It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Thursday, September 10, 2026
New research rethinks plastic from the inside out
Changing the molecular architecture – rather than chemical ingredients – can create stronger, more flexible materials with potential for sustainable packaging.
(From left) Yifan Cheng, assistant professor of food science and technology, with Ph.D. students Huida Duan, Ziyu Huo, and Xiaoyu Xie, in the lab of chemical engineering associate professor Rong Tong, who is in Japan for the fall 2026 semester.
What if the key to making stronger, more sustainable plastics isn't changing their ingredients, but rearranging their molecules?
Virginia Tech researchers have put that idea to the test, creating degradable polymers with a new molecular architecture that combines properties that are often difficult to achieve in one material: strength, toughness, flexibility, and the ability to block oxygen.
The findings could have implications for food packaging, which needs to keep oxygen out while remaining strong and flexible enough to withstand processing, transportation, and storage. By rearranging polymer chains into rings, the researchers created materials that blocked oxygen as effectively as a widely studied biodegradable plastic while being significantly tougher and better able to stretch without breaking.
Most conventional plastics consist of long, linear molecular chains. The research team, which included Ph.D. students Ziyu Huo, Xiaoyu Xie, and Huida Duan, altered plastic's molecular architecture.
The researchers joined the ends of polymer chains to form continuous rings. They also controlled the sequence of the molecules within each ring, gradually changing the composition from one type of building block to another to create what researchers call a “gradient” polymer.
The resulting polymers contained properties that are often difficult to achieve together.
“By controlling both the shape and the sequence, we are able to make materials that are strong, tough, flexible, and good at blocking oxygen,” Tong said.
One material recovered much of its shape after being stretched and fractured. Tong said the combination of strength and toughness was particularly surprising.
“Usually, when you improve the strength of a material, you have to make some sacrifices — the material could become more brittle, for example,” he said. “But here, we see both the strength and the toughness improve together. That shows us that the ring-shaped structure and the controlled arrangement work together in a way we haven't seen in previous approaches.”
Food packaging potential
Several of these cyclic polymers showed oxygen-barrier properties comparable to polylactic acid, or PLA, a widely studied biodegradable plastic.
PLA blocks oxygen well, an important property for food packaging because oxygen exposure can degrade food. But its brittleness limits broader use in packaging.
The Virginia Tech materials matched PLA's oxygen-barrier performance while demonstrating substantially greater toughness and ductility.
“For decades, developing better plastics has largely focused on changing what they're made of,” Cheng said. “Our work suggests that how the molecules are arranged, whether as lines or circles, can be just as important. That opens up an entirely new design space for creating packaging that protects food, performs well, and is easier to recycle or recover at the end of its life. Creating better food packaging is a balancing act, and these cyclic polymers give us a new way to balance strength, functionality, and sustainability at the same time.”
What’s next for the research
The materials are not yet ready for commercial food packaging. Tong and Cheng next plan to process the polymers into films and other forms to test how they withstand storage and transportation conditions — and whether their molecular building blocks can be recycled or recovered.
For Tong, the possibility of recovering and reusing those building blocks is a key goal. “The material itself is degradable,” he said. “But for more economic applications, we hope not only to degrade it, but also to recycle it and use the degraded material to make additional plastics.”
That vision may still be a long way from the grocery-store shelf, but the research points to another approach to designing plastics: changing molecular architecture to balance performance, degradability, and the potential for material recovery.
A four-year randomized controlled trial tested whether unconditional cash transfers to low-income mothers could alter biological indicators of aging in them and their children.
In the Baby’s First Years study, one thousand mothers with low income were randomized to receive either $333/month or $20/month during their child's first four years of life. Using measures of the child’s epigenome — biological mechanisms that regulate how genes are expressed — the researchers found that higher cash transfers caused a small difference in an indicator of children's biological aging linked to better long-term health outcomes. Because of the randomized controlled trial design, the researchers concluded that these changes were caused by receipt of the higher cash transfer, rather than other factors.
"Previous research has shown correlational evidence in other studies suggesting that poverty may accelerate epigenetic aging in children, but correlations alone can't tell us whether intervening can slow that process. So it is notable to see a causal impact of the cash transfers. It supports the notion that addressing childhood poverty is a public health priority to protect long-term health," says lead author Laurel Raffington, research group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development.
Previous Baby's First Years studies found that mothers who received higher cash transfers increased their spending on and time in activities with their young children, and the intervention may have caused increased fast-paced brain activity in patterns associated with subsequent cognitive development. However, no differences have been found in other measures of children's health, cognitive, or behavioral development. The current study demonstrates that even without accompanying psychosocial or nutrition interventions, cash transfers alone can produce small, but potentially important, effects on children's biology.
Epigenetic measures respond to factors such as stress, nutrition, and aging, and have been linked to the pace of adult aging and the timing of disease onset. The differences in children's epigenetics across the two groups were small, and “it remains to be seen whether these differences persist as children grow older,” note senior authors Kimberly Noble and Kathryn Paige Harden. “If these differences do persist,” Noble, Professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, continues, “this work has the potential to inform early childhood interventions aiming to reduce disparities in health, disease, and longevity.” Harden, Professor at the University of Texas at Austin, agreed, saying that, “The fact that we already see differences in four-year-old children in their biological aging is striking.”
There was no evidence of differences in biological aging among the mothers themselves, which is consistent with the theory that the effect may be somewhat specific to the developmental period of early childhood. While these results are encouraging, it is not yet known whether biological changes measured at age four predict long-term health outcomes in adulthood — highlighting the importance of continued follow-up of this cohort.
At a glance
A four-year randomized controlled trial tested whether unconditional cash transfers to low-income mothers could alter biological indicators of aging in them and their children.
In the Baby's First Years study, 1,000 low-income mothers were randomly assigned to receive $333 or $20 per month; by age four, children in the higher-transfer group showed epigenetic markers linked to a slower pace of biological aging.
Because assignment was random, researchers could attribute this effect directly to the cash transfers themselves, even without added psychosocial or nutrition support.
Mothers' own biological aging did not differ between groups, and it remains unknown whether the children's epigenetic differences persist or predict long-term health outcomes.
Over the next seven weeks, the harbour of the small community of Taliarte on the east coast of Gran Canaria will become an open-air laboratory. In twelve mesocosms – giant floating test tubes closed off from the surrounding seawater – an international research team led by the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel is testing for the first time whether concrete rubble is suitable for increasing the alkalinity of seawater. Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE) mimics the process of natural rock weathering and can increase the ocean’s ability to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere.
“This year’s experiment is about comparing a liquid source of alkalinity with ground concrete rubble and assess how well both substances are tolerated by the marine environment,” explains Emeritus Prof. Dr Ulf Riebesell, a marine biologist at GEOMAR and co-lead of the experiment. The experiment forms part of the international research project OceanAlkAlign, which aims to standardise measurement and assessment methods for OAE, thereby creating a robust basis for future decisions.
An open-air laboratory at PLOCAN
It is no coincidence that the experiment is taking place in Taliarte: the Canary Islands Marine Research Institute PLOCAN (Plataforma Oceánica de Canarias), a long-standing research partner of GEOMAR, is located right by the harbour there. It is from here that the mesocosms are deployed, filled and monitored throughout the entire duration of the experiment.
Why we need CO2 removal
The idea of adding extra alkalinity to the sea forms part of a wider context. Since the start of industrialisation, the CO2 content of the atmosphere has risen sharply; a significant proportion of the gas dissolves in the ocean, altering its chemistry. The result is progressive acidification, which can put particular pressure on organisms that form calcareous structures – such as mussels or corals. At the same time, the additional CO2 is driving global warming.
According to many current scenarios, emission reductions alone will not be sufficient to achieve the targets of the Paris Agreement. Consequently, methods for active CO2 removal (Carbon Dioxide Removal, CDR) are coming to the fore. OAE is regarded as an option with high potential, provided it can be implemented effectively and in an environmentally responsible manner.
Increasing the buffer capacity of seawater
Ocean alkalisation involves increasing the buffering capacity of seawater. Put simply, this reduces seawater pH which enables the ocean to absorb additional CO2 and store it in more stable dissolved forms. This is chemically straightforward; however, it remains unclear how marine ecosystems react to different sources of alkalinity, concentrations and forms of input, and where the tolerance limits lie. This is precisely where the mesocosm experiments come in: like giant test tubes, they replicate a section of the ecosystem, including planktonic food webs, microorganisms and biogeochemical processes, thereby enabling controlled comparisons.
Concrete rubble: waste with potential – and with questions
Concrete rubble is one of the largest waste streams worldwide: an estimated five billion tonnes are generated each year, and only a fraction of this has been reused to date. Because concrete contains cement, which has alkaline properties, finely ground material could, in principle, serve as a source of alkalinity. Model estimates are therefore exploring whether large quantities of CO2 could be sequestered in this way in the long term.
However, a material that appears unproblematic on land can have different effects in the sea: particles can increase turbidity or harm microorganisms, which in turn could have an impact on food webs. “A waste product does not automatically become a sustainable solution simply because it is available,” says Associate Professor Dr Kai Schulz of Southern Cross University (Australia), co-leader of the experiment. “We need data showing under what conditions OAE could be ecologically acceptable and where the limits lie.”
How the experiment works
Natural plankton communities are being observed over several weeks in the twelve mesocosms. The team is using a comparative approach: some of the systems are being fed ground concrete rubble in increasing quantities, whilst other mesocosms are treated with liquid sodium hydroxide (NaOH) as a reference for ‘pure’ alkalinity; there are also control systems with no additions.
Measurements include changes in the water’s carbon dioxide system (including pH and alkalinity), CO2 uptake, and biological parameters: the composition and productivity of phytoplankton, zooplankton responses, microbial processes, and indications of shifts in the food web. This enables both the effectiveness and any potential side effects along the food chain to be assessed.
Objective: to define a ‘safe operating space’
The results from Taliarte are intended to help determine threshold values: which dosages alter the water chemistry in the desired way – and at what point do ecological effects become apparent? What differences are evident between solid particles and dissolved alkalinity? And how can findings from laboratory, mesocosm and field studies be combined in such a way that they serve as a sound scientific basis for decision-making? “Understanding before scaling up – that is the crux of the matter,” emphasises Schulz. “If OAE is ever to be discussed on a larger scale, it must be based solely on transparent data regarding benefits and risks.”
About: KOSMOS Mesocosms
Since 2006, GEOMAR has been using its self-developed “Kiel Off-Shore Mesocosms for Future Ocean Simulations” (KOSMOS) to investigate questions of ocean change under realistic conditions. In 23 experiments to date, the focus has included ocean acidification, warming, nutrient dynamics and potential countermeasures such as artificial upwelling or various OAE approaches.
Physics based AI unlocks first global predictions of carbon cycling in ocean sediments
Researchers at The University of Manchester have developed a new physics‑based artificial intelligence approach that, for the first time, enables accurate global‑scale predictions of how dissolved organic carbon moves between seawater and marine sediments, a crucial but previously unquantifiable component of the planet’s carbon cycle. The work, led by Dr Peyman Babakhani from the Department of Civil Engineering and Management and carried out in collaboration with Dr Majid Sedighi, reveals how relatively simple AI algorithms can successfully emulate complex mechanistic environmental models that are normally too computationally demanding to run on a planetary scale.
Solving mechanistic models of natural environments is notoriously time‑consuming and often unstable under diverse real‑world conditions. To overcome this, the team trained AI “emulators” to reproduce the behaviour of an existing mechanistic model that describes carbon cycling in ocean sediments. Once trained, these emulators could then be applied globally to predict dissolved organic carbon behaviour at a resolution and scale that were not feasible using the original numerical model alone.
The study reveals that 11% of the particulate organic carbon arriving at the seafloor is returned to seawater as dissolved organic carbon, while 24% is sorbed onto minerals. Strikingly, about half of all solid‑phase organic carbon in the upper metre of marine sediments appears to originate from dissolved carbon that has been sorbed onto minerals. These findings provide the first global quantification of dissolved organic carbon cycling within sediments and highlight its significance within Earth’s long‑term carbon budget.
In developing the modelling framework, the researchers compared deep learning architectures, random forest models and simpler feedforward artificial neural networks. Unexpectedly, the simplest algorithms produced the most accurate predictions. The team confirmed these results by validating emulator outputs against low‑resolution global maps, where the mechanistic model remained numerically solvable, as well as against algebraic solutions for variables with known analytic expressions. They also found that increasing the complexity of the neural network structures consistently reduced prediction accuracy, offering rare empirical support for the Principle of Parsimony, also known as Occam’s Razor, within AI model development.
These insights have important implications for climate science. Quantifying carbon budgets across the sediment–water interface is essential for understanding global climate dynamics but has historically been hindered by computational limitations. By providing a fast, scalable and accurate way to represent sediment carbon processes, the new AI‑based framework can be integrated into global circulation models and used to explore potential ocean‑based climate change mitigation strategies. The research opens new avenues for simulating and testing how marine carbon reservoirs may respond to environmental change in the coming decades.
Dr Peyman Babakhani, Lecturer in Geoenvironmental Engineering said "The modelling framework developed in this study can play a substantial role in testing potential ocean‑based climate change mitigation scenarios in silico. With this approach, we can finally explore global‑scale carbon cycling processes that were previously impossible to quantify."
Global cycling of dissolved organic carbon between seawater and sediments quantified using physics-based artificial intelligence
Article Publication Date
8-Sep-2026
CSIC awards its Extraordinary Medal for Scientific Merit to economist Daron Acemoglu
The institution presents him with this award in recognition of his contributions to the study of institutions and their role in economic development, democracy, and technological progress
The Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), an agency affiliated with the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, has awarded its Extraordinary Medal for Scientific Merit to economist Daron Acemoglu, in recognition of his outstanding scientific achievements and his exceptional contribution to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of economics, political economy, and the study of institutions and development. The presentation ceremony of the distinction will be held next December.
Through a scientific career of international impact, Acemoglu has contributed to the understanding of some of the major challenges facing modern societies. In particular, his analysis of how political institutions condition economic institutions and, through them, long-term economic prosperity has provided a framework of reference for understanding both the success and failure of nations.
The jury highlighted that, “at a time when fundamental democratic principles, such as the rule of law, the protection of fundamental rights, and respect for pluralism, face new challenges in different parts of the world, his work provides important theoretical insights and valuable analytical elements for informed public debate and the design of public policies”.
An internationally recognized career
Acemoglu graduated from the University of York (United Kingdom) in 1989 and received his PhD in 1992 from the London School of Economics, where he taught for a year. In 1993, he became a faculty member at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Throughout his career, he has published more than a hundred articles in international journals such as the 'American Economic Review', the 'Quarterly Journal of Economics', or the 'Review of Economic Studies', as well as four books. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the European Economic Association, and the Econometric Society, and served as editor of the journal 'Econometrica'.
Acemoglu is the author of an extensive scientific output and numerous works that have had a wide international impact. Among his most impactful works is Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty, published alongside James A. Robinson, where they delve into the concept of inclusive institutions—those that encourage investment and innovation and provide a level playing field.
Another fundamental axis of Acemoglu's work is the study of technological progress and its economic and social effects. His research has analyzed how innovation can transform economies and how its benefits and costs are distributed among different groups in society.
Throughout his professional career, he has received numerous distinctions, including the John Bates Clark Medal in 2005 from the American Economic Association and the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in 2016. In 2024, he received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, alongside Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson, for their studies on how institutions are formed and how they affect prosperity.
The CSIC Extraordinary Medal for Scientific Merit
The CSIC Extraordinary Medal for Scientific Merit, formerly known as the CSIC Gold Medal, has recognized since its creation in 1989 individuals or entities that have made exceptional contributions to the advancement of science and technology. Among the figures who have received this distinction are, among others, British scientist Stephen Hawking, awarded in 1989; American Nobel laureate Roy J. Glauber in 2008; Colombian neuroscientist Rodolfo Llinás in 2012; astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell in 2015; Nobel laureate in Physics Donna Strickland, distinguished in 2023; and Spanish biophysicist Eva Nogales, recognized in 2024 for her pioneering work in the field of visualizing macromolecular function using cryo-electron microscopy.
