that one bird guy

Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus), family Bombycillidae, Kuusamo, Finland

"The substances behind the slimy strings from okra and the gel from fenugreek seeds could trap microplastics better than a commonly used synthetic polymer.

Texas researchers proposed in 2022 using these sticky natural polymers to clean up water. Now, they’ve found that okra and/or fenugreek extracts attracted and removed up to 90% of microplastics from ocean water, freshwater, and groundwater.

With funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, Rajani Srinivasan and colleagues at Tarleton State University found that the plant-based polymers from okra, fenugreek, and tamarind stick to microplastics, clumping together and sinking for easy separation from water.

In this next stage of the research, they have optimized the process for okra and fenugreek extracts and tested results in a variety of types of water.

To extract the sticky plant polymers, the team soaked sliced okra pods and blended fenugreek seeds in separate containers of water overnight. Then, researchers removed the dissolved extracts from each solution and dried them into powders.

Analyses published in the American Chemical Society journal showed that the powdered extracts contained polysaccharides, which are natural polymers. Initial tests in pure water spiked with microplastics showed that:

One gram of either powder in a quart (one liter) of water trapped microplastics the most effectively.

Dried okra and fenugreek extracts removed 67% and 93%, respectively, of the plastic in an hour.

A mixture of equal parts okra and fenugreek powder reached maximum removal efficiency (70%) within 30 minutes.

The natural polymers performed significantly better than the synthetic, commercially available polyacrylamide polymer used in wastewater treatment.

Then the researchers tested the plant extracts on real microplastic-polluted water. They collected samples from waterbodies around Texas and brought them to the lab. The plant extract removal efficiency changed depending on the original water source.

Okra worked best in ocean water (80%), fenugreek in groundwater (80-90%), and the 1:1 combination of okra and fenugreek in freshwater (77%).

The researchers hypothesize that the natural polymers had different efficiencies because each water sample had different types, sizes and shapes of microplastics.

Polyacrylamide, which is currently used to remove contaminants during wastewater treatment, has low toxicity, but its precursor acrylamide is considered toxic. Okra and fenugreek extracts could serve as biodegradable and nontoxic alternatives.

“Utilizing these plant-based extracts in water treatment will remove microplastics and other pollutants without introducing additional toxic substances to the treated water,” said Srinivasan in a media release, “thus reducing long-term health risks to the population.”

She had previously studied the use of food-grade plant extracts as non-toxic flocculants to remove textile-based pollutants from wastewater and thought, ‘Why not try microplastics?’"

Next up someone is going to claim that the Narnia series isn't kids books.

We need to stop thinking "children's book" = "picture book". That's not true.

A Series of Unfortunate Events is a children's book series.

Narnia is a children's book series.

The Hobbit is a children's book.

Watership Down is a children's book.

The Jungle Book is a children's book.

A Secret Garden is a children's book.

A Little Princess is a children's book.

Animorphs is a children's book series.

Hatchet is a children's book.

Bud, Not Buddy is a children's book.

The Day No Pigs Would Die is a children's book.

Charlotte's Web is a children's book.

Ramona Quimby, Age 8 is a children's book.

Alice in Wonderland is a children's book.

Out Of The Dust is a children's book.

Many of these books have won children's book awards for being such good children's books. None of them are picture books though. I have read all of these as a child. And a lot of these books contain death, because that is not inappropriate for children, it's part of life and children need to learn about it. These books contain stuff like abuse, racism, hunting, battle, survival, suffering, and other things I've heard some people say children should not be "exposed to". Reading about them in these books did not do me harm, in fact it did a lot of good because it taught me about those things and that they can be survived and are extant and there are words for them. Which is part of what books are supposed to do!

Any book written for children, pictures or no, is a children's book. Large thin picture books that rhyme are not the only thing that counts as a children's book. Those are picture books. The ones specifically designed for reading practise are traditionally called readers. Cat in the Hat is a reader, a picture book, AND a children's book. The Talking Eggs is a picture book and a children's book. There used to be readers that did not have pictures!

You need to read stuff that has death and upsetting things in it in order to understand those things exist and how people might cope with them. You cannot just go around saying that children should only read Dick and Jane. Have you MET a child, do you REMEMBER being a child??? Being a kid is often horrifying.

We do not tell stories about monsters to tell kids there's monsters in the world--they know that, they experience that every day. We tell them stories about monsters to show them kids like them and unlike them experience the monsters and survive, sometimes even defeat them.

you're a little bit feral, but that's okay—you weren't socialised as a puppy. it's not your fault. you mean well!

Chief: God dammit, O'Malley. You gotta play by the rules or the DA is gonna have your ass.