Toilet

Composting toilets are a great idea, but no one likes to think of the waste sitting there and fermenting. A new eco-friendly toilet gets around that problem by using mushrooms to facilitate the composting process, plus it uses no water to do the job.

Scrolling on your smartphone while on the toilet may be doing more than passing the time. A new study has found it could raise your risk of hemorrhoids by nearly 50%, thanks to the extra minutes spent sitting.

When it comes to toilet etiquette, do you put the lid down before you flush, or leave it up? A new study has shown just what happens when you leave it up – and the results might have you questioning just what you do behind closed doors.

It was just this August that we heard about a super-slippery 3D-printed toilet bowl, which bacteria slide right off of. Well, if you want that same sort of functionality in your existing toilet, a special coating may do the trick.

You've probably heard it before – if you don't put the lid down on the toilet, droplets of filth will fly out when you flush it. Scientists have now visualized that process for the first time, in hopes of reducing it with better toilet designs.

When it comes to communicable diseases, it's important to identify the source of an outbreak ASAP. In the case of cholera, a new toilet sensor could help, by detecting how many people in one area are experiencing one of the main symptoms – diarrhea.

A new technology developed at Duke University could automate the process of analyzing stools for signs of disease, by working in existing toilet systems and using artificial intelligence to scan and classify feces as they are flushed through.

An experimental study has quantified the volume of aerosol particles generated by flushing toilets in a public restroom. The real-world research suggests even with lids closed flushing toilets can increase levels of ambient aerosol particles.

NASA's Artemis mission will (hopefully) take astronauts to the Moon in 2024 … and when those people get there, they'll need to go to the bathroom. With that in mind, the space agency is now looking to the public for ideas for "moon toilets."

Scientists are pursuing some interesting technologies that could help us unlock the secrets of our sewage. Among them is a new type of “smart toilet” that automatically scans urine and stool samples for signs of disease.

Given the scarcity of fresh water in many regions, it does seem a bit crazy to be flushing the stuff down the toilet. And while a few coastal areas use seawater instead, doing so is problematic in its own way – new research, however, may change that.

​In the not-too-distant future, when congestive heart failure patients are being released from hospital, they may be given a special toilet seat to take home. That device would measure their vital signs every time they sit on it, sending alerts if more heart trouble was detected.