How bad is plastic?

Correction to what I say at 9 mins 5 seconds and at 9 minutes 40 seconds: The carboniferous lasted (approximately) from 360 to 300 million years ago and was 60 million years long. (Not from 360 to 60 and 300 million years long.) Sorry about that.

Plastic is everywhere and we have all heard it's bad for the environment. But how bad is it really? In this video I explain that no one really knows how durable plastic is, that microplastics are everywhere, most bioplastics aren't bio-degradable, and that you can make steel from plastic. Yes, steel.

The report about online information on plastic lifetime I mention at 2 mins 58 seconds is here: https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/117...

The paper about degradation of polystyrene I mention at  4 mins 30 seconds is here: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs....

The paper about bacteria on microparticles which I mention at 7 mins 30 seconds is here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31445...

The 2016 paper about bacteria that digest plastic which I mention at 10 mins is here: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/s...

The paper about PETase I mention at 11 mins 5 seconds is this: https://www.pnas.org/content/115/19/E...

And the one I mention right after that at 11 mins 20 seconds is this: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science...

The review on non-biodegradable bioplastics that I mention at 13 mins 08 is here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science...

The one on life-cycles of biodegradable plastics which I mention at 14 mins 9 seconds his this: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/...

And finally, the paper in Nature Catalysis about making steel from plastic I mention at 15 mins 49 seconds is here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s4192...

Many thanks to Jordi Busqué for helping with this video http://jordibusque.com/

• 0:00 Intro
• 0:31 Sponsor Message
• 1:22 What is plastic?
• 2:46 How long does plastic last?
• 4:49 Why worry about plastic?
• 8:50 Bacteria that digest plastic
• 12:34 Are bioplastics any good?
• 15:36 Steel from plastic

New hydrogel can repair tears in human tissue

EPFL scientists have developed an injectable gel that can attach to various kinds of soft internal tissues and repair tears resulting from an accident or trauma.

Our soft tissues can be torn during a ski accident, a car accident or an accident in the home, for example. And surgeons can have a hard time binding the tissue back together, as stitches often do more harm than good. According to Dominique Pioletti, the head of the Laboratory of Biomechanical Orthopedics at EPFL’s School of Engineering, such surgeries don’t always produce optimal outcomes because the repaired tissue usually doesn’t heal properly. This tends to be the case for tears in cartilage and the cornea, for instance. 

Researchers around the world have been trying for years to develop an adhesive for soft tissue that can withstand the natural stresses and strains within the human body. Pioletti’s group has now come up with a novel family of injectable biomaterials that can bind to various forms of soft tissue. Their bioadhesives, in the form of a gel, can be used in a variety of injury-treatment applications. Their research has just been published in Macromolecular Rapid Communications.

Immortality, Bliss, Divinity

Swiss Society for Biomaterials & Regenerative Medicine Annual Conference

Advances in Antimicrobial Biomaterials science, industry, physicians

The SSB+RM meetings are devoted to all aspects of biomaterials science including basic research, engineering, and medical applications. The 2017 conference is dedicated to Advances in Antimicrobial Materials. This conference will include keynote speakers who will give an overview of clinical and commercial translations of biomaterials. Selected sessions are devoted to the design, preparation, characterization, quality control and application of all types of antimicrobial materials from the viewpoints of academia, industry and the clinics.

 

Both oral and poster presentations are welcome. Those wishing to present are asked to submit an extended abstract (1 page maximum) by March 17th, 2017. Abstracts must be submitted as an electronic file in MS Word and must adhere to the abstract guidelines. The abstract template can soon be obtained from the conference website.

 

Click to download event flyer

Click to Registration 

 

Contact

Dr Katharina Maniura EMPA, Biointerfaces Phone: +41 58 765 74 47 e-mail

Nanoparticles to Break Up Plaque and Prevent Cavities

Philadelphia, PA (Scicasts) — The bacteria that live in dental plaque and contribute to tooth decay often resist traditional antimicrobial treatment, as they can "hide" within a sticky biofilm matrix, a glue-like polymer scaffold.

 

A new strategy conceived by University of Pennsylvania researchers took a more sophisticated approach. Instead of simply applying an antibiotic to the teeth, they took advantage of the pH-sensitive and enzyme-like properties of iron-containing nanoparticles to catalyze the activity of hydrogen peroxide, a commonly used natural antiseptic. The activated hydrogen peroxide produced free radicals that were able to simultaneously degrade the biofilm matrix and kill the bacteria within, significantly reducing plaque and preventing the tooth decay, or cavities, in an animal model.

 

"Even using a very low concentration of hydrogen peroxide, the process was incredibly effective at disrupting the biofilm," said Hyun (Michel) Koo, a professor in the Penn School of Dental Medicine's Department of Orthodontics and divisions of Pediatric Dentistry and Community and Oral Health and the senior author of the study, which was published in the journal Biomaterials. "Adding nanoparticles increased the efficiency of bacterial killing more than 5,000-fold."

 

Click for complete article.

Research Shows Gentle Cancer Treatment Using Nanoparticles Works

Copenhagen, Denmark (Scicasts) — Cancer treatments based on laser irradiation of tiny nanoparticles that are injected directly into the cancer tumour are working and can destroy the cancer from within.

 

Researchers from the Niels Bohr Institute and the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Copenhagen have developed a method that kills cancer cells using nanoparticles and lasers. The treatment has been tested on mice and it has been demonstrated that the cancer tumours are considerably damaged. The results are published in the scientific journal, Scientific Reports.

 

Traditional cancer treatments like radiation and chemotherapy have major side affects, because they not only affect the cancer tumours, but also the healthy parts of the body. A large interdisciplinary research project between physicists at the Niels Bohr Institute and doctors and human biologists at the Panum Institute and Rigshospitalet has developed a new treatment that only affects cancer tumours locally, therefore, much more gentle on the body. The project is called Laser Activated Nanoparticles for Tumor Elimination (LANTERN). The head of the project is Professor Lene Oddershede, a biophysicist and head of the research group Optical Tweezers at the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen in collaboration with Professor Andreas Kjær, head of the Cluster for Molecular Imaging, Panum Institute.

Click for complete article

New frontiers in bioscience

In laboratories around the world, some of the brightest scientists—well-established and those early in their careers—are conceiving novel theories at the very forefront of knowledge. In tissue regeneration, multilevel function, multiscale modeling, longevity, and other cutting-edge fields, breakthrough research will soon enable us to improve human health and perhaps even reveal the deepest mechanisms of life itself.

Paul G. Allen is the cofounder of Microsoft, the chief executive officer of Vulcan Inc., a recipient of the 2015 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy, and the founder of the Allen Institute for Brain Science, Institute for Cell Science, and Institute for Artificial Intelligence.

 

In his article Allen explains how "...the complexity of biology is a fascinating challenge, and I am keen to see the field deconstruct its mysteries, establish reliable and predictive models, and put that knowledge to work."

Allen further believes ".....we should also be working more aggressively to break down scientific silos by backing more collaborative, interdisciplinary teams that include experts in bioscience, mathematics, computer science, medicine, engineering, and other fields. For example, the Human Genome Project succeeded because of the convergence of massive computing power, new algorithms, expertise in laboratory biology, and broad support from the public and private sectors."

Click for the complete article published in Science

Neuroscientists Now Can Read the Mind of a Fly

New technique could yield knowledge useful to understanding the human brain

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Northwestern University neuroscientists now can read the mind of a fly. They have developed a clever new tool that lights up active conversations between neurons during a behavior or sensory experience, such as smelling a banana. Mapping the pattern of individual neural connections could provide insights into the computational processes that underlie the workings of the human brain. 

 

In a study focused on three of the fruit fly’s sensory systems, the researchers used fluorescent molecules of different colors to tag neurons in the brain to see which connections were active during a sensory experience that happened hours earlier. 

 

Synapses are points of communication where neurons exchange information. The fluorescent labeling technique is the first to allow scientists to identify individual synapses that are active during a complex behavior, such as avoiding heat. Better yet, the fluorescent signal persists for hours after the communication event, allowing researchers to study the brain’s activity after the fact, under a microscope.