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.
Scientists have tested, for the first time, how biodegradable wet wipes break down when flushed rather than composted, discovering that most wipes remain after five weeks—a finding the research team say challenges the marketing ...
Environment
Dec 15, 2025
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22
Methanol is an ideal feedstock for bio-manufacturing. Converting it into lactate, a monomer for biodegradable plastic, offers a promising strategy for addressing the challenge of white pollution. However, it remains difficult ...
Cell & Microbiology
Dec 5, 2025
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26
Chemical engineering researchers at the University of Waterloo have joined forces to take on a pressing environmental problem by using synthetic biology to turn plastic waste into valuable resources. The multidisciplinary ...
Cell & Microbiology
Nov 24, 2025
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24
Whether you're a home gardener or an industrial farmer, you might be familiar with mulching films—plastic sheets laid over the soil to protect seedlings and promote crop growth. But like many other plastic materials, these ...
Biotechnology
Nov 21, 2025
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321
With the continuous expansion of industrial and agricultural activities, the contamination of water bodies and soils by heavy metals such as cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) has become a severe global environmental challenge. These ...
Ecology
Oct 29, 2025
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21
How do you turn toxic waste into fuel? Ask the microbe. A team of scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, together with a colleague from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, ...
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 29, 2025
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60
When 115,000 tons of food waste hit Surrey's processing facility each year, an invisible army goes to work—billions of microbes convert everything from banana peels to leftover pizza into renewable natural gas (RNG). Now, ...
Cell & Microbiology
Oct 23, 2025
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125
University of Minnesota researchers studied the microbial degradation of the USS Cairo, one of the first ironclad and steam-powered gunboats used in the United States Civil War. Studies of microbial degradation of historic ...
Ecology
Oct 22, 2025
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802
Farmers handle a wide range of responsibilities to keep operations running—and a routine but often overlooked duty is safely disposing of dead livestock. Left unattended, carcasses can spread disease and jeopardize entire ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 21, 2025
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19
A common soil fungus (Purpureocillium lilacinum BA1S), when combined with calcium and mild alkalinity, speeds up the breakdown of biodegradable plastic (PBAT), offering a greener path for managing agricultural and packaging ...
Biotechnology
Oct 20, 2025
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