UCSB anthropologist studies cattle ranchers in Brazilian Amazon

For over a century, the rubber tappers of Acre, Brazil collected the valuable sap of the rubber trees from the forests of the western Amazon. As the demand for natural rubber declined, however, the Brazilian government sought ...

Improved-yield dandelions prepped for tire production

(Phys.org)—With supply falling short of demand for natural rubber, scientists in The Netherlands are literally planting seeds of hope for a viable solution. Researchers at the Dutch biotech firm KeyGene are engaged in ...

Tapping into the rubber plant genome

A group of international scientists have sequenced the draft genome sequence of the rubber tree Hevea brasiliensis, the major commercial source of natural rubber. The manuscript describing the draft genome is published in ...

Latex hunt produces key results in Europe

The Dutch tyre company Apollo Vredestein has successfully produced the first prototypes of tyres obtained from natural latex from guayule and Russian dandelion plants. An outcome of the EU-PEARLS ('EU-based production and ...

Naturally adhesive

Until now most adhesives have been manufactured from petroleum-based materials. However, they can also be obtained from renewable raw materials -- for example from proteins, natural rubber, starch, or cellulose. Fraunhofer ...

Tying molecules in knots

A new generation of lighter, stronger plastics could be produced using an intricate chemical process devised by scientists.

Europe seeks alternatives to natural latex from Asia

Some natural latexes are the main ingredient in the extraction of natural rubber, an indispensable raw material for all kinds of industries and essential for the manufacture of surgical gloves, condoms or tyres. All the latex ...

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