A hierarchical fibre to trap and sense microplastics

Summary

Scientists have created a new fiber, inspired by the tiny hairs on bees' legs that collect pollen, that can catch and detect even trace amounts of microplastics. This matters because microplastics are increasingly found in our water, food, and even our bodies, but they're hard to spot and measure; better detection tools like this could help researchers figure out how much plastic pollution we're actually exposed to and guide efforts to reduce it.