In a remarkable stride towards environmental sustainability, researchers at the Department of Biotechnology and Medical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Rourkela, India, have developed a novel approach to predict the adsorption capacity of biochar using machine learning. This breakthrough, detailed in their latest study titled "Machine Learning-Driven Prediction of Biochar Adsorption Capacity for Effective Removal of Congo Red Dye," offers a powerful solution to combat dye pollution.

To understand the aerodynamics of a dental drill, which can contribute to odontophobia, Tomomi Yamada and her collaborators used Japan’s flagship supercomputer to conduct large-scale aeroacoustics simulations. They analyzed the internal and external airflow of the dental drill, which can generate high-pitched sounds reaching nearly 20 kilohertz, and tested its psychological effects with children and adults. Now, Yamada and her colleagues are working on optimizing the blade geometry and exhaust port of the drill to minimize the noise while maintaining the performance.

To a human, microplastics are very small at less than 5 millimeters (mm) wide. But to an insect, microplastics might be the same size as the food they usually eat. Researchers reporting in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology have shown that crickets can and will consume polyethylene microplastics if their mouth is larger than the plastic particle. The study suggests that crickets — and likely many other insects — cannot distinguish plastic from food.