Known as living plastics, these materials contain dormant microbes capable of degrading the surrounding polymer. In a study published in ACS Applied Polymer Materials, scientists developed a version that fully decomposed in six days without producing microplastics.

Zhuojun Dai, a corresponding author on the paper, explains that “the realization that traditional plastics persist for centuries, while many applications, like packaging, are short-lived, led us to ask: Could we build degradation directly into the material’s life cycle?”

Turning Microbes Into a Built-In Disposal System

Some microorganisms naturally produce enzymes that cut long polymer chains into smaller fragments. Since plastics are made from polymers, researchers have been investigating whether these enzymes, or the microbes that produce them, can be embedded directly into plastic materials.

“By embedding these microbes, plastics could effectively ‘come alive’ and self-destruct on command, turning durability from a problem into a programmable feature,” explains Dai.

Earlier living plastic designs often depended on a single enzyme, which limited how efficiently the material could be broken down. To improve the process, Dai, Jin Geng, Dianpeng Qi and colleagues engineered Bacillus subtilis to produce two polymer-degrading enzymes that work together.

The first enzyme cuts the long polymer chains at random points, reducing them into shorter sections. The second then works from the ends of those fragments, breaking them down further into their individual monomer building blocks.

Complete Breakdown in Six Days

The researchers combined dormant B. subtilis spores with polycaprolactone (a polymer common in 3D printing and some surgical sutures). Keeping the bacteria in spore form protected them until the team was ready to begin the degradation process.

The finished living plastic had mechanical properties similar to ordinary polycaprolactone films. It remained strong and functional under normal conditions, suggesting that adding the spores did not significantly weaken the material.

To activate the bacteria, the team added a nutrient broth heated to 122 degrees Fahrenheit (50 degrees Celsius). The spores became active and began producing the two enzymes. Within six days, the plastic had been completely reduced to its basic building blocks.

Because the enzymes worked in sequence, the material did not simply crumble into smaller plastic fragments. The process was efficient enough to prevent microplastics from forming during decomposition.

A Wearable Device That Disappears

To demonstrate a possible real-world use, the researchers made a wearable plastic electrode from the living material. The device worked as intended and then fully degraded within two weeks after activation.

The result suggests that living plastics could eventually be used in products that need to remain durable for a limited time but should not persist after they are discarded.

Expanding the Technology to Other Plastics

The team now hopes to develop a method that activates the bacterial spores in water, where a significant share of plastic pollution accumulates.

Although the experiments focused on a single polymer, the researchers believe the same general strategy could be adapted for other materials, including plastics widely used in disposable products.

The authors acknowledge funding from the National Key Research and Development Program of China, the Shenzhen Medical Research Fund, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Guangdong Natural Science Funds for Distinguished Young Scholars, and the Shenzhen Science and Technology Program.

A large outbreak of cyclosporiasis has been reported in at least four Midwestern states. Public health officials are interviewing people who became sick to learn what foods they ate before their symptoms began.

So far, investigators have not confirmed a specific food as the source. Health agencies are continuing to gather information in an effort to identify what caused the outbreak.

Cases Have Increased Since May

The CDC says it is concerned about the rise in cyclosporiasis cases since the beginning of May. In addition to the large multistate outbreak, federal and state officials are investigating several other clusters of illness across the United States.

Cyclosporiasis is generally not life threatening, but some people can become very sick and may need to be hospitalized. Anyone experiencing possible symptoms should contact a healthcare provider promptly.

CDC and FDA Collecting Outbreak Data

The CDC, public health and regulatory agencies in several states, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are reviewing multiple types of information as part of the investigation.

As of July 13, more than 400 people infected with Cyclospora had been reported to the CDC in connection with the outbreak. Cases have been identified in Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky.

The CDC is also aware of additional illnesses that remain under investigation. People linked to the outbreak reported becoming sick on or after June 22, 2026.

Actual Case Count May Be Higher

Health officials believe the true number of illnesses is probably greater than the confirmed total. The outbreak may also extend beyond the four states where cases have already been identified.

Some infected people recover without seeking medical care and are never tested for Cyclospora. Recent illnesses may also be missing from the official count because it can take several weeks to determine whether a case is connected to an outbreak.

To help identify the source, public health officials collect information from patients about their age, race, ethnicity, other demographic details, and the foods they ate before becoming sick. These responses may reveal patterns that help investigators trace the contaminated food.

What To Do If You Have Symptoms

Contact your healthcare provider if you develop symptoms of cyclosporiasis.

Symptoms can vary and usually appear about one week after infection (ranging from 2 days to 2 weeks or more).

Without treatment, symptoms may continue for several days, a month, or even longer.

Help Investigators Find the Contaminated Food

People diagnosed with cyclosporiasis may be contacted by local or state health officials. Investigators may ask what they ate during the two weeks before they became ill.

Providing detailed information can help health agencies identify the food responsible for the outbreak.

How To Reduce Your Risk

Learn which foods are more likely to be associated with cyclosporiasis and what steps can help prevent infection.

Consumers should also stay up to date on food recalls and outbreaks.

Guidance for Healthcare Providers

Healthcare providers should report cyclosporiasis cases to their local health department.

Additional information about symptoms, treatment, and patient management is available through Clinical Care of Cyclosporiasis.

The work comes from physicist Vinod M. Menon’s Laboratory for Nano and Micro Photonics (LaNMP). Researchers believe these unusual interactions could eventually support advanced optoelectronic devices and quantum technologies that manipulate light, charge, and electron spin together.

When Light and Magnetism Interact

In a review published in Nature Materials, titled “Excitons in van der Waals magnetic materials,” the researchers examine recent progress involving layered magnetic semiconductors. These materials allow light-generated excitations called excitons to interact with magnetic order and with magnetic waves known as magnons.

An exciton forms when incoming light energizes an electron and causes it to move, leaving behind a positively charged “hole.” The electron and hole remain linked, forming an electrically neutral particle that can still interact strongly with light. Magnons are different. They are collective waves that travel through the organized magnetic structure of a material.

Scientists have spent years trying to unite the optical properties of exciton-rich semiconductors with magnetism. Earlier strategies included adding magnetic atoms to semiconductors or stacking atomically thin semiconductors on top of magnetic materials.

Van der Waals magnetic semiconductors provide a more direct approach. Within these crystals, excitons and magnetic moments can emerge from the same electronic orbitals. This shared origin allows light and magnetism to influence one another inside the material itself.

“In these materials, light and magnetism no longer operate as separate channels,” said Pratap Chandra Adak, a postdoctoral researcher in Menon’s group and lead author of the Review. “An exciton is not just a passive light-driven excitation sitting on top of the magnetism. It can sense the spin order and magnons, and under the right conditions, even help control the magnetic state itself.”

Reading Magnetic States With Light

The Review examines several important material platforms, including chromium triiodide, nickel phosphorus trisulfide, and chromium sulfur bromide. Research on these two-dimensional magnets has revealed several ways that excitons and magnetic behavior can affect each other.

Excitons can significantly strengthen magneto-optical effects, allowing scientists to identify magnetic states by observing changes in the polarization of light. Magnetic order can also alter the energy of excitons and influence where they are confined within a material.

Interactions between excitons and magnons can connect optical signals with magnetic activity occurring at gigahertz frequencies. The researchers also discuss exciton polaritons, hybrid particles that combine properties of light and matter and can transport optical information through a material.

“Over the past few years, this field has moved from detecting magnetism in atomically thin crystals to actively exploring how magnetic order can control light-matter interactions,” said Menon, professor of physics and senior author of the Review. “The goal of this article is to bring those developments into a coherent framework and identify where the field can go next.”

New Possibilities for Quantum Technology

The researchers identify several potential applications that would depend on precise control of light and magnetism at extremely small scales. These include magneto-photonic memory and data readout, all-optical logic, adjustable light-emitting devices, magneto-optic lasers, and polaritonic technologies.

Another promising application involves quantum transducers. These devices convert signals between microwave and optical frequencies, a capability that could become important for connecting components in future quantum networks.

Major Scientific Challenges Remain

Despite the rapid progress, much of this field remains unexplored. Many possible materials have not yet been studied in detail, and scientists still need better theoretical models that can predict how excitons, electron spins, lattice vibrations, and photons behave when they interact at the same time.

Future research could investigate moiré magnetic excitons, the optical control of spin textures, magneto-photonic devices, magnetic exciton polariton condensation, and the conversion of microwave signals into optical signals for quantum communication.

Other co-authors include Florian Dirnberger of the Technical University of Munich; Swagata Acharya of the National Laboratory of the Rockies; Akashdeep Kamra of Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern-Landau; and Xiaodong Xu of the University of Washington.

The work at CCNY was supported by DARPA and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.