Why Is There So Much Plastic Food Packaging?

If it seems like plastic surrounds nearly every cucumber, apple and pepper in the produce aisle, it does. What began with cellophane in the 1930s picked up speed with the rise of plastic clamshells in the 1980s and bagged salads in the 1990s. Online grocery shopping turbocharged it. But now the race is on for…

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A Shape-Shifting Plastic With a Flexible Future

With restrictions on space and weight, what would you bring if you were going to Mars? An ideal option might be a single material that can shift shapes into any object you imagine. In the morning, you could mold that material into utensils for eating. When breakfast is done, you could transform your fork and…

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