plastic

In a move that will probably surprise few, Plastic Logic announced Tuesday that it's canceling plans for its pricey Que e-reader.

Plastic Logic had already delayed the Que several times after showing early versions of the product for years. Starting at $649, the Que was priced well above the iPad and many notebook computers, not to mention all other e-readers on the market. And that was before a recent spate of price cuts that has pushed the price of the Kindle, Nook, and many other devices below $200.

"We recognize the market has dramatically changed, and with the … Read more

Plastiki, a boat constructed of discarded soft-drink bottles, arrived Monday in Sydney, Australia, completing an 11,000-mile journey across the Pacific Ocean intended to draw attention to the way humans treat the environment.

The 60-foot catamaran set sail from Sausalito, Calif., just north of the Golden Gate Bridge, on March 20. Buoyancy was provided by more 12,000 recycled 2-liter bottles donated by Waste Management, which were washed, cleaned, and pressurized before being installed in the boat's twin pontoons.

Banking heir and expedition leader David de Rothschild runs the Adventure Ecology educational organization and is the mastermind behind the … Read more

A word of caution to those waiting for the Plastic Logic Que to arrive: it may never come.

The company has apparently canceled its customer's preorders for the large touch-screen e-ink e-book reader that starts at a whopping $650 and goes up to $800 for a model with both Wi-Fi and 3G wireless connectivity.

According to Wired's Gadget Lab blog, the company hasn't officially canceled the Que, but is calling the latest setback a "delay." However, most people who cover the e-book reader space expect this to signal doom for the device, which has already … Read more

Turns out the iPhone grip of death is simply a "fact of life" with all wireless phones. If holding your phone makes your iPhone 4 signal drop dramatically, Apple would like you to know you should either hold it a different way or buy a case. From them. That sounds logical, right? Right. No, thanks. Also, introducing Rafe's new side project, oneleggedgoat.xxx. Enjoy.

Imagine a day when doctors could inject you with cheap synthetic antibodies if your body wasn't producing enough of the virus- and bacteria-fighting proteins. While that scenario is a ways off, scientists from the University of California at Irvine may have taken the first step by successfully injecting "plastic antibodies" into the blood of mice to halt the spread of deadly bee venom.

The researchers created nanoparticle-size plastic polymers to encase melittin, a toxic peptide in bee venom that causes cells to rupture. Large quantities of melittin can lead to organ failure and death.

The researchers injected one group of mice with a lethal dose of melittin, and then injected them with the plastic antibodies.

The nanoparticles succeeded in "capturing" the antigens before they could disperse, thus greatly reducing deaths among the rodents, which also fared well in the weeks following the antibody injection, according to UCI chemistry professor Kenneth Shea, who worked on the project along with scientists from Stanford University and Japan's University of Shizuoka.

Mice in a separate control group were injected with the toxin but not the antibodies; they did not survive.

"Never before have synthetic antibodies been shown to effectively function in the bloodstream of living animals," Shea said. "This technique could be utilized to make plastic nanoparticles designed to fight more lethal toxins and pathogens." … Read more

"One word ... plastics," Walter Brooke's character says to Dustin Hoffam in the 1967 movie "The Graduate." "There's a great future in plastics," he adds. Four decades later, there's still a great future in plastics.

China XD Plastics Company, the largest Chinese manufacturer and distributor of modified plastics for use in automotive applications, today announced the company will establish a new plastics research center named Harbin Xinda Macromolecule Material Engineering Center Co.

According to the company, the new research center will provide technical support for the Company's recently expanded modified plastic … Read more

Ford Motor announced Wednesday that 85 percent (by weight) of each Ford vehicle made now is recyclable.

Apparently, CEO Bill Ford's misspent youth carousing with "known and suspected environmentalists" back in the day has paid off. And it seems to be the little things that count, according to Ford Motor.

In addition to the usual car parts that have been recycled for years, Ford has also been adding sustainable raw materials or recycled materials for components in select cars.

Ford's use of components like splash shields and engine covers made from post-consumer recycled plastics has prevented an estimated 25 million to 30 million pounds of plastic from going into landfills, according to company statistics.

The 2010 Ford Taurus, for example, will be the 11th Ford vehicle to have seat cushions, seatbacks, and headrests made from soy and biomass-based foam. Ford-produced vehicles that already have this include: the Ford Mustang, F-150, Focus, Flex, Escape, Expedition, Econoline, Mercury Mariner, Lincoln MKS, and Lincoln Navigator.… Read more

If you're looking for an alternative to plastic containers and zip-top bags for food storage, consider LunchBots. The containers and their lids are available in four sizes and are made from 18/8 stainless steel that won't leach chemicals into food. Designed to fit in lunch boxes, backpacks, and even purses, LunchBots are dishwasher safe and are lab certified to be lead-free.

The Uno and Eco models each offer a single storage compartment: the Uno is sized for a burrito, sushi, or a sandwich, and the Eco is designed to hold larger portions. The Duo and Pico have … Read more

An investor in Plastic Logic said he was misquoted in a recent report and the e-book reader company is not for sale.

The Financial Times suggests that Plastic Logic backer Hermann Hauser was interested in a buyer for the maker of the yet-to-hit-the-market Que ProReader, quoting Hauser as saying the company was "in very interesting negotiations." However, Hauser said Tuesday that his comments were misconstrued.

"My comments were taken out of context," Hauser said in a statement provided on Tuesday by Plastic Logic. "I was talking about partnerships we are working on, the value of … Read more