We're surrounded by plastics and other synthetic chemicals. Are you aware of these less obvious sources?

The microscopic structure of the feathers of the eastern bluebird, a type of North American thrush, has inspired the creation of a simple-to-produce, scalable and robust novel synthetic material that ...

It was 1869, and something needed to be done. Albany inventor John Wesley Hyatt answered the call, molding together camphor, nitrocellulose, and alcohol under extreme pressure. His concoction, called ...

Materials scientists are cooking up environmentally friendly polymers from natural sources like silk, plant fibers and whole algae. Economics and acceptance remain hurdles. By Boyce Upholt / Knowable ...

Crustacean and seaweed materials combined in a unique way could provide a sustainable alternative to plastic films. Materials with enhanced structure derived from crustaceans and seaweed could be part ...

According to the official OECD estimates on global plastic pollution, out of all the plastic waste generated per annum, only 9% is recycled. The rest contaminates water bodies, soil, the air we ...

It was hailed as a wonderful thing: During the oil boom in the 1950s, chemists began to render the waste coming out of refineries into plastic — plastic packaging, plastic furniture, plastic fibers ...