Environment

What does it take to turn an old crumbling bus into a sleek apartment? Just ask Israeli design enthusiasts Tali Shaul and Hagit Morevski, who converted the run-down vehicle into a designer living space.

Astronomers are constantly researching conditions on other planets, with hopes of getting a better understanding of the different celestial bodies in our solar system. Now, new light has been shed on the conditions on Neptune and Uranus.

After irrigation and dairy-farming, will the next great Israeli-inspired agricultural revolution be in pesticides? Israeli company Bio-Bee, which fights pests with other insects thinks so, as it launches operations in India.

Using bubbles of oxygen as a means of purifying wastewater is a technique that's been around for almost a century. Israeli company Mapal's novel method makes smarter use of the technology and is now being implemented in the UK.

The Eilat coral reef is a beautiful stretch of natural corals, decorating the bottom of the red sea. Some corals, called Heteroxenia, move in a pulsating motion – a phenomenon that puzzled researchers for 200 years. Recently, Israeli researchers have solved the mystery.

When it comes to power grids, a major issue is the differences in consumption in different times. The solution could come in the form of giant batteries, storing energy during off-peak hours – and releasing them when necessary.

After seeing a decline in recent years, could solar energy be making a comeback? Israeli company Shikun Binui has commissioned a $20 million project from Chinese firm Suntech, to be built in the Israeli desert.

What comes to mind when you hear the word seaweed? Some might think of a trip to the beach, others, of a good roll of sushi, but Israeli designer Nir Meiri has used it for something else entirely - and the result is unexpected.

Despite their sting, bees are an important part of the food chain, due to their role as pollinators. For years, scientists have been trying to find pesticides that don't harm them. Israeli scientists now say the answer may be a hormone derived from the bees themselves.

The Galapagos Islands, an archipelago of volcanic islands off the coast of Ecuador, famously inspired Darwin's Theory of Evolution. Now, the same biodiversity that made the islands famous is at risk and Israeli experts have been called upon to help.

Though the cause for global warming is still open to debate, its effects are not. Now, alongside troubling phenomena such as desertification and glacier-melting, it seems that it may also be the cause for the spreading of the West Nile virus.

As fantastic as it may sound, an Israeli-American company is actually splicing the DNA from a firefly into a plant, to create plants and trees that may prove to be the sustainable streetlights of the future.

Israel is a world leader when it comes to desalination, but there's still room for improvement. Desalination company SunDwater is using sunlight to separate water from salt and pollution using sunlight.

Israel is a world leader when it comes to milk farming and its methods and technology are used worldwide to yield impressive results. Now, a new development aims to re-revolutionize the industry with an even smarter robot.

Two major downsides to electric cars are short travel distances and long charging times. Israeli company Phinergy is trying to solve this problem by using recyclable 1,000-mile batteries.