Image YouTube/Андрей Борисович Королев via Slate

A meteorite exploded over Chelyabinsk this morning in Russia, causing a sonic boom and injuring more than 900 people. Russia’s space agency Roscosmos said the giant fireball that sped across the sky was traveling 19 miles per second before it exploded, causing a bright light that could be seen 125 miles away in Yekaterinburg. Most injuries occurred as a result of flying glass from shattered windows and at least 100 people remain in hospital, Reuters reports.

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The FDA just gave official approval to the world’s first bionic eye! Developed by Second Sight Medical Products, the Argus II is a bionic eye that bypasses damaged rods and cones in the retina. A miniature camera housed in a pair of glasses captures a scene, and the video is processed and wirelessly transmitted to an antenna in the Argus implant. The implant then stimulates an array of 60 electrodes to send information to the brain via the optic nerve.

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Have you entered our mobile photo contest yet? 1 more week for a shot at $1000!

Are you a designer, architect or creative who finds inspiration in photography? If so, you’ll want to check out Philips’ new free LightCollector photo app to collect photographic inspiration from the world around you. Available for both Apple and Android mobile devices, LightCollector is a free mobile photography app that provides creative folks with a platform to collect, curate and share inspirational images from their mobile phones, and work with a global online network of peers, colleagues, experts and influencers. To get your creative juices flowing, we’ve teamed up with Philips and Light Collective to host a fantastic new photography contest that invites you to upload your best light-inspired photos for a chance to win a sweet $1000 cash prize! You’ve only got until Friday, February 15th (that’s in a week!) to submit your photos, after which we’ll be putting them up to a public vote to determine the most provocative, beautiful and inspiring.  The top 20 entries with the most votes will be included in a final round of judging by a panel made up of Inhabitat editors and industry professionals. Think you’ve got what it takes to get that winning image and the $1000 prize? Here’s how you can enter the competition:

HOW TO ENTER THE CONTEST

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JOHO Architecture transformed a rural house in the Korean countryside near Namhae into an energy-efficient oasis that harmonizes with its site. The renovation upgraded the traditional home with a bright white latticed facade and a series of windows, terraces and balconies that create new connections to the surrounding environment.

 

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Each year, the Serpentine Gallery in London’s Kensington Gardens invites an architect to design a temporary structure in the park. This year, 41-year-old Sou Fujimoto will become the youngest architect to accept one of the world’s most sought after commissions. The cloud-like structure of steel poles will stretch over 350 square meters of lawn and create a transparent terrain exploring the pastoral context of the landscape. Forming an irregular ring, the latticed poles will simultaneously protect visitors from the elements while allowing them to still enjoy the park.

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In the United States, we have paved over 160 billion square feet of land simply to provide places to park cars. Recognizing these asphalt areas as opportune places for energy generation, California-based company Envision has created the Solar Tree, a rotating structure that shelters cars while generating energy with photovoltaic panels. The Solar Tree can provide shelter for six cars while charging six EV’s each day. Later this year, Envision plans to build 2,300 Solar Trees in South Carolina that are projected to be able to generate 35 megawatts of electricity.

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Charlotte-based Boxman Studios has repurposed shipping containers into buildings across the US since 2008 - and now, due to their growing reputation and success, they've announced plans to double their 20-person operation. This company is considered a pioneer in the field of shipping container architecture, and its projects range from housing to retail and even pop-up installations for major companies such as Google.

 

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Photo via Shutterstock

A new study has shown that pharmaceutical drugs polluting the world’s waterways may significantly change the behavior of wild fish. A study of wild perch found that the presence of a widely prescribed anti-anxiety medication called oxazepam makes the fish more mellow but also more antisocial and vulnerable to predators—which could have a notable ecological impact.

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A new dental startup called Smiles for the People offers beautiful biodegradable bamboo toothbrushes – and for each one you buy, they will donate a toothbrush to someone in need! Their mission is to sell the highest quality and most environmentally responsible dental supplies while helping improve the oral health of people who can’t access or afford the dentist. Smiles For the People is set to launch toothbrush sales on February 26th, and you can find them on Twitter @smiles4people.

+ Smiles For the People

The article above was submitted to us by an Inhabitat reader. Want to see your story on Inhabitat? Send us a tip by following this link. Remember to follow our instructions carefully to boost your chances of being chosen for publishing!

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This amazing leaf-clad Art Barn in Greenwich, CT is part art gallery, part studio space and part residence set on a peaceful wooded site next to a pond. The multi-functional home is covered in a living green screen of wisteria, which provides shade in the summer and gives an extra layer of insulation in the winter. Designed by Robert Young Architecture, the Art Barn is wrapped with a living layer that provides protection and beauty to the home underneath.

 

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Dutch designer Laurens Van Wieringen collects rejected plastic items from factories and scrap yards and turns them into functional psychedelic objects. His “Mixed” tableware is made by melting and sculpting polypropylene surplus into bowls, plates, and cutlery with a wonderful recycled aesthetic.

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In his State of the City address yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg announced new plans that he explained could create “up to 10,000 parking spots for electric vehicles over the next seven years.” This massive expansion of electric vehicle (EV) charging capacity would be achieved through amendments to the city’s building code requiring that 20 percent of all new parking spaces in private developments be wired for EVs.

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Busy urban intersections can be intimidating for even the experienced bike commuter. No matter how much attention you pay to crossing signs and orders to dismount, there's always that fear that traffic won't actually see you or stop in time. Dutch design firm IPV Delft came up with a truly spectacular solution to this problem for the city of Eindhoven, Netherlands. Hovenring is a roundabout suspended in mid air. The cable-stayed bridge offers cyclists and pedestrians an exciting way to circumvent the intersection that's guaranteed to make drivers envious.

 

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Urban Librarians Unite has been coming to the rescue of book-loving residents in many of NYC’s Hurricane Sandy-hit neighborhoods. The literary Samaritans have begun installing miniature libraries outside of flooded New York Public Library branches, making access to books easier for kids and adults looking for a read. The orange kiosks may be small in size but they help restore the feeling of normalcy and community for these areas in a big way.

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Tired of throwing out the nearly 4 credit card solicitations he would receive each week, artist Jeremiah Johnson began to use them to construct model houses, examining the promises of big companies to grant the wishes and desires of consumers. Since the invention of email, you would expect the level of junk mail to recede. Yet without fail almost every household in the country can expect to find a mountain of clutter inside their mailboxes.

 

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