The bacterium Bacillus subtilis can be found anywhere from soil to a human’s gastrointestinal tract. Known as hay or grass bacillus, B. subtilis is often used as an agricultural plant to deter pests.

When the going gets tough for certain bacteria, they form into spores that can withstand the harshest of environments. Scientists have now utilized that fact to produce "living plastic" that ...

Strips of plain TPU (top) and "living" TPU (bottom) at different stages of decomposition over five months of being in compost. A new type of bioplastic could help reduce the plastic industry’s ...

Researchers led by a team at the University of California San Diego have developed a biodegradable form of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) that could help reduce the plastic industry’s environmental ...

Facing starvation and stress conditions, some bacteria enter a dormant state in which life processes stop. Shutting down into a deep dormancy allows these cells, called spores, to withstand punishing ...

One reason plastic waste persists in the environment is because there’s not much that can eat it. The chemical structure of most polymers is stable and different enough from existing food sources that ...

A new type of bioplastic could help reduce the plastic industry's environmental footprint. Researchers have developed a biodegradable form of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) filled with bacterial ...