Practices in Science and Technology

The detection, isolation and environmental application of unculturable bacteria

2026-01-28T06:02:05+00:00

The modern industrialized world presents novel challenges to environmental science, requiring the constant development and deepening of knowledge. This is essential for characterizing new pollutants, better understanding bioremediation strategies, and identifying their limiting factors. The survival and activity of native microbial populations as well as their interactions with introduced microorganisms are critical to the effectiveness of bioremediation. Since the majority of natural microbiomes are still uncultivated, more research is required to understand their inherent roles in ecosystems. The identification, isolation, and environmental use of unculturable bacteria are the topics of this review.

A review on the strategies for bark beetle management

2026-01-28T11:21:57+00:00

Global forest decline has accelerated as a result of climate change's increasing sensitivity to forest ecosystems. Bark beetle outbreaks have grown to be a serious biotic hazard over the last century, resulting in extensive tree death. None of the management techniques intended to lower tree mortality and mitigate bark beetle populations have been successful. Furthermore, altered disturbance regimes, driven by a changing climate, have facilitated successful bark beetle attacks, characterized by shorter and multivoltine life cycles. This has resulted in more frequent tree mortality attributed to bark beetles. This paper looks at the dynamics of bark beetle populations in relation to forest stand dynamics, climate change, and different forest management techniques. These varied, cutting-edge approaches have the potential to successfully handle the difficulties of controlling bark beetles and enhancing forest health in reaction to climate change.

Impact of innovative food packaging technologies on shelf life extension and food waste reduction

2026-01-30T04:40:40+00:00

This study explores the advancements in smart packaging and shelf-life extension technologies that are transforming the post-harvest handling and marketing. Smart packaging incorporates innovative materials and embedded sensors to monitor freshness, detect spoilage, and improve communication along the supply chain, while shelf-life extension techniques aim to preserve the quality and nutritional value of fruits and vegetables and other food products for longer durations. This study reviews key technologies such as active and intelligent packaging, modified atmosphere packaging, edible coatings, and refrigeration innovations. It also discusses their role in reducing food waste, enhancing supply chain efficiency, and meeting consumer demand for fresh, safe produce. Additionally, the study highlights environmental considerations, challenges related to cost and adoption, and the potential for these technologies to support sustainable packaging practices. Overall, smart packaging and shelf-life extension represent crucial tools to improve product quality, reduce losses, and promote environmental sustainability.

Enzymatic degradation of plastic and optimization of microbial system for the production of its degrading enzymes

2026-07-14T13:47:41+00:00

This study outlines existing metabolic engineering techniques for bio-upcycling PET into high-value compounds, as well as a number of engineering approaches intended to improve the performance of PET-degrading enzymes. One of the most popular aromatic polyesters in the world, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) has an annual demand of over 29 million metric tons in 2022 and is expected to rise by 40% by 2030. Due to the growing amount of PET waste and the existing insufficiency of recycling techniques, it has accumulated in terrestrial ecosystems, posing serious hazards to world health. These technologies seek to convert recovered PET into more valuable items in order to address energy issues as well as environmental sustainability. One potentially biosustainable technique for handling and recycling plastics is enzyme-mediated biocatalytic depolymerization. Protein engineering developments have been applied to modify and improve the many plastic-degrading enzymes that have been discovered from microbial sources. Additionally, microbial metabolic engineering makes it possible to create customized microbial chassis that can break down PET substrates and transform the resulting monomers into compounds that are useful for industry.

Occurrence of QACs in soil and role in the selection of antibiotic resistance

2026-04-10T07:35:17+00:00

The rise of multi resistant pathogenic bacteria is a pressing 21^st century challenge and a significant threat to human health. To combat the proliferation of antimicrobial resistant pathogens, a more judicious use of antibiotics in medical treatments is essential. Quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) are high production volume, surface active antimicrobial chemicals widely used in agriculture. This review comprehensively examines QAC concentrations in soils and explores how these concentrations and the fate of QACs in soils influence the proliferation of antibiotic resistance in the environment. We also discuss predicted environmental concentrations for QACs applied to integrons, clay minerals, montmorillonite, and interlayer sorption.