Rice feeds billions of people – but its role in fueling climate change is growing 
NASA's Artemis II Mission: First Crewed Lunar Journey Since Apollo 
Gold Prices Steady as Hot PPI Boosts Fed Rate Hike Bets 
Japanese Yen Nears Seven-Month High as Oil Approaches $100 
Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions 
SpaceX Pivots Toward Moon City as Musk Reframes Long-Term Space Vision 
Neuralink Expands Brain Implant Trials with 12 Global Patients 
Asian Currencies Steady as Yen Holds Firm, Oil Tops $100 
Fitch Eyes Japan Budget for Fiscal Discipline 
As the Black Summer megafires neared, people rallied to save wildlife and domestic animals. But it came at a real cost 
Swimming in the sweet spot: how marine animals save energy on long journeys 
How to create a thriving forest, not box-checking ‘tree cover’ 
Add as a preferred source on Google
Japanese researchers have found a way to create “self-repairing plastics” that can be used in many products and reduce the amount of waste now polluting the planet.
It might have practical applications for home electronics, furniture, smartphone screens, eyeglass frames, aircraft, and cars.
Their findings were presented at the annual conference of the Chemical Society of Japan.
Takuzo Aida, a chemistry professor at the University of Tokyo, and his colleagues said a tiny amount of a specialized agent mixed into ordinary plastic can automatically heal cracks and fissures.
The process, according to Aida, might lead to the production of long-lasting, sustainable plastic that does not need to be wasted or recycled.
According to a report released in February by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), only 9% of plastics were recycled globally in 2019.
Non-recycled plastics are buried or burnt, and some of them end up in the ocean. Plastic is especially harmful to the environment since it does not degrade in nature.
Aida and others created a polymeric material called polyether thiourea in 2018 that can self-heal damage when its pieces are rubbed against one other at ambient temperature.
In the most recent study, the scientists applied the same plastic substance at a 20 percent rate to another plastic ingredient that did not have a self-repair capability.
The findings revealed that the mixed plastic may self-repair at room temperature.
Plastic is made up of several linked chains of molecules. When plastic materials degrade, the molecular linkages dissolve.
To repair molecular linkages, items made of regular plastic must be melted at high temperatures.
Hydrogen bonding is a process that the newly discovered plastic uses to repair damaged molecular chains. Damaged parts can be fully repaired by putting them together at room temperature for about an hour.
The team claims that scars inside the plastic that are not visible to the human eye can also be treated.
If varied amounts of components are utilized, the scientists expect the method can generate self-mending plastics with various properties.
