Modern pesticide accelerates corrosion of ancient Roman bowl

A corroded Roman bowl dated to the Late Iron Age (between 43 and 410 AD) contains traces of chlorobenzenes, a chemical once used in pesticides that is known to accumulate in soil and water sources. The study, published in ...

New upcycling system for commercial polyesters

While plastics or synthetic polymers have many useful properties, their mismanagement has resulted in widespread pollution that chokes up our ecosystems. As a solution to this, many synthetic polymers are sent for reprocessing ...

Hydrogel controls cell growth outside the body

Chemists at Radboud University discovered a unique material in 2013. From a synthetic polymer named polyisocyanopeptide (PIC), they made a gel that behaves similar to the matrix that surrounds the cells in your body. The ...

Artificial cells act more like the real thing

Protocells—artificial cells—that are active and mimic living cells by moving independently and that are biocompatible and enzymatically active are now possible using an improved method developed by Penn State researchers.

Laboratory-evolved bacteria switch to consuming CO2 for growth

Over the course of several months, researchers in Israel created Escherichia coli strains that consume CO2 for energy instead of organic compounds. This achievement in synthetic biology highlights the incredible plasticity ...

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