According to Deng Hongbing, a professor from the School of Resource and Environmental Sciences, Wuhan University, who led the research team, the two raw materials used in making the sponge, squid bone and cotton, are easy to obtain and available at low cost, making the biomass fibrous sponge an effective and cost-efficient solution to address the complex issue of microplastic pollution in water
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The sponge developed by using chitin extracted from squid bone and cotton cellulose can adsorb various common microplastics - small pieces of plastic less than 5 millimeters in length - from food packaging, textiles, and other industrial products.
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The research team evaluated the fibrous foam's performance using samples from four typical water sources including irrigation water, lake water, seawater, and pond water.
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They found that the adsorption capacity of the material was basically unaffected by inorganic particles, heavy metals, organic pollutants, or microorganisms in the water, confirming its stability in real aquatic environments.
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Large-scale production of this sponge is highly feasible, as its raw materials are simple to obtain, and the equipment required for its production, which includes freeze dryers and mechanical stirrers are widely available
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If the large-scale production of the biomass fibrous sponge proves to be successful, the sponge is expected to be applied in large-scale water treatment or household water purifiers in the near future
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Source: Chinese scientists develop biodegradable sponge capable of removing 99.8% of microplastics from water - GlobalTimes
OpenCRISPR-1, the first AI-designed editor for precise genome editing. Exciting to learn that, this novel AI-based approach for designing CRISPR gene editors could potentially expand the capabilities and applications of genome-editing technologies. In fact, In a recent study , researchers at Profluent Bio (Berkeley, CA, USA) used artificial intelligence (AI) to design novel CRISPR gene editors that are functional and that show comparable or improved genome-editing activity and specificity relative to naturally occurring gene editors, despite being hundreds of mutations away from any known natural protein. This innovative approach has yielded OpenCRISPR-1, the first AI-generated gene editor. In a proof-of-concept study, OpenCRISPR-1 demonstrated comparable efficiency to the widely used Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9 (SpCas9) while offering improved specificity. This development not only expands the CRISPR toolbox but also paves the way for creating gene editors tailored to spec...
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