Biodegradation is the biologically mediated transformation and mineralization of organic or inorganic substances by microorganisms, such as bacteria, fungi, and archaea, often via extracellular and intracellular enzymatic pathways. It proceeds through sequential steps including depolymerization, primary degradation to smaller intermediates, and ultimate mineralization to CO₂, CH₄, H₂O, inorganic salts, and biomass under aerobic or anaerobic conditions. In environmental and engineering contexts, biodegradation governs the fate of pollutants, natural organic matter, and synthetic materials, and is a central process in bioremediation, wastewater treatment, and life-cycle assessment of chemicals and polymers.
Decaying matter shapes life in soil, but it can also create hostile zones for growing roots. Professor Jiří Friml of the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) and international collaborators have now identified ...
Ecology
15 hours ago
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The ability of bacteria to remove pollutants from soil, water, mine waste and other environments could be supercharged by a "friendly" compatible virus, according to a study led by Flinders University. The new insights, published ...
Ecology
Jun 30, 2026
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A spray made from a biodegradable polymer capable of capturing and redirecting water to crop seeds could be the key to drought-proofing Western Australian farms.
Agriculture
Jun 24, 2026
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9
A "superpowered" fungus engineered at The University of Queensland could be used to extract critical minerals from toxic mining waste while also helping to remediate sites. Environmental engineers at UQ's new Biosustainability ...
Biotechnology
Jun 23, 2026
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10
One of the most powerful environmental cleaning technologies in recent years is too small to see with the naked eye. Nanobubbles—tiny gaseous bubbles with diameters of around 100 nanometers—can clean up a range of harmful ...
Environment
Jun 19, 2026
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103
In the future, microorganisms could help return hard-to-recycle plastics to the recycling loop. Nick Wierckx, a molecular biologist at Jülich, explains the opportunities offered by biological recycling processes and the challenges ...
Biotechnology
Jun 19, 2026
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41
New degradable sensors could reveal insights into the secret—yet essential—microscopic life in soil. The sensors, which are being developed by soil scientists at Lancaster University and researchers at the University of Colorado ...
Biotechnology
Jun 10, 2026
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22
Antibiotics continue to drive resistance in bacteria, even after they are broken down in wastewater treatment plants and discharged into rivers and seas, new research published on World Oceans Day has shown for the first ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 8, 2026
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75
Chloromethane is a gas that is toxic to humans and contributes to the depletion of the ozone layer. It is produced during the combustion of coal, biomass and other raw materials. Natural sources such as algae, plants and ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Jun 6, 2026
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21
Textile wastewater treatment practices inadvertently produce toxic byproducts—including chloroform and bromoform—at alarming levels that pose a clear occupational health hazard and lead to unknown environmental effects downstream, ...
Environment
Jun 1, 2026
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