Turning wood into plastic
Efforts to shift from petrochemical plastics to renewable and biodegradable plastics have proven tricky—the production process can require toxic chemicals and is expensive, and the mechanical strength and water stability is often insufficient. But.....»»
Polar plastic: 97% of sampled Antarctic seabirds found to have ingested microplastics
Anthropogenic plastic pollution is often experienced through evocative images of marine animals caught in floating debris, yet its reach is far more expansive. The polar regions of the Arctic and Antarctica are increasingly experiencing the impacts o.....»»
Wood condition, root constriction and improper pruning can be used as predictors of urban tree failure
In São Paulo, Brazil's largest metropolis, the city center is considered a tree failure hotspot, with the largest proportion of failures in the city occurring in that area......»»
Sugar-coated gold nanoparticles can quickly eliminate bacterial infections, no antibiotics required
If left to their own devices, bacteria on our teeth or wounded skin can encase themselves in a slimy scaffolding, turning into what is called biofilm. These bacteria wreak havoc on our tissue and, being shielded from antibiotic medication by the slim.....»»
Study declares waste-to-energy plants a low health risk
As China rapidly urbanizes, turning waste into energy has become a key way to handle growing trash volumes and reduce landfill use, while also creating power. Yet, concerns about the pollution from these plants and its health effects have led to deba.....»»
Opinion: Lagos bans single-use plastics—why I think Nigeria should have taxed them instead
Waste pollution is a huge problem in Nigeria, with serious impacts on the environment. In response, the Lagos state government has banned styrofoam (a type of plastic widely used as food containers) and other single-use products......»»
Beds, kitchens and drones: How China EV makers are wooing buyers
Carmakers are turning to increasingly novel add-ons from beds to cooktops to boost sluggish EV sales in China......»»
Halloween toy among plastics swallowed by sea turtles
A Halloween toy was among hundreds of plastic items found in the guts of dead sea turtles in the Mediterranean, a new study reveals......»»
Solar-Powered Farming Is Quickly Depleting the World"s Groundwater Supply
Farmers in hot, arid regions are turning to low-cost solar pumps to irrigate their fields, eliminating the need for expensive fossil fuels and boosting crop production. But by allowing them to pump throughout the day, the new technology is drying up.....»»
AMD needs to fix this one problem with its next-gen GPUs
AMD's latest graphics cards have been a turning point for Team Red, but there's still one lingering issue that needs to be addressed in the next generation......»»
What are EV startups doing to ride out weak demand?
U.S. electric vehicle startups are turning to cheaper models, slamming the brakes on their production ramp-up plans and laying off employees to navigate a slump in demand due to steep borrowing costs and high repair expenses for the vehicles. Tesl.....»»
These scientists built their own Stone Age tools to figure out how they were used
Telltale fractures and microscopic wear marks should be applicable to real artifacts. Enlarge / Testing replica Stone Age tools with a bit of wood-scraping. (credit: A. Iwase et al., 2024/Tokyo Metropolitan University) W.....»»
Why recycling plastic is not a quick fix
Considering the climate crisis and worldwide plastic pollution, many people believe that recycling materials, in particular plastic, is the solution to our problems. Recycling can reduce resource use, prevent waste and reduce CO2 emissions. It is an.....»»
Five hotspots where floating plastic litter poses the greatest risk to North Atlantic marine life
Plastic has been found in every single part of the ocean, from the surface to the seafloor and from the tropics to the poles. Land-based sources of plastic account for the majority of this pollution, with plastic bags, bottles, wrappers, food contain.....»»
Staggering Layers For Added Strength In Your 3D Prints
The constant hunt for more efficient and useful ways to use these 3d printers keeps turning up interesting results. For quite some time, people have speculated on various methods of arranging our 3d print layers for better adhesion and stronger resu.....»»
Researchers develop amphibian-inspired camouflage skin
Inspired by amphibians such as the wood frog, investigators designed and synthesized a new type of camouflage skin involving one-dimensional photonic crystal structures assembled in three-dimensional flexible gels......»»
An inside look at beech tree disease
Beech trees provide food for animals, timber for wood products, and sustenance for beech drop plants, but they are under threat from beech leaf disease (BLD). The disease, first documented in 2012 in the Midwest, is associated with the nematode Lityl.....»»
Unlearning loneliness: How TikTok is rewriting the rules of connection
We're in the era of learned loneliness where people have adjusted to isolation. Yet, young people on TikTok are unlearning loneliness and turning their FYPs into IRL communities. New York City is often portrayed as a city of tight-knit female f.....»»
3 Hulu movies you need to stream this weekend (March 1-3)
Need some streaming movie recommendations this weekend? Try watching these great Hulu movies starring Bradley Cooper, Keira Knightley, Elijah Wood, and more......»»
Seeing the wood for the trees: How archaeologists use hazelnuts to reconstruct ancient woodlands
If we could stand in a landscape that our Mesolithic ancestors called home, what would we see around us? Scientists have devised a method of analyzing preserved hazelnut shells to tell us whether the microhabitats around archaeological sites were hea.....»»
Plastic pellets blight Belgian town as EU weighs action
Buried in the soil, dotting riverbanks and bobbing along streams: a small Belgian town has waged a years-long fight against creeping pollution from plastic pellets—which the EU now has in its sights......»»