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.
Plastic is ubiquitous in the modern world, and it's notorious for taking a long time to completely break down in the environment—if it ever does.
Bio & Medicine
Oct 17, 2025
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Groundwater commonly contains methane, but the amount of this important greenhouse gas that can escape to surface waters or the atmosphere is highly uncertain. A team from the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry and ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 14, 2025
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85
Researchers have unveiled a surprising new way that soil microbes can use sunlight energy—even after the lights go out. A team from Kunming University of Science and Technology and the University of Massachusetts Amherst ...
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 8, 2025
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55
Researchers from the UAB and the UB are working with Indigenous Amazonian communities to understand health issues from a holistic perspective, including people, wildlife and the ecosystem.
Environment
Oct 7, 2025
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21
Researchers have developed a new class of nontoxic, biodegradable solid lubricants that can be used to facilitate seed dispersal using modern farming equipment, with the goal of replacing existing lubricants that pose human ...
Biotechnology
Oct 7, 2025
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223
Researchers have transformed food waste sugars into natural plastic films that could one day replace petroleum-based packaging, offering compostable alternatives to commonly used plastics for food and agricultural films like ...
Biotechnology
Oct 3, 2025
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353
New laboratory experiments show that a bacterium that lives on grape plants can break down guaiacol—an unpleasant-tasting substance which ruins wines made from grapes exposed to wildfire smoke. Claudia Castro of the U.S. ...
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 1, 2025
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51
Polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, a class of fire-resistant industrial chemicals, were widely used in electrical transformers, oils, paints and even building materials throughout the 20th century. However, once scientists ...
Environment
Sep 29, 2025
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27
It is a fully biodegradable and eco-friendly system for hydroponic agriculture, made of hydrogel and capable of supporting plant growth with minimal water; in the future, it will be able to monitor plant health in real time. ...
Biotechnology
Sep 26, 2025
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597
Beneath our feet, an invisible world of electron exchanges quietly drives the chemistry that sustains ecosystems, controls water quality, and even determines the fate of pollutants.
Earth Sciences
Sep 26, 2025
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50
