A new study highlights five ways microplastics can trigger inflammation and damage in the brain.

Every bit of technology fails eventually, whether time, wear-and-tear, adverse conditions, or perhaps a mixture of all three are the cause of its demise. Yet predicting when technology might fail is notoriously difficult. When designing equipment for clear-energy systems, engineers often over compensate for this by designing it to withstand more stress than needed. This generates waste, and can sometimes inadvertently increase the wear and tear on materials. Now, an international research team has developed a way to more accurately predict how long mechanical-equipment used in green technology will last, potentially leading to more efficient design processes.

A new study published in Biochar reports that sulfur-modified wheat straw biochar can dramatically reduce the toxic effects of vanadium contamination in rice, offering a promising and sustainable strategy to protect global food production in polluted regions. Vanadium is a heavy metal increasingly found in agricultural soils due to mining, smelting, fertilizer overuse, and wastewater irrigation. Even moderate exposure can stunt plant growth, damage photosynthesis, and impair the antioxidant defenses that keep crops healthy.

KUALA LUMPUR / GLASGOW — As the world races to meet ambitious climate targets, nature-based strategies are gaining unprecedented traction—and biomass is stepping into the spotlight not just as renewable fuel, but as a powerful carbon sink. On December 17, 2025, leading sustainability expert Prof. Dato’ Dr. Agamutu Pariatamby FASc, Senior Professor at the Jeffrey Sachs Center on Sustainable Development, Sunway University (Malaysia), will unveil groundbreaking insights into how bio-based carbon capture can deliver up to 6.7 gigatonnes of CO₂-equivalent (GtCO₂e) in annual mitigation potential by 2050—according to IPCC (2022) estimates.

The University of Texas at Arlington and the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) celebrated the grand opening of a new biomanufacturing training and research hub at Pegasus Park in Dallas on Thursday afternoon.