices. And when it is not being used, it folds away to the size of a water bottle.

By enabling people to access wind power easily, and create their own clean energy, the engineers of Shine hope it will help reduce the demand on other energy sources.

And finally…

Experiments that require little or no gravity to be completed are often performed by astronauts in space.

microgravity

These are called microgravity experiments.

Now aerospace engineers at a new start up have created LOUIS, a capsule in which microgravity experiments can be completed, without going into space.

LOUIS

To carry out the experiments, LOUIS is fitted onto a drone and lifted between 600 and 2,000 meters up in the air, then dropped down to Earth. When LOUIS falls, the contents inside the capsule experience 5 to 12 seconds of little or no gravity. During this short period simple experiments can be completed.

The engineers behind LOUIS hope it will make microgravity experiments cheaper and accessible, making it more achievable for researchers to test their theories.

That's all for this week, we'll see you next time!