Scientists in Japan develop plastic that dissolves in seawater within hours
WAKO, Japan (Reuters) Researchers in Japan have developed a plastic that dissolves in seawater within hours, offering up a potential solution for a modern-day scourge polluting oceans and harming wildlife.While scientists have long experimented with biodegradable plastics, researchers from the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science and the University of Tokyo say their new material breaks down much more quickly and leaves no residual trace.
At a lab in Wako city near Tokyo, the team demonstrated a small piece of plastic vanishing in a container of salt water after it was stirred up for about an hour.
While the team has not yet detailed any plans for commercialisation, project lead Takuzo Aida said their research has attracted significant interest, including from those in the packaging sector.Scientists worldwide are racing to develop innovative solutions to the growing plastic waste crisis, an effort championed by awareness campaigns such as World Environment Day taking place on June 5.
Plastic pollution is set to triple by 2040, the UN Environment Programme has predicted, adding 23-37 million metric tons of waste into the world's oceans each year. Takuzo Aida, Group Director at the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science, shows the sample of ocean-degradable plastic at the CEMS of Japanese research institution Riken in Wako, Saitama Prefecture, Japan (REUTERS/Manami Yamada)
"Children cannot choose the planet they will live on. It is our duty as scientists to ensure that we leave them with the best possible environment," Aida said.Aida said the new material is as strong as petroleum-based plastics but breaks down into its original components when exposed to salt. Those components can then be further processed by naturally occurring bacteria, thereby avoiding generating microplastics that can harm aquatic life and enter the food chain.As salt is also present in the soil, a piece about five centimetres (two inches) in size disintegrates on land after over 200 hours, he added.
The material can be used like regular plastic when coated, and the team are focusing their current research on the best coating methods, Aida said. The plastic is non-toxic, non-flammable, and does not emit carbon dioxide, he added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
a day ago
- The National
Best photos of July 26: Tourist spot in Salalah to Children cools off in a fountain in Moscow
Thermal imaging shows the temperature variations around the Parthenon temple at the top of the Acropolis hill during a heatwave in Athens, Greece. Reuters
Al Etihad
15-07-2025
- Al Etihad
Astronauts from India, Poland, Hungary return with NASA veteran from space station
15 July 2025 13:53 LOS ANGELES (REUTERS)NASA retiree turned private astronaut Peggy Whitson splashed down safely in the Pacific early on Tuesday after her fifth trip to the International Space Station (ISS), joined by crewmates from India, Poland and Hungary returning from each countries' first-ever ISS mission.A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying the four-member team parachuted into the sea off the coast of California at around 9:30am GMT, following a fiery reentry through Earth's atmosphere that capped a 22-hour descent from return flight concluded the fourth ISS mission organised by Texas-based startup Axiom Space in collaboration with SpaceX, the private rocket venture of billionaire Elon Musk headquartered near Los mission finale and return flight was carried live by a joint SpaceX-Axiom Axiom-4 crew was led by Whitson, 65, who retired from NASA in 2018 after a pioneering career that included becoming the US space agency's first female chief astronaut, and the first woman ever to command an ISS out the Axiom-4 crew were Shubhanshu Shukla, 39, of India, Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski, 41, of Poland, and Tibor Kapu, 33, of are returning with a cargo of science samples from more than 60 microgravity experiments, conducted during their 18-day visit to the ISS and due for shipment to researchers back on Earth for final analysis. Crew Members For India, Poland and Hungary, the launch marked the first human spaceflight of each country in more than 40 years, and the first mission ever to send astronauts from their government's respective space programs to the participation of Shukla, an Indian air force pilot, is seen by India's space program as a precursor of sorts to the debut crewed mission of its Gaganyaan orbital spacecraft, planned for is a Polish astronaut assigned to the European Space Agency, while Kapu is part of his country's Hungarian to Orbit (HUNOR) programme. Axiom Mission The Ax-4 team arrived at the ISS on June 26, welcomed aboard by the station's latest rotating crew of seven occupants - three US astronauts, one Japanese crewmate, and three Russian cosmonauts. The two crews parted company again early on Monday when Crew Dragon Grace undocked to begin its voyage Axiom, a 9-year-old venture co-founded by NASA's former ISS program manager, the mission builds on its business of putting astronauts sponsored by private companies and foreign governments into low-Earth orbit. Axiom also is one of a handful of companies developing a commercial space station of its own intended to eventually replace the ISS, which NASA expects to retire around 2030.
Khaleej Times
10-07-2025
- Khaleej Times
Humanoid robot says not aiming to 'replace human artists'
When successful artist Ai-Da unveiled a new portrait of King Charles this week, the humanoid robot described what inspired the layered and complex piece, and insisted it had no plans to "replace" humans. The ultra-realistic robot, one of the most advanced in the world, is designed to resemble a human woman with an expressive, life-like face, large hazel eyes and brown hair cut in a bob. The arms though are unmistakably robotic, with exposed metal, and can be swapped out depending on the art form it is practicing. Late last year, Ai-Da's portrait of English mathematician Alan Turing became the first artwork by a humanoid robot to be sold at auction, fetching over $1 million. But as Ai-Da unveiled its latest creation -- an oil painting entitled "Algorithm King", conceived using artificial intelligence -- the humanoid insisted the work's importance could not be measured in money. "The value of my artwork is to serve as a catalyst for discussions that explore ethical dimensions to new technologies," the robot told AFP at Britain's diplomatic mission in Geneva, where the new portrait of King Charles will be housed. The idea, Ai-Da insisted in a slow, deliberate cadence, was to "foster critical thinking and encourage responsible innovation for more equitable and sustainable futures". 'Unique and creative' Speaking on the sidelines of the United Nations' AI for Good summit, Ai-Da, who has done sketches, paintings and sculptures, detailed the methods and inspiration behind the work. "When creating my art, I use a variety of AI algorithms," the robot said. "I start with a basic idea or concept that I want to explore, and I think about the purpose of the art. What will it say?" The humanoid pointed out that "King Charles has used his platform to raise awareness on environmental conservation and interfaith dialog. I have aimed this portrait to celebrate" that, it said, adding that "I hope King Charles will be appreciative of my efforts". Aidan Meller, a specialist in modern and contemporary art, led the team that created Ai-Da in 2019 with artificial intelligence specialists at the universities of Oxford and Birmingham. He told AFP that he had conceived the humanoid robot -- named after the world's first computer programmer Ada Lovelace -- as an ethical arts project, and not "to replace the painters". Ai-Da agreed. There is "no doubt that AI is changing our world, (including) the art world and forms of human creative expression", the robot acknowledged. But "I do not believe AI or my artwork will replace human artists". Instead, Ai-Da said, the aim was "to inspire viewers to think about how we use AI positively, while remaining conscious of its risks and limitations". Asked if a painting made by a machine could really be considered art, the robot insisted that "my artwork is unique and creative". "Whether humans decide it is art is an important and interesting point of conversation."
