Innovation in 2021 - 5th April 2021

2021 has got off to a rocky start. Headlines remain dominated by the coronavirus pandemic, as do people's lives. However, people are rising to meet this challenge with a variety of innovative ideas.

With the Indian state of Kerala beset by the pandemic, fashion designer Lakshmi Menon put her skills to good use by pioneering a method of making mattresses out of plastic left over from PPE production. Menon's cheap and eco-friendly mattresses are filling the wards of the country's Covid centres where beds are in short supply.

Kenyan NGO The Bug Picture has been supporting farmers in their battle against locust swarms. The organisation is working with local communities to grind and process the pests into a protein rich powder for use in animal feed. East Africa is currently experiencing its worst locust plagues since the 1950s, threatening the food security of millions. It is hoped that The Bug Picture's sustainable solution will provide farmers with a weapon in the war against these invasive insects.

Elsewhere in Africa, elephant conservation is getting a helping hand from machine learning and observation satellites. Images from space are analysed by a computer algorithm which identifies and counts elephants within the picture. Conservationists have welcomed this new method, as monitoring wildlife in Africa poses a huge challenge.

Another high-tech, medical breakthrough is making patients more comfortable. In the UK, trials of the 'PillCam', a minuscule camera encased in a plastic pill, are being conducted by England's National Health Service. Once swallowed, the 'PillCam' journeys through the body, photographing the digestive system. With the potential to replace more invasive methods of screening, the new technology may enable earlier diagnosis of bowel cancer and other digestive diseases.

Technology is also being used to rethink our food chain. 'Clean' chicken meat cultivated in a laboratory has been authorised for sale in Singapore. For the first time, meat lovers can enjoy chicken nuggets that haven't come from animals. With many concerned about the environmental impact of animal farming, 'clean' meat could prove to be a sustainable solution for humanity's meaty appetite.

Despite the challenges of 2021, people have innovated and achieved great things, leaving many hopeful for the remainder of the year.