Skip to content

Multimedia Items


Do all plastics degrade the same?

A straw in the ocean

Plastic pollution is widely recognized as a huge problem for marine ecosystems and human health, but the lack of alternatives makes it hard to minimize its impacts. That’s why #WHOI scientists, in partnership with Eastman Chemical, have created a prototype for a new type of plastic straw derived from wood. A new study published in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering shows these cellulose diacetate straws break down even faster than paper. One of the study’s authors WHOI scientist Collin Ward says this research emphasizes the importance of partnerships between industry and academia when it comes to keeping pollutants out of the ocean.

Read More

Swim alongside a Right Whale and her calf

On Monday, March 27, 2023, Spindle, an approximately 41-year-old North Atlantic right whale, was spotted in Cape Cod Bay with her calf. A new video from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, New England Aquarium, and Whale & Dolphin Conservation, shows the calf suckling, or feeding, as it swims under its mother.

Read More