A team of US scientists has developed a biodegradable mesh inspired by tangled seaweed that can capture microplastics ranging from millimeter-sized fragments to particles just tens of nanometers wide. Microplastics are defined as plastic particles that are smaller than five millimeters. Mimicking tangled seaweed For the design, the scientists drew inspiration from floating mats of seaweed and naturally occurring Neptune balls. “We wanted to create structures that mimicked what the tangled seaweed is already doing.” Rather than simply copying the appearance of seaweed, the researchers recreated its tangled structure using sustainable biopolymers.