NederlandsTopic
#Plastic
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AI model designs working proteins from a sentence in plain language
Researchers in China have built an AI model that designs proteins from a description in plain language. In four trials, the result actually did what was asked of it: give off light, break down plastic, convert alcohol and help capture CO2.
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Laser flash turns plastic into trillions of tiny diamonds
German physicists fire a powerful laser at a thin sheet of the plastic that soft-drink bottles are made of. Each flash produces about 10 trillion tiny diamonds averaging 3 millionths of a millimetre, almost all the same size. The next step is making enough of them to work with.
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Bacteria in forest soil eat bioplastic with a 'Pac-Man enzyme' that also disarms penicillin
Researchers at the University of Konstanz buried bioplastic in forest soil and found the enzyme bacteria use to eat it. That enzyme also turns out to make penicillin harmless. The discovery helps with better biodegradable plastic and with research into resistance.
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Old CDs, Lego bricks and packaging become a sponge that pulls water from the air
Chemists at the University of Vienna turn plastic waste into a sponge that captures water vapour from the air, even when the air is dry. With a little heat, for example from the sun, the water comes out again. The next step is to test how long the material lasts.
