{"689006":{"#nid":"689006","#data":{"type":"news","title":"The Conversation: Researchers develop biodegradable, plant\u2011based packaging from natural fibers \u2013 new research","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/scholar.google.com\/citations?user=YpxchNkAAAAJ\u0026amp;hl=en\u0022\u003EJie Wu\u003C\/a\u003E, an engineering graduate student, was studying a type of striking white beetle found in Southeast Asia and attempting to figure out how to mimic its brilliant color when an unexpected discovery upended the experiment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJie and I had been hoping to identify naturally occurring whitening pigments that could be used in paper and paints. The beetle\u2019s white exoskeleton is made from a compound called chitin, which is a type of carbohydrate \u2013 one that is also commonly found in crab and lobster shells.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERead the full article in The Conversation here: https:\/\/bit.ly\/4uBteYr\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/scholar.google.com\/citations?user=YpxchNkAAAAJ\u0026amp;hl=en\u0022\u003EJie Wu\u003C\/a\u003E, an engineering graduate student, was studying a type of striking white beetle found in Southeast Asia and attempting to figure out how to mimic its brilliant color when an unexpected discovery upended the experiment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJie and I had been hoping to identify naturally occurring whitening pigments that could be used in paper and paints. The beetle\u2019s white exoskeleton is made from a compound called chitin, which is a type of carbohydrate \u2013 one that is also commonly found in crab and lobster shells.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Jie Wu, an engineering graduate student, was studying a type of striking white beetle found in Southeast Asia and attempting to figure out how to mimic its brilliant color when an unexpected discovery upended the experiment."}],"uid":"36757","created_gmt":"2026-03-17 20:13:54","changed_gmt":"2026-04-06 17:36:08","author":"ychernet3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-03-17T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-03-17T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"372221","name":"Renewable Bioproducts Institute (RBI)"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"194974","name":"go-theconversation"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39491","name":"Renewable Bioproducts"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto: ychernet3@gatech.edu\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EYanet Chernet\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003ECommunications Officer I\u003Cbr\u003EGeorgia Tech\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}