The Download: how to make better cooling systems, and farming on Mars

A new 3D-printed design could make an integral part of cooling systems like air conditioners or refrigerators smaller and more efficient, according to new research. Heat exchangers are devices that whisk away heat, and they’re everywhere—used in data centers, ships, factories, and buildings. The aim is to pass as much heat as possible from one side of the device to the other. Most use one of a few standard designs that have historically been easiest and cheapest to make. Energy demand for cooling buildings alone is set to double between now and 2050, and new designs could help efficiently meet the massive demand forecast for the coming decades. Read the full story. —Casey Crownhart MIT Technology Review Narrated: The quest to figure out farming on Mars If we’re going to live on Mars we’ll need a way to grow food in its arid dirt. Researchers think they know a way. This is our latest story to be turned into a MIT Technology Review Narrated podcast, which we’re publishing each wee ... Read full article.