Collaborate Disseminate
When we think of graphene, we tend to think of its use in high-profile applications such as electronics, medical devices and construction materials. Now, however, it’s been incorporated into an additive which reportedly boosts the performance of humble… Continue reading Graphene additive finds use in higher-performing plastic film
Scallops’ soft bodies are well-protected by their hard shells, so … could those same shells protect human heads? That question was asked by the Japanese designers of the Shellmet, which is a helmet made partially of scallop shells.Continue ReadingCateg… Continue reading Shellmet helmet is made of scallop shells – plus it looks like one
Plastics are made to last, which is great while they’re being used but not so great after they’re discarded. Now chemists at the University of Konstanz have developed a new kind of plastic that has all the durability of regular plastic, but biodegrades… Continue reading Chemical “breaking points” let new type of plastic biodegrade in days
The more scientists hone their techniques when it comes to studying plastic pollution, the more we understand about the way it moves through the environment, and it can often make for some uncomfortable reading. Researchers in Auckland have used advanc… Continue reading 3 million bottles worth of microplastics falling on Auckland each year
Advances in chemistry continue to bring new materials into the realm of recyclability, and new work from a team at the University of Michigan has taken aim at one of the most problematic to reuse. The scientists have developed a method of converting wa… Continue reading Chemistry breakthrough creates usable products out of unrecyclable PVC
We know that marine animals of all sizes are inadvertently consuming plastics as they move through the ocean, but what does this diet look like for the largest of them all? To answer this question, scientists at Stanford University have analyzed the fo… Continue reading Study finds blue whales eat some 10 million microplastic particles a day
Recycling plastics is far from a straightforward process, but a new report has laid bare the grim reality of the situation. Conducted by Greenpeace, the study looked at activity at a broad range of processing facilities across the US and found that the… Continue reading Plastic recycling labeled “a myth” as US rates sink to 5%
Plastic waste is one of the most pressing environmental problems of our time, and sorting different types makes recycling tricky. Now, engineers at MIT have developed an effective new catalyst that breaks down mixed plastics into propane, which can the… Continue reading Efficient new catalyst converts mixed plastic waste into propane
The search for new solutions to the growing problem of plastic pollution has led scientists to some interesting places that include the soils of a Japanese recycling center and the guts of superworms. These efforts have unearthed enzymes that can eat a… Continue reading Wax worm saliva shown to degrade plastic bags in just hours
Though we have much to learn about the health impacts of exposure to tiny plastic particles, studies continue to shed important light on how they might behave in the human body. The latest findings in this space center on liver and lung cells, which la… Continue reading Study shows plastics disrupting metabolism of lung and liver cells