Scientists think their biotech breakthrough could end plastic waste forever

Humans generated about 485 billion pounds of plastic waste in 2024 – an amount so large it’s incredibly difficult to comprehend. One quick drink or single shipment box often lingers for centuries, so researchers keep hunting for materials that disappear safely after use.

Now Maksud Rahman, a mechanical engineer at the University of Houston, and collaborators at Rice University report bacterial cellulose sheets that rival metal for strength yet compost like paper.

This biopolymer is spun outside the cell wall of species such as Novacetimonas hansenii, forming ribbons only a few nanometers thick that lock together like Velcro and can reach tensile strength values above 400 MPa.

Because the fiber network is pure, porous, and matches human tissue chemistry, clinicians already test it as a transparent wound covering that eases pain and speeds healing.

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Black Sabbath - "War Pigs" Live at Ozzfest 2005

Traveling

 

Lara Trump

 

Dinesh D'Souza

 

Sarah Westall

 

Getaway

 

Bongino Report

 

Diamond & Silk

 

Racing

 

Thrivetime

 

TimcastIRL

 

Jeep

 

Brooking Brief

Social Security payments have become an increasingly relevant income support for children

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Trump unveils “massive” trade deal with Japan, including a 15% tariff. President Trump announced that an agreement had been reached Tuesday night that would impose “reciprocal” tariffs on Japanese goods entering the US at 15%. That’s lower than the 25% Trump previously threatened, but still high for a tariff on a major trading partner—and the lower figure includes tariffs on cars, which have been facing a 25% duty since April. The deal also calls for Japan to invest $550 billion in the US, with the US receiving “90% of the profits,” according to Trump. The news pushed Japanese markets to a one-year high yesterday, with automakers getting the biggest boost. US car companies, which have recently reported big losses due to tariffs, criticized the deal.

Elon Musk says Tesla could have a “rough” road ahead after sales slumped. Tesla’s profit fell 16% last quarter to $1.17 billion compared to $1.4 billion for the same period a year ago as sales of its cars declined. With sales down and the loss of US incentives for consumers to buy EVs due to the recently passed Republican tax bill, Musk said the company would eventually be buoyed by an expanding robotaxi fleet, but that it may not happen until next year. “We probably could have a few rough quarters. I’m not saying we will, but we could,” Musk told analysts yesterday.

Alphabet’s sales are up from AI, but so is its spending. Alphabet’s $96.4 billion revenue haul for Q2 exceeded expectations, boosted by a 32% year over year revenue growth in its cloud computing business. But the Google parent also reminded investors that you need to spend money to make money—especially in the red-hot AI race. The company bumped its expected capital expenditures for the year up to $85 billion, which is $10 billion higher than the amount it reported in February. The company said the extra cash was necessary to support the “strong and growing demand for our Cloud products and services.”—AR

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Robert Reich

Illustration by Till Lauer for The New Yorker

What did he know, and when did he know it?
From Watergate to Epsteingate

Friends,

Here are the two contradictions lying at the heart of the contretemps over Trump and Jeffrey Epstein:

1. As early as May, Trump knew his name was in the Epstein files. Attorney General Pam Bondi and her deputy informed Trump at a meeting in the White House that his name appeared “multiple times.”

But on July 15, when a journalist asked Trump, “Did [Bondi] tell you at all that your name appeared in the files?” Trump responded, “No, no.”

2. Bondi said in February that Epstein’s client list was “sitting on my desk right now to review.”

But on July 7, the Justice Department stated that a thorough review had turned up no list of Epstein’s clients.

Neither of these is evidence that Trump was involved in Epstein’s activities with underage girls. But together they suggest a cover-up — which can kill a presidency.

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