Microplastics can go right through wastewater treatment plants, and researchers have engineered bacteria commonly found in there to break down this pollution before it can persist in the environment.

 

Researchers from the University of Waterloo added DNA to several species of bacteria found in wastewater, allowing them to biodegrade polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a common plastic found in carpet, clothing and containers for food and beverages.

The rise of AI, graphic processing, combinatorial optimization and other data-intensive applications has resulted in data-processing bottlenecks, as ever greater amounts of data must be shuttled back and forth between the memory and compute elements in a computer. The physical distance is small, but the process can occur billions of times per second. Inevitably, the energy and time required to move so much data adds up. In response, computer engineers are designing specialized hardware accelerators with innovative architectures to improve the performance of such applications.

To foster a sustainable public health environment, a research team from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering has collaborated with experts from international universities, utilising big mobility data and advanced sensor technology to study urban air pollution. Their study has highlighted the significance of daily travel patterns, and race and ethnicity in assessing differences in residents’ exposure to air pollution, offering new insights for authorities worldwide when developing air pollution mitigation measures. The findings have been published in the international journal Nature Cities.

Recently researchers from SEOULTECH have pioneered a graphene-based laser lift-off technique that prevents damage while separating ultrathin OLED displays. By utilizing graphene's ability to absorb UV light and distribute heat, they have achieved pristine, flexible displays. This advancement opens doors for ultra-thin, stretchable devices that fit comfortably against human skin, revolutionizing wearable device technology.

While compound extreme events across the bulk of the planet are characterized by hot and dry conditions, those over polar ice sheets are predominantly associated with hot and wet conditions, according to a new study by an international research team. Analyzing 42 years of global weather, the researchers found that extreme warm events, or heatwaves, and extreme precipitation events, such as heavy rainfall, overlapped far more in Antarctica than in lower latitudes. This co-occurrence may also accelerate polar ice sheet melting, the team said.

 

Marine and coastal geoscience play a critical role in understanding ancient and modern geological history, offshore and coastal hazards, and climate change. Deep-water environments prevent scientists from directly visiting field sites, so unique methods must be employed for researching the ocean floor.One common approach is offshore drilling, which provides core samples that can be analyzed in laboratories. While this method is useful for retrieving otherwise inaccessible materials, it is expensive and has its limitations. A new study in Geosphere explores a more cost-effective alternative: deploying a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to record exposed rock layers on the ocean floor and construct virtual outcrops 

A research team led by Professor Chuyang Tang, Chair Professor from the Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), has developed a novel nanofiltration membrane using natural silk, which could revolutionise the process of water purification or treatment.

A pioneering study has achieved the first-ever telomere-to-telomere genome assembly of Penthorum chinense Pursh, a medicinal plant revered in traditional Chinese medicine for its anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective properties.