Scientists have enriched expanded polystyrene waste from a beach in Ireland to isolate a bacterium shown to contain three enzymes that could break down polyester.
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 31, 2023
0
41
Polyurethane plastics are ubiquitous, used everywhere from mattresses to shoes. But once these products are no longer wanted, these materials litter landfills and oceans across the world.
Polymers
Aug 29, 2023
1
55
Two University of Rhode Island researchers estimate that the top 5 centimeters (2 inches) of the floor of Narragansett Bay now contain more than 1,000 tons of microplastics, and that buildup has occurred in just the last ...
Environment
Aug 28, 2023
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164
Reports of plastics pollution contaminating all parts of the Earth and in all living things has accelerated a shift to alternative materials. The coffee latte you take with you from the kiosk on the corner now comes in paper ...
Environment
Aug 25, 2023
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1
Marine mammals—animals including whales, dolphins, seals, sea lions, sea otters, dugongs and manatees—are threatened by an array of human activities. Species such as the North Atlantic right whale, Rice's whale and Vaquita ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 24, 2023
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222
Like every industry, modern farming relies heavily on plastics. Think plastic mulch lining vegetable beds, PVC pipes draining water from fields, polyethylene covering high tunnels, and plastic seed, fertilizer, and herbicide ...
Environment
Aug 24, 2023
1
96
Chenfeng Ke, an incoming associate professor of chemistry in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, developed a unique design for tough but stretchable hydrogels, reported Aug. 23 in the journal Chem. The ...
Polymers
Aug 23, 2023
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11
We've managed to accumulate so much plastic trash that it's daunting to think about what could be done with the tons upon tons of nonbiodegradable waste. And as much as we are trying to scale back our dependence on single-use ...
Materials Science
Aug 17, 2023
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51
Could plants be the answer to the looming threat of microplastic pollution? Scientists at UBC's BioProducts Institute found that if you add tannins—natural plant compounds that make your mouth pucker if you bite into an ...
Analytical Chemistry
Aug 16, 2023
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221
It seems that only about a tenth of the plastics end up in the oceans compared to what was previously thought. This is the result of a recent analysis by Mikael Kaandorp, who joined Forschungszentrum Jülich in November last ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 16, 2023
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1
