It’s the mundane stuff of plastic bags and sandwich boxes, but polyethylene has a more streetwise talent: in the form of dense, high-molecular-weight fibres it can stop a bullet in its tracks.

A team of chemists from the University of Houston has reported the discovery of a new class of catalyst to produce ultra-high-weight polyethylene, a potential new source of high-strength, ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Polyethylene is one of the world’s most commonly used plastics ...