New Atlas

Environment Audio available

Cove launches biodegradable alternative to plastic water bottles

Paul Ridden March 11, 2019

Most water in stores today comes in bottles made from petroleum-based plastic. After drinking the contents, too many of these bottles become a pollution problem. Cove is looking to change that with the launch of its biopolymer-based water bottles.

Spring water in Cove biodegradable PHA bottles will be available to Californians from May, 2019

Medical

Wireless blood-flow sensor dissolves when its job is done

Ben Coxworth January 8, 2019

When someone has had blood vessel surgery, it's important for doctors to check that the vessel doesn't become blocked as it heals. Such blockages could someday be detected earlier and more easily than ever, thanks to an experimental new biodegradable blood flow sensor.

An artist’s depiction of the pressure sensor wrapped around a blood vessel, with the antenna off ...

Environment

Seaweed-munching microbes produce sustainable bioplastic

Ben Coxworth December 27, 2018

Plastic waste is a major problem in the world's oceans, which is why some groups have developed bioplastics that break down in the sea. Even those aren't entirely eco-friendly, though, which is why Israeli scientists are working on one that's derived from marine microorganisms.

The microorganisms produced a bioplastic polymer called polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) after consuming sea lettuce, pictured here

Environment Audio available

Wood-chip straws biodegrade when discarded

Ben Coxworth December 21, 2018

It's no secret that conventional plastic drinking straws are very eco-unfriendly. Manufactured in the billions, they're typically only used once, and then end up in landfills or the ocean. Finnish startup Sulapac is attempting to address the problem, with marine-biodegradable straws.

In either an industrial composting facility or the ocean, the straws completely break down into carbon ...

Science

Dissolvable implant promises to electrically speed up nerve regeneration

Rich Haridy October 8, 2018

In a landmark study, researchers from Northwestern University and the Washington University School of Medicine describe a novel biodegradable implant designed to electrically stimulate damaged nerves, speeding up the healing process, before naturally dissolving into the body.

The new device can operate for two weeks in the body before dissolving without a trace

Environment

Wood waste and crab shells may find use in compostable food wrap

Ben Coxworth July 23, 2018

Cellulose and chitin are the world's first- and second-most common biopolymers, found in plants and crustacean shells (among other places) respectively. Georgia Tech scientists have now devised a method of combining the two, to produce plastic-like compostable food wrap.

Prof. J. Carson Meredith displays a piece of the material

Medical

Pressure-sensing implant dissolves when its job is done

Ben Coxworth January 17, 2018

When doctors want to monitor conditions such as swelling of the brain, they'll sometimes implant a sensor that emits an electrical signal whenever it's subjected to pressure. The problem is, those sensors have to taken out afterwards. That may not be the case much longer, though.

Materials

Materials that self-destruct if they're not "fed"

Michael Irving August 8, 2017

Inspired by biological processes, researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) are developing materials that “die” when they run out of energy, which could lead to time-release drug delivery systems and eventually electronics and packaging that self-destructs when required.

Project researcher Marta Tena-Solsona, with the peptide synthesizer that produces the molecular building blocks of the ...

Automotive

Michelin's concept tire comes wrapped in "rechargeable" 3D-printed treads

Aaron Heinrich June 14, 2017

Michelin is exploring the potential for improvements in tire technology with its Vision concept tire that is airless, 3D printed, equipped with sensors, biodegradable, and not just a tire, but a tire and wheel in one.

Michelin's Vision concept tire features a 3D-printed tread that can be "recharged" when necessary

Environment

Eco-friendly microbeads are biodegradable and renewable

Ben Coxworth June 8, 2017

The plastic microbeads that give products like toothpaste a smooth texture pose a big problem. They're small enough that they don't get caught by sewage filtration systems, and can be ingested by wildlife once in the sea. With that in mind, scientists have developed biodegradable microbeads.

Toothpaste is one of the products that most frequently contains microbeads