In response to the skyrocketing cost of oil, NRC experts developed a number of alternative ways to generate and store energy, including windmills, solar cells, underground heat exchangers, and biomass generators. Carageenan, a thickener in ice cream, chocolate sauce and other foods, comes from the seaweed called Irish Moss. NRC experts were instrumental in helping develop improved methods of growing and harvesting Irish Moss on Canada's Atlantic coast. A Helping Through the 1970s and 1980s, NRC developed many aids for the handicapped or injured, such as braille calculators for the blind, specially designed walkers, ultrasound therapies, electronic speech-generating devices, and methods for cooling the spinal cord to reduce or eliminate back injuries.
Some bicycle frames contain magnesium, a strong and super-light metal.
In the 1930s, NRC found a much faster and safer way to make magnesium. The method is still used today. In 1973, NRC opened a centre to retrieve and analyse data from flight recorders - more commonly known as black boxes. By gathering information on aircraft crashes and other incidents, the centre has helped improve air safety.