The strongest part of a tree lies not in its trunk or its sprawling roots, but in the walls of its microscopic cells. A single wood cell wall is constructed from fibers of cellulose­—nature’s most abundant polymer, and the main structural component of all plants and algae. Within each fiber are reinforcing cellulose nanocrystals, or … Continue reading New Plant-Derived Sustainable ‘Plastic’ is Tough as Bone and Hard as Aluminum