Phytoremediation to Clean the Environment and Mine Critical Materials
https://hackaday.com/2025/02/28/phytoremediation-to-clean-the-environment-and-mine-critical-materials/

Nickel contamination can render soils infertile at levels that are currently impractical to treat. Researchers at UMass Amherst are looking at how plants can help these soils and source nickel …read more (https://hackaday.com/2025/02/28/phytoremediation-to-clean-the-environment-and-mine-critical-materials/)

Building a Nerf-like Rocket Launcher With Airburst Capability
https://hackaday.com/2025/03/01/building-a-nerf-like-rocket-launcher-with-airburst-capability/

Nerf blasters typically fire small foam darts or little foam balls. [Michael Pick] wanted to build something altogether more devastating. To that end, he created a rocket launcher with an …read more (https://hackaday.com/2025/03/01/building-a-nerf-like-rocket-launcher-with-airburst-capability/)

Making a PCR Machine Crypto Sign Its Results
https://hackaday.com/2025/03/01/making-a-pcr-machine-crypto-sign-its-results/

Money, status, or even survival – there’s no shortage of incentives for faking results in the scientific community. What can we do to prevent it, or at least make it …read more (https://hackaday.com/2025/03/01/making-a-pcr-machine-crypto-sign-its-results/)

Practice While You Work
https://hackaday.com/2025/03/01/practice-while-you-work/

This week, I had to do something I haven’t done in a long, long time: make myself a custom PCB the old-fashioned way, with laser toner and etchant. The reason? …read more (https://hackaday.com/2025/03/01/practice-while-you-work/)

SteamVR Controller Controlling Addressable LEDs
https://hackaday.com/2025/03/01/steamvr-controller-controlling-addressable-leds/

[Chris] had an idea. When playing VR games like BeatSaber, he realized that spectators without headsets weren’t very included in the action. He wanted to create some environmental lighting that …read more (https://hackaday.com/2025/03/01/steamvr-controller-controlling-addressable-leds/)

Why Are Cassette and CD Players So Big Now?
https://hackaday.com/2025/03/01/why-are-cassette-and-cd-players-so-big-now/

The early 2000s were the halcyon days of physical media. While not as svelte as MP3 players became, why are those early 2000s machines smaller than all the new models …read more (https://hackaday.com/2025/03/01/why-are-cassette-and-cd-players-so-big-now/)

The Bus Pirate 5 Sure Can Glitch
https://hackaday.com/2025/03/01/the-bus-pirate-5-sure-can-glitch/