Researchers have developed a new plastic packaging for fresh food and takeaway by replicating lotus leaves’ resilient and self-cleaning structure. Lotus leaves are renowned for having some of the most water-repellent sources on earth and are practically impossible to get dirty. Lead author of the study and Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) PhD researcher Mehran Ghasemlou said that the secret lies in the structure of the leaf’s surface, which is composed of tiny pillars with a waxy coating. Any water that lands on the leaf remain a droplet, rolling off with the help of gravity. The droplets sweep up dirt as they slide down, keeping the surface clean. “We’ve replicated the phenomenally water-repellent structure of lotus leaves to deliver a unique type of bioplastic that precisely combines both strength and degradability,” Ghasemlou said in a release. The team also found that scratches with abrasives and exposure to heat, acid, …