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Scientists Develop Super-Strong, Eco-Friendly Plastic That Bacteria Can Eat | SciTechDaily
December 07, 2024
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Researchers at the Weizmann Institute have developed a biodegradable composite material that could play a significant role in addressing the global plastic waste crisis.

Billions of tons of plastic waste clutter our planet. Most of it accumulates on land, settles in the oceans, or disintegrates into tiny particles called microplastics, which pollute the air and water, infiltrating vegetation as well as the bloodstreams of humans and animals. The threat posed by plastics intensifies each year, as they are composed of massive molecules called polymers that resist biodegradation. Currently, biodegradable plastics account for less than one-fifth of total plastic production, and the processes required to break them down remain relatively cumbersome.

In a study published in ACS Nano, Dr. Angelica Niazov-Elkan, Dr. Haim Weissman and Prof. Boris Rybtchinski of the Molecular Chemistry and Materials Science Department at the Weizmann Institute of Science have created a new composite plastic that degrades easily using bacteria. This new material, produced by combining a biodegradable polymer with crystals from a biological substance, has three major benefits: It is cheap, easy to prepare, and very strong. Also participating in the study were the late Dr. Eyal Shimoni, Dr. XiaoMeng Sui, Dr. Yishay Feldman, and Prof. H. Daniel Wagner.

Currently, many industries are enthusiastically adopting composite plastics, which are made by combining two or more pure materials and possess the various beneficial properties such as lightness and strength. These plastics now serve to manufacture key parts of a wide variety of industrial products, from airplanes and cars to bicycles.

The Rise of Composite Plastics

Seeking to create a composite plastic that would meet the needs of industry while also being environmentally friendly, the Weizmann researchers decided to focus on commonplace, inexpensive source materials whose properties could be improved. They found that molecules of tyrosine – a prevalent amino acid that forms exceptionally strong nanocrystals – could be used as an effective component in a biodegradable composite plastic. After examining how tyrosine combines with several types of polymers, they chose hydroxyethyl cellulose, a derivative of cellulose, which is employed extensively in the manufacture of medicines and cosmetics.

On its own, hydroxyethyl cellulose is a weak material that disintegrates readily. To combine it with tyrosine, the two materials were mixed together in boiling water. When they cooled and dried, an exceptionally strong composite plastic was formed, made of fiber-like tyrosine nanocrystals that grew into the hydroxyethyl cellulose and integrated with it. In one experiment that revealed the new plastic’s strength, a 0.04-millimeter-thick strip of the material withstood a load of 6 kilograms.

Moreover, the team discovered that the new material had several other unique characteristics, making it even more useful for industry. Usually, when a material is strengthened, it loses plasticity.

Unique Properties and Industrial Potential

This new composite plastic, however, in addition to being very strong, is also more ductile (malleable) than its core component, hydroxyethyl cellulose. In other words, combining the two materials created a synergy that manifests itself in the emergence of extraordinary properties and, consequently, has massive industrial potential.

Since both cellulose and tyrosine – the crystals of which can be found in various types of hard cheese – are edible, the biodegradable composite plastic can actually be eaten. Is it also tasty? We will have to wait to find out: Since the production process in the lab is not hygienic enough for foodstuffs, the researchers are yet to have a nibble.

Rybtchinski sums up: “The follow-up study that we have already started could advance the commercial potential of this new material, since we have replaced the boiling in water with melting, as is more common in industry. This means that we heat up the biodegradable polymers until they become liquid and then mix in the tyrosine or other suitable materials. If we manage to overcome the scientific and technical challenges involved in this process, we will be able to explore the possibility of producing this new composite plastic on an industrial scale.”

Reference: “Emergent Self-Assembly of Sustainable Plastics Based on Amino Acid Nanocrystals” by Angelica Niazov-Elkan, Haim Weissman, Eyal Shimoni, XiaoMeng Sui, Yishay Feldman, H. Daniel Wagner and Boris Rybtchinski, 23 October 2023, ACS Nano.
DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.3c02528
Prof. Boris Rybtchinski’s research is supported by the Tom and Mary Beck Center for Advanced and Intelligent Materials and the Wolfson Family Charitable Trust & the Wolfson Foundation.

https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-develop-super-strong-eco-friendly-plastic-that-bacteria-can-eat/

 

 

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Coffee With Scott Adams Afterparty X Spaces - 2/22/25

You are invited to join the next CWSA Afterparty X Spaces, today after Scott’s morning livestream!

https://x.com/owengregorian/status/1893281334623125857?s=46&t=za1kQOtu4Dod6Yb1P465eg

Coffee With Scott Adams Afterparty Spaces - 2/15/25

The next CWSA Afterparty X Spaces is today, and you’re invited!

As usual we’ll start a few minutes after Scott’s morning livestream ends.

https://x.com/owengregorian/status/1890748504206696532?s=46&t=za1kQOtu4Dod6Yb1P465eg

hey Greg, I like that you are doing a regular show and I don't want to criticize because that's what it's going to sound like so I'm going to start with that. I think you're doing a great job finding stories and exposing all kinds of science that we would never be exposed to otherwise.

but

it's really hard to get into a show when it's just a constant echo chamber. what I would like to see is if you could offer like people to raise their hands if they have the counter argument or a counterpoint to what we just heard. ... they talk a lot about wanting to get the people on either side to look at our point of views and they aren't going to listen to people who don't present their arguments. I think you'll grab a wider audience and it'll be much more interesting

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I played a small part in making some news here.

This story focuses on Elon Musk of course, as the news tends to focus on every X post or reply he makes.

If you read this story, you may have noticed that it quotes Scott Adams' reaction to a previous story about the idea of issuing $5,000 "DOGE dividend" checks, questioning why we would do that when we are facing such massive budget deficits and an enormous national debt. Elon responded to that stating that he thought we needed to balance the budget first.

 

 

This isn't the only story written about this.

What it doesn't state is that my post about the $5,000 DOGE check idea is what prompted this whole conversation. 😎

https://x.com/OwenGregorian/status/1892184391717384462

It's also notable that the whole thing started with an X post from James Fishback (@j_fishback) that included a letter he wrote with a detailed proposal about the idea:

https://x.com/j_fishback/status/1891933120313663493

It's still a trip to think that an ordinary person like me can have even a small impact on the national conversation.

Don't underestimate the influence what you do on this platform could have. And thank you for your support, and for coming along this strange journey with me.

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4th Generation Information Warfare

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I'm going to describe some of the key concepts and frameworks covered in that book, and how they can be applied to information warfare. I'm hoping you'll come away with enough understanding that you can notice when these techniques are being applied, judge how well various players are doing with them to help predict how a conflict will turn out, and be able to start practicing these techniques yourself.

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Poll Shows Post-Election Crash in Public Tolerance for Illegal Migration | Neil Munro, Breitbart News

Just 10 percent of Americans oppose President Donald Trump’s promise to deport illegal migrants with criminal records, according to an Ipsos poll for the New York Times.

In contrast, 87 percent support the deportations strongly or “somewhat,” so providing a broad consensus for a national enforcement campaign.

And just 19 percent of Americans — fewer than one in five — strongly oppose “deporting all immigrants who are here illegally,” the Ipsos poll also showed. Fifty-six percent support the deportations strongly or somewhat.

The post-election collapse of tolerance for illegal migration was spotlighted Saturday when the newspaper posted its early-January poll of 2,128 citizens and residents that confirmed recent polling trends.

The broad shift in political opinion — dubbed a “preference cascade” by academics —  was likely caused when Trump’s campaign and November win showed Americans how many other Americans oppose migration.

The new numbers will help Trump and his deputies begin the careful, low-drama, and gradual removal of millions of wage-cutting, rent-spiking migrants from U.S. society.

A patient and popular enforcement campaign will also help shift the political attention to the even bigger impact of legal migration on Americans.

Already, the rising public demand for less legal migration was spotlighted over Christmas when Twitter erupted in a furious debate over white-collar migration via the H-1B visa program. That drama was ignored by the poll but is expected to rise as the nation draws closer to the 2026 election.

Pro-migration groups, however, hope the Trump enforcement is chaotic and rushed because any tactical mistakes will help their media allies paint the repatriations as cruel and counterproductive.

The newspaper’s coverage of the poll downplays the drama, saying:

Many Americans who otherwise dislike President-elect Donald J. Trump share his bleak assessment of the country’s problems and support some of his most contentious prescriptions to fix them, according to a new poll from The New York Times and Ipsos.

The new poll includes much evidence that GOP voters are leading Democrats away from their politically disastrous support for the quasi-open borders policies put in place by President Joe Biden’s pro-migration, Cuban-born border chief, Alejandro Mayorkas.

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Read more:

https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2025/01/18/poll-shows-post-election-crash-in-public-tolerance-for-illegal-migration/

 

 

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