Every year, millions of tires end up in landfills, creating an environmental crisis with far-reaching consequences. In the United States alone, over 274 million tires were scrapped in 2021, with nearly a fifth of them being discarded into landfills. The accumulation of these waste materials presents not only a space issue but also introduces environmental hazards, such as chemical leaching and spontaneous combustion. While pyrolysis—a process that chemically recycles rubber through high-temperature decomposition—is widely used, it generates harmful byproducts like benzene and dioxins, posing health and environmental risks. A US Department of Energy-funded study, “Deconstruction of Rubber via C-H Amination and Aza-Cope Rearrangement,” recently published in Nature and led by Dr Aleksandr Zhukhovitskiy, William R Kenan, Jr. Fellow and Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at UNC-Chapel Hill, introduces a novel chemical method for breaking down rubber waste.

Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/

A new study has revealed that African elephants have an extraordinary ability to meet their colossal food requirements as efficiently as possible. Data from over 150 elephants demonstrated that these giants plan their journeys based on energy costs and resource availability. The findings—published recently in the Journal of Animal Ecology—could provide crucial information to help protect these iconic animals and their habitats. Being an elephant is no easy task. As massive herbivores weighing several tonnes, they must consume vast amounts of low-calorie vegetation every day. However, their sheer size means that moving around to find food costs significant physical effort. Understanding how elephants move through the landscape is essential for designing effective conservation strategies, particularly as habitat fragmentation and human activities continue to threaten populations.

Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/