5-Mar-2026
#Polymers that crawl like worms: How #materials can develop direction without being told where to go
New findings can help to better understand #DNA dynamics in living #cells

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1118843

#science #nanoworld

that's amazing work and very life-like. I know what you mean about the materials and it's a pity, because I feel like that's unnecessary. There's a tremendous body of work on substitutes for polymers that are currently made from petrochemical feedstocks, but it all remains very small-scale and mostly academic because the petrochemical industry does NOT want to interrupt the pipeline they've constructed: straight out of the Earth and flowing into every conceivable consumer product.

we would love to be able to make our own plastics at the Pnictogen Wing homestead, from biomass. so that prompts the question: what living creature would be (a) easy to grow or culture in the relatively limited space available in a single-family home with a yard, and (b) the most fruitful as a feedstock for production of a useful polymer?

I already know a little. furfural (furan-2-carboxaldehyde) and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural are two attractive candidates for a biomass-derived chemical that could be used to make plastics. Furfural can be obtained from the acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of pentosans, biopolymers of five-carbon sugars found in such substances as corncobs and oat hulls. 5-hydroxymethylfurfural can be obtained in a like method from the breakdown of cellulose, starch, etc.

#chemistry #polymers

🌿 A tree produces a quiet milky fluid that becomes grip, cushion, and seal in our daily world. What hidden architecture allows rubber to stretch, strain, and still return to form?

✍️ Explore the full journey from living latex to resilient network: https://TPC8.short.gy/HufLJJ1O

🌍 A single droplet begins a long story of transformation.

#rubber #polymers #materialscience #science #TPC8

“Marvel has remarked that more money has been wasted in polymer research by the use of impure monomers than in any other manner.” pp. 12 of Polymer Chemistry 2e by Hiemenz & Lodge. #polymers #synthesis #chemistry #research #purity

Fantastic paper from Brooks Able at Berkeley using an organic catalyst to achieve high molecular weight for poly(THF) via cationic ring-opening polymerization. The low ceiling temperatures of these polymers make them attractive targets for reversible polymerizations, but it has previously been really hard to get to the molecular weights required for good mechanical properties. #chemistry #polymers #JACS https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacs.5c18359

Proper Curing: Not an additive, but THE most critical factor. Concrete doesn't "dry"; it cures through a chemical reaction (hydration) that requires moisture. For maximum strength, keep the concrete surface continuously moist for at least 7 days (using plastic sheeting, damp burlap, or a curing spray). Un-cured concrete can lose 50% of its potential strength. #fly ash #polymers #concrete #materials science

Friday, December 26, 2025

https://activitypub.writeworks.uk/2025/12/friday-december-26-2025/

♻️🌍 #Rutgers scientists have developed #plastics engineered to break down on demand at controlled rates – think days, months, or years – using a chemical strategy inspired by how natural #polymers like #DNA degrade.

The #discovery offers a practical solution to plastic #pollution by allowing everyday materials to decompose safely without harsh #chemicals or special conditions.

👉 https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-develop-new-plastics-that-break-down-safely-instead-of-polluting/

#chemistry #sustainability #environment #innovation #nature #NewJersey #science #technology #tech

Amazing talk by Sander Woutersen at #NWOCHAINS. He gave an entertaining talk on his Ig Nobel Prize winning research on using (drunk) worms as a model for active polymers to better understand their exciting properties.
https://iop.uva.nl/content/news/2024/09/ig-nobel-prize-for-drunk-worms.html
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abj7918
#Chemistry #Polymers

Amazing talk by Sander Woutersen at #NWOCHAINS. He gave an entertaining talk on his Ig Nobel Prize winning research on using (drunk) worms as a model for active polymers to better understand their exciting properties. iop.uva.nl/content/news... www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #Chemistry #Polymers

Ig Nobel prize for drunk worms...

Really impactful work to make alkyl lithium reagents dramatically less dangerous to use. #chemistry #polymers #deprotonation #labsafety

https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/CA/en/technical-documents/technical-article/chemistry-and-synthesis/organic-reaction-toolbox/novel-non-pyrophoric-t-n-butyllithium-formulations-chemical-synthesis

(31 Oct) Neural network finds an enzyme that can break down polyurethane https://s.faithcollapsing.com/b3v19 Archive: ia: https://s.faithcollapsing.com/sydso #ai #biochemistry #biology #chemistry #enzymes #neural-networks #polymers #polyurethane #protein-design #proteins #science

(31 Oct) Neural network finds an enzyme that can break down polyurethane

Given a dozen hours, the enzyme can turn a foam pad into reusable chemicals.

https://s.faithcollapsing.com/b3v19
Archive: ia: https://s.faithcollapsing.com/sydso

#ai #biochemistry #biology #chemistry #enzymes #neural-networks #polymers #polyurethane #protein-design #proteins #science

Neural network finds an enzyme that can break down polyurethane https://arstechni.ca/pzjk #neuralnetworks #proteindesign #biochemistry #polyurethane #chemistry #polymers #proteins #Science #Biology #enzymes #AI

🔋There is a small chance that rechargeable #lithium batteries will ignite, leak or even explode.🧯

How to make them safer?

Giuseppe Portale, Ass. Prof. of #Polymerchemistry and #Physics at the UG, and his team are building safer small coin batteries using solid #polymers.🪙

Read our 3rd story on #batterydevelopers of #FSE 👇
🔗 https://www.rug.nl/fse/news/science-in-focus/batterijen/how-to-make-batteries-safer

🧪 #SciComm #ScienceNewsroom #lithiumbattery #polymerscience #research #polymer #chemistry #ScientistsOnMastodon @universityofgroningen

#LabPlot at the service of researchers.

@labplot@lemmy.kde.social

It's rewarding to us to know that #LabPlot was used for #DataVisualization in this recent study on conductive #polymers.

➡️ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-19124-1

#Research #Science #OpenSource #FreeSoftware #FOSS #NLnet #KDE #MaterialScience #Statistics #FreeOriginProAlternative

what is the best name for any theory about polymers and why is it reptation?
#chemistry #polymers #snakes

(although dashpots and springs is pretty good too)

Attending my first Faraday Discussion and it seems really challenging for the speakers and editorial team but is very rewarding as an attendee. I don't want all chemistry conferences to have this format, but it would be wonderful if more did. #FaradayDiscussion #RSC #polymers #polymerisation #depolymerisation

https://phys.org/news/2025-09-reveals-sulfur-based-blocks-sustainable.html

Sulfur atoms enhance the #sustainability of #polymers because the bonds between carbon and sulfur atoms are easier to break than the bonds between carbon and other carbon or oxygen atoms. This allows sulfur-containing plastics to degrade…

"…we were able to establish a predictive rule that indicates which sulfur-based building blocks yield perfectly structured and clean polymers—and which do not," so Prof. Dr. Alex Plajer, Jr Prof, Macromolecular Chemi, Uni Bayreuth.