Can we mine enough copper to develop the world?
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 10-Sep-2025 00:11 ET (10-Sep-2025 04:11 GMT/UTC)
The world can mine copper to fuel the green energy transition or it can mine copper to build the infrastructure of developing countries—but it will be extraordinarily difficult to do both, according to a University of Michigan study.
Natural rubber, one of the world's most widely manufactured biomaterials, has been used by humans for thousands of years. Its resistance to crack growth, however, hasn't improved much for decades.
Until now. Materials researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have devised a way to produce natural rubber that retains its key properties of stretchiness and durability while greatly improving its ability to resist cracking, even after repeated cycles of use.
The work is published in Nature Sustainability and is led by Professor Zhigang Suo.