Scientists in China have begun creating bio-degradable plastic from natural resources and it's likely you either have this resource, or know someone who does.
Scientists at Tianjin University have discovered that plastic can actually be made from sperm - but don't fear, lads in lab coats aren't going to start mandating semen harvesting - at least not yet anyway.
This revolutionary development actually employs salmon sperm which is combined with a chemical from vegetable oil that binds it all together. The substance it creates is commonly known as hydrogel, which definitely sounds better then sperm plastic.
https://twitter.com/GlitchesRoux/status/1465823140727214083
The hydrogel is then moulded into various shapes and then freeze-dried to solidify the mixture and remove moisture. So far, the scientists have made a cup, puzzle pieces and a DNA molecule.
This landmark moment has also opened the door to other avenues of acquiring the DNA needed. Since DNA makes up every living thing on the planet, this new plastic can theoretically be made from waste material, algae and even bacteria.
Biodegradable plastic is nothing new but previous methods require an enormous amount of energy and are fairly difficult to recycle.
https://twitter.com/DumbOzymandias/status/1465899310994714627
Tianjin University's new method produces 97 per cent fewer carbon emissions that polystyrene plastics, scientists claim.
However, the material's biggest advantage is also a disadvantage - as items made from the material need to be kept dry. When they become wet, the plastic returns to its hydrogel form, which makes it amazing to recycle but awful if you want the plastic to be used en-mass.
https://twitter.com/SirDoombringer/status/1465870549922557961
Waterproof coatings could certainly be added but this would make the hydrogel more difficult to recycle. While the hydrogel could be used for items required to be kept dry - like electronics - more work is needed to completely fool-proof the design.
That doesn’t sound good A supercomputer has predicted when humans will become extinct. Though climate change is always in the news and becoming a priority for governments to tackle, its long term impacts could be devastating not just on the environment but on our species as well. With this in mind, a supercomputer has analysed […]
Bashing the bishop is a scientifically proven way of staying healthy Regular ejaculation is something of a cheat code when it comes to shielding yourself from cancer. In a study published by European Urology, which followed 32,000 men for 18 years, scientists discovered the magic number of 21 times per month will reduce the chances […]
Your family might be a bit bigger than you realised All blue-eyed people descend from a single human who lived around 6,000 and 10,000 years ago, scientists believe. While 70-79 per cent of the world’s population have brown eyes – the most common colour – just 8 to 10 per cent have the second most common […]
