Hardened wood knife boasts three times the sharpness of stainless steel

Hardened wood knife boasts three times the sharpness of stainless steel

Scientists have developed a hardened wood material that, when sharpened, is three times sharper than a stainless steel dinner knife, according to the new study on the work. The research comes from the University of Maryland’s Teng Li and a team that developed a new method to generate extremely hard wood. Among other things, the development may lead to more sustainable building materials.  Wood contains between 40- and 50-percent cellulose, with the rest of the material compromised of binders called lignin and hemicellulose. While cellulose has a greater strength-to-density ratio than materials like metal and ceramic, the binder materials make wood overall weaker than man-made counterparts.

L’Oréal USA Hires Marissa McGowan as Chief Sustainability Officer –

L’Oréal USA Hires Marissa McGowan as Chief Sustainability Officer –

L’Oréal USA has tapped Marissa Pagnani McGowan as chief sustainability officer for North America.  “Marissa brings to her sustainability work a passion for the power of partnerships and collective action,” said Stéphane Rinderknech, president and chief executive officer of L’Oréal USA and executive vice president of North America, in a statement.  McGowan, who officially joins the company in November, will report to Rinderknech.  “We aim to drive a complete transformation of our business — to be a leader and catalyst of change in the beauty sector and beyond,” added Rinderknech. “I firmly believe that we must act with even more urgency to address the social and environmental needs of the planet while preparing our business to meet the opportunities of our dynamic market.”