A dangerous hospital superbug, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, can now digest medical plastic like sutures and implants, microbiologists reveal. This alarming ability allows the pathogen to survive longer and form tougher antibiotic-resistant biofilms, posing a significant new threat to patient safety in healthcare settings.
Plastic pollution has been an issue since the 1960s, but when mask-wearing, single-use plastics and hand sanitiser bottles became the norm, things only got worse.
Advanced or chemical recycling, has been incentivised by State laws in the US - but environmental advocates suggest it will only further plastic pollution.
Plastic bottles take up to 450 years to biodegrade naturally, so recycling them quickly is crucial for the environment - Northwestern University chemists may have a new strategy.
Researchers looking at plastics’ connection with pregnancy and children's health, find that placenta can absorb nanoplastics during pregnancy, affecting babies when born.
Plastic has been found everywhere, from plastic pollution in the oceans, to microplastics in food – researchers have now located nanoplastic particles in the snow.
Differentiating between numerous plastic types and separating them according to their chemical composition could increase the rate of plastic recycling enormously.
