As the search for survivors continues, questions are being raised about what caused a 12-storey apartment complex to collapse in Surfside, near Miami in Florida. Experts gathering information at the scene will have to consider a range of possible causes – from structural defects to environmental influences – and whether a combination of factors may have triggered the sudden collapse of the 40-year-old block.

Trees, crops and even organic waste can be transformed into a bewildering array of plastics to use in products ranging from single-use bags to heavy-duty aeroplane wings.

Common medicines that have passed through patients' bodies are ending up in the environment, but the threat many of them pose to wildlife and human health still needs to be determined. It may even be possible to recover some of these life-saving compounds so they can be reused.

Governments who build defences against rising seas can actually increase their citizens’ risk of being flooded – if they fail to take account of the ‘safe development paradox’, according to a flood defence expert.

Embracing a more circular economy presents vast opportunity for new and existing businesses, and society as a whole. As engineers, we can be active contributors to this change and where possible ensure that circularity is being considered from the very conception of a design idea, writes Mary Cronin.

Crystallising salts can grow 'legs', then tip over and fall away, potentially helping to prevent fouling of metal surfaces, reveal researchers.