title: Grave Encounters

text: The film was written and directed by the Vicious Brothers, Colin Minihan and Stuart Ortiz. The pair sought to create a project in the horror genre, and in order to maintain a low budget, decided to utilise "the mockumentary format" at a time when found-footage horror films such as 2007's "Paranormal Activity" were achieving commercial success. According to Minihan, he and Ortiz wondered, "why has no one made a fucking found-footage film out of these ghost-hunting shows?"


title: Grave Encounters

text: Minihan and Ortiz wrote a script for the film roughly 85 pages in length, though they allowed the members of the cast to improvise during filming.


title: Grave Encounters

text: "Grave Encounters" was filmed in Riverview Hospital, a mental institute in Coquitlam, British Columbia; the hospital has served as a location for a number of other television and film productions.


title: Grave Encounters

text: A number of visual effects in the film were accomplished using computer-generated imagery (CGI). One sequence, in which a character is thrown across a room, was initially filmed as a practical effect using a stunt performer. Upon reviewing the footage of the stunt performer being "thrown", Minihan and Ortiz were dissatisfied with the result; they then asked the performer to run, jump, and fall to the ground several times, and completed the final effect in post-production.


title: Grave Encounters

text: A teaser trailer for the film was first uploaded to YouTube in December 2010. The trailer went viral, garnering over 1.5 million views in three months. The film's distribution rights were acquired by Tribeca Film.


title: Grave Encounters

text: "Grave Encounters" premiered on April 22, 2011, at the Tribeca Film Festival. It had its Italian premiere on June 1, 2011, via distributor Eagle Pictures, under the title "ESP Fenomeni Paranormali". The film was released in the United States on August 25, 2011 in select theaters using the Eventful Demand It and video on demand via Comcast.


title: Grave Encounters

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on , with an average rating of . On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score of 33 out of 100, based on four reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".


title: Grave Encounters

text: In her review of the film for "The New York Times", Jeannette Catsoulis wrote: "Following in the stampeding footsteps of "The Blair Witch Project" and the "Paranormal Activity" franchise, the filmmakers seem unaware that they're beating a dead horse." Mike Hale, also writing for "The New York Times", felt that the film's "claustrophobic, infrared images, supposedly taken from the tapes of a TV crew that spent the night in a mental hospital, offer some real scares, though the movie starts to feel long and repetitious before its 92 minutes are over." Nick Schager of "Slant Magazine" gave the film a score of one-and-a-half out of four stars, writing that it "can't even pretend to be anything other than hopelessly derivative." Aaron Hillis, in a negative review of the film for "The Village Voice", concluded: "Windows quietly open, wheelchairs roll, faces contort into cheesy CGI ghouls, and 'digital artifacts' cover up the low-budget seams. But true terror needs at least some authenticity. That's perhaps too much to ask of a faked movie about a faked reality show that still can't scare up a fresh idea."


title: Grave Encounters

text: Conversely, Jon Reiss of the "New York Press" called "Grave Encounters" the "scariest film since "The Ring"". Dennis Harvey, in his review of the film for "Variety", wrote that its "creepiness factor is sufficient to rate this a notch above genre average". "Vox"s Dylan Scott recommended the film, writing that it "effectively spoof[s] those ghost hunter shows that were briefly a hot trend, while still building toward a genuinely suspenseful second half." Meagan Navarro, in a positive review of the film for "Bloody Disgusting", wrote that "the filmmakers toss subtlety out the window in favor of fun, in your face chills that stick their landing." Felicity Burton of "Scream" magazine wrote that, had the film "kept to the subtle scares, and dumped the CGI ghosts, it would have been a lot better", but concluded: "If you still haven't had your fill of found footage films, it's definitely worth a watch."


title: Grave Encounters

text: A sequel titled "Grave Encounters 2", written by the Vicious Brothers and directed by John Poliquin, was released on October 2, 2012. In May 2015, the Vicious Brothers announced plans for a third installment, entitled "Grave Encounters 3: The Beginning", but was quickly cancelled following the second film's failure to generate public interest.


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: Alan Kurdi (born as Alan Shenu), initially reported as Aylan Kurdi, was a two-year-old Syrian boy (initially reported as having been three years old) of Kurdish ethnic background whose image made global headlines after he drowned on 2 September 2015 in the Mediterranean Sea along with his mother and brother. Alan and his family were Syrian refugees trying to reach Europe from Turkey amid the European refugee crisis (see timeline). Photographs of his body were taken by Turkish journalist Nilüfer Demir and quickly went viral, prompting international responses. Since the Kurdi family had reportedly been trying to reach Canada, his death and the wider refugee crisis became an issue in the 2015 Canadian federal election.


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: Kurdi is believed to have been born in Kobanî, Syria. He was two years and two months old when he died. A Syrian journalist stated that the family name was Shenu; "Kurdi" was used in Turkey because of their ethnic background. After moving between various cities in northern Syria to escape the civil war and ISIL, his family settled in Turkey. The family returned to Kobanî at the beginning of 2015, but returned to Turkey in June 2015 when ISIL attacked Kobanî again. During this time, Kurdi's father arranged for an illegal passage to Kos.


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: Kurdi's family members were hoping to join their relatives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, after his aunt Tima Kurdi filed for refugee sponsorship, but this was rejected by the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Canada after the family members were denied an exit visa by Turkish authorities. According to the department an application by Alan's uncle, Mohammad, was rejected as it was incomplete, and no application was ever received from Abdullah Kurdi, Alan's father. Abdullah Kurdi said that the Canadian government denied his application for asylum and that they were responsible for the tragedy.


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: Canadian New Democratic Party (NDP) MP Fin Donnelly told the media that he had hand-delivered their file to Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander earlier in the year, but the application was rejected in June 2015 because it was incomplete. The Kurdi family tried to obtain entry to Canada under a private sponsorship program whereby groups of five people may also sponsor an individual or family. They are required to demonstrate that they can provide roughly 27,000 Canadian dollars to support a family of four refugees. According to Alexandra Kotyk, project manager of "Lifeline Syria", a refugee settlement group in Toronto, the program requires that people seeking to come to Canada from Turkey first be declared refugees by the Turkish government. She said that was often a difficult or impossible condition to fulfill.


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: In the early hours of 2 September 2015, Kurdi and his family boarded a small plastic or rubber inflatable boat, which capsized about five minutes after leaving Bodrum in Turkey. Sixteen people were in the boat, which was designed for a maximum of eight people. They were trying to reach the Greek island of Kos, about 30 minutes () from Bodrum. Kurdi's father said: "We had no life vests", but also said they were wearing life jackets, but they "were all fake". Others have stated that they believed that they were wearing life jackets but the items were ineffective.


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: It was later stated on Syrian radio that the Kurdi family paid $5,860 for their four spaces on the boat, which had twelve other passengers on it despite being only about five metres long. Alan Kurdi's mother joined the trip despite her fear of being on the open sea. Tima Kurdi, Alan Kurdi's aunt, had advised her sister not to go. The individuals on the boat evaded the Turkish Coastguard by setting out from an isolated beach late at night.


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: Around 5 am, authorities started an investigation after an emergency call that a boat had capsized and bodies were coming ashore. The bodies of Kurdi and another child were discovered by two locals at around 6:30 am. The two men moved the bodies from the water, where Kurdi was later photographed by a Turkish press photographer.


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: On 3 September 2015, Alan Kurdi along with his brother, Galib, and their mother, Rehana, were taken to Kobanî for burials, which took place the next day. It is Islamic tradition to bury the dead within 24 hours if possible. The Siege of Kobanî ended in March 2015 and Islamic State attacks on what was left of the city stopped completely in August 2015.


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: Turkish authorities later arrested four individuals in connection with the illegal journey, although they appeared to be low-level intermediaries.


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: Alan Kurdi's father, Abdullah Kurdi, has stated in some of his interviews that the inflatable boat became uncontrollable as its engine had failed, with the 'captain' abandoning it and everyone else. Some Turkish sources claimed that in his first interview with the Doğan News Agency, he gives a different account of the event; he also states that following two unsuccessful attempts to cross into the Greek island Kos, his family provided its own boat with its own means. However, Abdullah never confirmed the Doğan News Agency interview.


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: An Iraqi survivor from the same boat, Zainab Abbas, who also lost two children from the attempted crossing, told reporters that Abdullah had been presented to her as the "captain", that he was driving the overcrowded boat too fast, causing it to flip over, and that he pleaded with her while they were still both in the water not to report him to anyone in authority. Abbas said her family escaped out of Baghdad from ISIS and she was angry because all the media attention was on Alan Kurdi and Abdullah Kurdi, and not on her family. She later returned to Baghdad and said her dead children's bodies had not been correctly prepared for burial and called on Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott to grant her family asylum so they could escape the Islamic State. The Reuters agency reported that interviews with two other passengers in the boat, Iraqis Ahmed Hadi Jawwad (Zainab Abbas's husband), and 22-year-old Amir Haider, corroborated Abbas's account.


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: Abdullah denied the accusation, stating: "If I was a people smuggler, why would I put my family in the same boat as the other people? I paid the same amount to the people smugglers." and "I lost my family, I lost my life, I lost everything, so let them say whatever they want." According to Turkish authorities, investigations into the smuggling operations in Turkey showed that refugees were often tasked with helping smugglers sign up passengers for smuggling trips. It was also not uncommon for one of the passengers to be given the responsibility of driving the boat. No smuggler, with family in Turkey and a steady income from the lucrative smuggling trade, would want to end up illegally in Europe and risk not being able to return home, where he would be likely to face arrest anyway. The President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan offered Alan's father Turkish citizenship.


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: The photograph of Kurdi's body caused a dramatic upturn in international concern over the refugee crisis. French President François Hollande phoned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and some European leaders after the images of Kurdi emerged in the media. He said that the picture must be a reminder of the world's responsibility regarding refugees. British Prime Minister David Cameron said he felt deeply moved by images of Kurdi. Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny commented on the photographs of Kurdi and described the refugee crisis as a "human catastrophe" and found the pictures "absolutely shocking".


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: The picture has been credited with causing a surge in donations to charities helping migrants and refugees, with one charity, the Migrant Offshore Aid Station, recording a 15-fold increase in donations within 24 hours of its publication.


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: An article in "The Guardian", on 22 December 2015, outlined a collection of what it described as "outrageous claims" against Abdullah Kurdi. It was said that he was an opportunist who used his status as a Syrian refugee for personal gain. Another source said that Abdullah was profiting from the tragedy, including selling his dead son's clothes to a museum in Paris. Australian politician Cory Bernardi claimed that "The father sent them on that boat so he could get dental treatment". Some anti-immigration politicians claimed that the image of Alan on the beach had been faked.


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: Brendan O'Neill wrote in "The Spectator" on 3 September 2015 that: "The global spreading of this snapshot ... is justified as a way of raising awareness about the migrant crisis. Please. It's more like a snuff photo for progressives, dead-child porn, designed not to start a serious debate about migration in the 21st century but to elicit a self-satisfied feeling of sadness among Western observers."


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: In contrast, Nick Logan of Global News argued on 4 September 2015: "Photojournalists sometimes capture images so powerful the public and policymakers can't ignore what the pictures show." He compared the images of Kurdi's body to the pictures taken during the "Bloody Sunday" event in which civil rights activists during the Civil Rights Movement were beaten by Alabama state troopers, and he said that widespread viewership of those images helped peaceful demonstrators in the passage of measures such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965.


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: The death of Kurdi and reports that his family had been trying to ultimately reach Canada had an immediate impact on domestic Canadian politics. Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Stephen Harper cancelled a photo opportunity and addressed the issue in a campaign event, saying, "Yesterday, Laureen and I saw on the Internet, the picture of this young boy, Alan, dead on the beach. Look, I think, our reaction to that, you know the first thing that crossed our mind was remembering our son Ben at that age, running around like that". Minister of National Defence and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney cancelled an important announcement on Conservative efforts to protect the integrity of Canada's immigration system and the security of Canada. Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander announced he would be temporarily suspending his campaigning in the 2015 Canadian federal election to return to Ottawa to resume his ministerial duties and investigate the case of Alan Kurdi, whose uncle's application for refugee status had been rejected by his ministry.


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: Leader of the Opposition and NDP leader Thomas Mulcair said that "Chris Alexander has a lot to answer for, but that's not where we are right now. We're worried about how we got here, how the collective international response has been so defective, how Canada has failed so completely." NDP MP Fin Donnelly was accused of using the tragic event as a means to garner votes, because he initially told reporters that he had personally handed a letter to Immigration Minister Chris Alexander urging the minister to look at the refugee application of Alan Kurdi's family, but that Canadian immigration authorities denied the family's application. However, later the aunt of Alan Kurdi revealed that the application was made only for Kurdi's uncle and was rejected because it was not complete. Meanwhile, the Citizenship and Immigration Canada office clarified that they had not received the proper documentation to certify refugee status for the uncle's family. Mulcair later defended Donnelly, saying that no apology was warranted because the letter had mentioned both families, and stated that he "couldn't be prouder to have someone of the strength, integrity and hard work as Fin Donnelly" in caucus.


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: Liberal leader Justin Trudeau said that "you don't get to suddenly discover compassion in the middle of an election campaign" and that "All different stripes of governments in Canada have stepped up in times of crisis to accept people fleeing for their lives", he said. "Canadians get it. This is about doing the right thing, about living up to the values that we cherish as a country." Trudeau also reiterated the Liberal promise made several months before the election to bring in 25,000 Syrian refugees.


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: Green Party leader Elizabeth May criticized Stephen Harper's response to the crisis, noting the difficulty of sponsoring a refugee in Canada. On the Green Party website, May accused the government of lacking credibility on the issue, "having failed to honour previous [refugee] announcements".


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: A week following his death, around 30 Moroccans recreated the discovery of Kurdi's body in tribute in the Moroccan capital. In January 2016, the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei posed like Kurdi by imitating his dead body as shown in the media pictures. The picture was published first in the Indian magazine India Today together with an interview of Ai Weiwei, and was also shown at the India Art Fair.


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: In March 2016 a huge mural of Kurdi's dead body appeared on a wall next to the European Central Bank headquarters in Frankfurt.


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: In September 2018, hip hop artist Lupe Fiasco released a song titled "Alan Forever" on his album Drogas Wave. The song presents an alternate reality where Alan survived.


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: Director Terry George created a scene in the 2016 film "The Promise" inspired by the Kurdi incident, to show parallels between Armenians fleeing the Ottoman Empire and modern refugees like Alan Kurdi.


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: In April 2017, the Mint of Finland revealed a commemorative coin celebrating the centenary of Finnish independence, using a picture of Alan Kurdi's body on the obverse side of the coin. This picture is accompanied with the text "Global Justice" (Globaali oikeudenmukaisuus). The death of Alan Kurdi is contrasted with a Finnish public library on the reverse side of the coin.


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: In February 2019, the rescue ship "" of the German sea rescue organization Sea-Eye was renamed to "Alan Kurdi". Following a similar conflict in early July 2019 with the German Sea-Watch organization rescue ship "Sea-Watch 3" under the command of Carola Rackete, Italian authorities also denied the "Alan Kurdi" access to the harbour of Lampedusa on 6 July 2019. After international intervention, the refugees eventually entered Malta on 7 July 2019.


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: Prayer events and moments of silence were held by various organisations including those held by NGOs. President of Defend International "called on the international community to share equitably the responsibility for protecting, assisting and hosting refugees in accordance with principles of international solidarity and human rights". A host of a daily radio program wished that "Alan Kurdi's death would inspire us to create a world without borders", while a commentary published at Spiegel Online suggested that Berlin needs to "reform or abolish its refugee policy". Artists and poets from all over the world shared tributes to Alan Kurdi.


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: Over three months later, on Christmas Eve 2015, 3 News New Zealand said "Pictures of his lifeless body on a beach came to symbolise the wider tragedy. Can there have been a more moving, a more powerful image than the photograph of the tiny lifeless body of Aylan Kurdi being carried from the sea?"


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: On 2 January 2016, a feature article on the BBC News website opened with the words: "It was one of those moments when the whole world seems to care." It went on to quote Alan Kurdi's aunt, Tima Kurdi:


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: On 8 September 2015, the publication "Bild" removed all pictures, including those of Kurdi, from its print edition and website in response to complaints about its decision to publish images of Kurdi. The newspaper stated about "the power of pictures": "Only when one does not see them, one understands the magic which pictures create".


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: The ISIL terrorist group incorporated Kurdi's death into their propaganda campaigns, using an image of Kurdi's corpse while claiming that God will punish those that dare to emigrate from nations with ISIL influences. The group also asserted that those who leave are likely to become apostates who will have their souls enter hell upon death.


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: Channel 4 television in the UK presents an annual Christmas message as an alternative to the Christmas Message of Queen Elizabeth II. In 2015, their speaker was Abdullah Kurdi, who said:


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: If a person shuts a door in someone's face, this is very difficult. When a door is opened they no longer feel humiliated. At this time of year I would like to ask you all to think about the pain of fathers, mothers and children who are seeking peace and security. We ask just for a little bit of sympathy from you. Hopefully next year the war will end in Syria and peace will reign all over the world.


title: Death of Alan Kurdi

text: Alan Kurdi's aunt, Tima Kurdi released her memoir in 2019. "The Boy on the Beach" details the Kurdi family's life and attempts to flee Syria.


title: Asado

text: Large herds of wild cattle roamed much of the pampa region of Argentina until the mid-nineteenth century. Inhabitants of the Río de la Plata, especially the equestrian gaucho, developed a fondness for beef, especially asado, which is roasted beef (or lamb or goat). The meat, often a side of ribs, is skewered on a metal frame called an asador and is roasted by placing it next to a slow-burning fire. Gauchos favored cooking asado with the wood of the quebracho tree because it smokes very little. Asado, accompanied by mate, formed the basis of the gaucho diet.


title: Asado

text: Usually the "asador" begins by igniting the charcoal, which is often made of native trees, avoiding pines and eucalyptus as they have strong-smelling resins. In more sophisticated "asados" the charcoal is of a specific tree or made on the coal of recently burned wood, which is also commonplace when having an "asado" in a campfire. In Uruguay, charcoal is not used, but instead direct embers or hot coals.


title: Asado

text: Cooking can be done "al asador" or "a la parrilla". In the first case, a fire is lit on the ground or in a fire pit and surrounded by metal crosses ("asadores") that hold the entire carcass of an animal splayed open to receive the heat from the fire. In the second case, a fire is made and after the charcoal has formed, a grill with the meat is placed over it.


title: Asado

text: In many "asados", "chorizos", "morcillas" (black pudding), "chinchulines" (cow chitterlings), "mollejas" (sweetbreads), and other organs, often accompanied by "provoleta", would be served first while the cuts that require longer preparations are still on the grill. Sometimes these are served on a charcoal "brasero". "Chorizos" may be served with "pan felipe" or baguette bread, often called "choripán".


title: Asado

text: After appetizers, "costillas" or "asado de tira" (ribs) can be served. Next comes "vacío" (flank steak), "matambre" and possibly chicken and "" (goatling). Dishes such as "pamplona", pork, and Patagonian lamb are becoming more frequent, particularly in restaurants. An "asado" also includes bread, a simple mixed salad of, for instance, lettuce, tomato, and onions, or it could be accompanied with "verdurajo" (grilled vegetables), a mixture made of potatoes, corn, onion, and eggplant cooked on the grill and seasoned with olive oil and salt. Beer, wine, soft drink, and other beverages are common. Dessert is usually fresh fruit.


title: Asado

text: Another traditional form to mainly roast the meat, used in Patagonia, is with the whole animal (especially lamb and pork) in a wood stick nailed in the ground and exposed to the heat of live coals, called "asado al palo".


title: Asado

text: The meat for an "asado" is not marinated, the only preparation being the application of salt before or during the cooking period. Also, the heat and distance from the coals are controlled to provide a slow cooking; it usually takes around two hours to cook "asado". Further, grease from the meat is not encouraged to fall on the coals and create smoke which would adversely flavour the meat. In some "asados" the area directly under the meat is kept clear of coals.


title: Asado

text: The "asado" is usually placed in a tray to be immediately served, but it can also be placed on a brasero right on the table to keep the meat warm. "Chimichurri", a sauce of chopped parsley, dried oregano, garlic, salt, black pepper, onion, and paprika with olive oil, or "salsa criolla", a sauce of tomato and onion in vinegar, are common accompaniments to an "asado", where they are traditionally used on the offal, but not the steaks.


title: Asado

text: Food is often accompanied by salads, which in "asado" gatherings are traditionally made by women on site or brought to the "asado" from their homes while the men focus on the meats. Salad Olivier ("ensalada rusa") is one of the most common salads served at "asados". In Paraguay chipa guasu, sopa paraguaya and boiled manioc as a side dish are also served.


title: Asado

text: In Chile, the normal version "cordero al palo" (whole roast lamb) is usually accompanied with "pebre", a local condiment made from pureed herbs, garlic, and hot peppers, in many ways similar to "chimichurri". The dish is typical of southern Chile and is served hot accompanied by salads. A whole lamb is tied to a spit and is then roasted perpendicular on a wood fire. The preparation lasts around 5 hours since cooking must be constant and on a low heat.


title: Asado

text: In Brazil, "asado" is called "", although the cooking is usually faster. Grilled and salted meat in Brazil is generally called "carne assada" and is often cut into small strips and served on a plate or cutting board in the middle of the table for all to partake. Various grilled meats, pork, sausages and occasionally chicken are also passed around from table to table on a spit and a slice is offered to each person. This is called "rodizio" because each person partakes in turn. Charcoal is predominantly used instead of embers of wood, and Brazilians tend to cook the meat on skewers or grills. The meat of Rozidio is usually seasoned with salt alone.


title: Asado

text: In Mexico, there is similar tradition of as "parrilladas" or "carne asadas", which incorporates various marinated cuts of meat, including steaks, chicken, and sausages ("chorizo", "longaniza", and "moronga" being especially popular). These are all grilled over wood charcoal. Vegetables are also placed over the grill, especially green onions ("cebollitas"), "nopales", and corn (elote")."


title: Asado

text: Again, in Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay, some alternatives are the "asado al disco" and "asado al horno de barro", especially in the countryside. The recipe does not change, only the way of cooking. In the "asado al disco" (the worn-out disc of a plough) is used. Being metallic and concave, three or four metallic legs are welded and with hot coal or lumber below it is easily transformed into an effective grill. Food is put in a spiral, in such a way that the fat naturally slips to the center, preserving the meat for being fried. Bell peppers and onions are usually put next to the edge, so that they gradually release their juices on the meat. The "asado al horno de barro" differs from tradition, as an adobe "horno" (oven, called tatakua in Paraguay) is used. These ovens are a common view in Argentine and Paraguayan "estancias"; their primary function is to bake bread, chipa guasu and sopa paraguaya, but they are well suited for roasting meat. Pork suckling and, less commonly, lamb are served, as they are more unlikely to become dry.


title: Asado

text: Another way of cooking the asado is inside a "chulengo", an oil barrel (or similar) cut in half, inside which the grill is placed to protect both the meat and fire from heavy winds. This makes the "chulengo" especially useful in the Patagonia, although it is also used in other areas for practicality and the ability to move it around.


title: Asado

text: South American "asado" should not be confused with "asado" in the Philippines, which refers to two different braised dishes: "asado de carajay", which is braised meat with vegetables in a savory stew; and pork "asado", which is a sweet braised version of "". The equivalent of Latin American "asado" barbecues in Philippine cuisine would be the various "inihaw" dishes (also known as "sinugba" or "inasal").


title: Asado

text: In South Africa, a whole meat carcass cooked with the "al asador" method is called asado spit braai or spit roast.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Biodegradable plastics are plastics that can be decomposed by the action of living organisms, usually microbes, into water, carbon dioxide, and biomass. Biodegradable plastics are commonly produced with renewable raw materials, micro-organisms, petrochemicals, or combinations of all three.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: While the words "bioplastic" and "biodegradable plastic" are similar, they are not synonymous. Not all bioplastics (plastics derived partly or entirely from biomass) are biodegradable, and some biodegradable plastics are fully petroleum based. As more companies are keen to be seen as having "Green" credentials, solutions such as using bioplastics are being investigated and implemented more. However there are many skeptics who believe that bioplastics will not solve problems others expect.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) was first observed in bacteria in 1888 by Martinus Beijerinck. In 1926, French microbiologist Maurice Lemoigne chemically identified the polymer after extracting it from "Bacillus megaterium". It was not until the early 1960s that the groundwork for scaled production was laid. Several patents for the production and isolation of PHB, the simplest PHA, were administered to W.R. Grace & Co. (USA), but as a result of low yields, tainted product and high extraction costs, the operation was dissolved. When OPEC halted oil exports to the US to boost global oil prices in 1973, more plastic and chemical companies began making significant investment in the biosynthesis of sustainable plastics. As a result, Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI UK) successfully produced PHB at a yield of 70% using the strain "Alcaligenes latus". The specific PHA produced in this instance was a scl-PHA. Production efforts slowed dramatically due to the undesirable properties of the PHA produced and the diminishing threat of rising oil prices soon thereafter.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: In 1983, ICI received venture capital funding and founded Marlborough Biopolymers to manufacture the first broad-application biodegradable plastic, PHBV, named Biopol. Biopol is a copolymer composed of PHB and PHV, but was still too costly to produce to disrupt the market. In 1996, Monsanto discovered a method of producing one of the two polymers in plants and acquired Biopol from Zeneca, a spinout of ICI, as a result of the potential for cheaper production.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: As a result of the steep increase in oil prices in the early 2000s (to nearly $140/barrel US$ in 2008), the plastic-production industry finally sought to implement these alternatives to petroleum-based plastics. Since then, countless alternatives, produced chemically or by other bacteria, plants, seaweed and plant waste have sprung up as solutions. Geopolitical factors also impact their use.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Biodegradable plastics are commonly used for disposable items, such as packaging, cutlery, and food service containers.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: In principle, biodegradable plastics could replace many applications for conventional plastics. However, this entails a number of challenges.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Biologically synthesized plastics (also called bioplastics or biobased plastics) are plastics produced from natural origins, such as plants, animals, or micro-organisms.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Polyhydroxyalkanoates are a class of biodegradable plastic naturally produced by various micro-organisms (example: "Cuprividus necator)." Specific types of PHAs include poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB), polyhydroxyvalerate (PHV) and polyhydroxyhexanoate (PHH). The biosynthesis of PHA is usually driven by depriving organisms of certain nutrients (e.g. lack of macro elements such as phosphorus, nitrogen, or oxygen) and supplying an excess of carbon sources. PHA granules are then recovered by rupturing the micro-organisms.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Polylactic acid is thermoplastic aliphatic polyester synthesized from renewable biomass, typically from fermented plant starch such as from corn, cassava, sugarcane or sugar beet pulp. In 2010, PLA had the second-highest consumption volume of any bioplastic of the world.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: PLA is compostable, but non-biodegradable according to American and European standards because it does not biodegrade outside of artificial composting conditions (see "").


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Starch blends are thermoplastic polymers produced by blending starch with plasticizers. Because starch polymers on their own are brittle at room temperature, plasticizers are added in a process called starch gelatinization to augment its crystallization. While all starches are biodegradable, not all plasticizers are. Thus, the biodegradability of the plasticizer determines the biodegradability of the starch blend.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Biodegradable starch blends include starch/polylactic acid, starch/polycaprolactone, and starch/polybutylene-adipate-co-terephthalate.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Cellulose bioplastics are mainly the cellulose esters, (including cellulose acetate and nitrocellulose) and their derivatives, including celluloid. Cellulose can become thermoplastic when extensively modified. An example of this is cellulose acetate, which is expensive and therefore rarely used for packaging.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Lignin-based polymer composites are bio-renewable natural aromatic polymers with biodegradable properties. Lignin is found as a byproduct of polysaccharide extraction from plant material through the production of paper, ethanol, and more. It is high in abundance with reports showing that 50 million tons are being created by chemical pulp industries each year. Lignin is useful due to its low weight material and the fact that it is more environmentally friendly than other alternatives. Lignin is neutral to CO release during the biodegradation process. Other biodegradable plastic processes such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) have been found to release CO and water as waste products produced by the degrading microorganisms.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Lignin contains comparable chemical properties in comparison to current plastic chemicals, which includes reactive functional groups, the ability to form into films, high carbon percentage, and it shows versatility in relation to various chemical mixtures used with plastics. Lignin is also stable, and contains aromatic rings. It is both elastic and viscous yet flows smoothly in the liquid phase. Most importantly lignin can improve on the current standards of plastics because it is antimicrobial in nature. It is being produced at such great quantities and is readily available for use as an emerging environmentally friendly polymer.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Petroleum-based plastics are derived from petrochemicals, which are obtained from fossil crude oil, coal or natural gas. The most widely used petroleum-based plastics such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS) are not biodegradable. However, the following petroleum-based plastics listed are.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Polyglycolic acid is a thermoplastic polymer and an aliphatic polyester. PGA is often used in medical applications such as PGA sutures for its biodegradability. The ester linkage in the backbone of polyglycolic acid gives it hydrolytic instability. Thus polyglycolic acid can degrade into its nontoxic monomer, glycolic acid, through hydrolysis. This process can be expedited with esterases. In the body, glycolic acid can enter the tricarboxylic acid cycle, after which can be excreted as water and carbon dioxide.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Polybutylene succinate is a thermoplastic polymer resin that has properties comparable to propylene. It is used in packaging films for food and cosmetics. In the agricultural field, PBS is used as a biodegradable mulching film PBS can be degraded by "Amycolatopsis" sp. HT-6 and "Penicillium" sp. strain 14-3. In addition, "Microbispora rosea", "Excellospora japonica" and "E. viridilutea" have been shown to consume samples of emulsified PBS.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Polycaprolactone has gained prominence as an implantable biomaterial because the hydrolysis of its ester linkages offers its biodegradable properties. It has been shown that Bacillota and Pseudomonadota can degrade PCL. "Penicillium" sp. strain 26-1 can degrade high density PCL; though not as quickly as thermotolerant "Aspergillus" sp. strain ST-01. Species of clostridium can degrade PCL under anaerobic conditions.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Poly(vinyl alcohol) is one of the few biodegradable vinyl polymers that is soluble in water. Due to its solubility in water (an inexpensive and harmless solvent), PVA has a wide range of applications including food packaging, textiles coating, paper coating, and healthcare products.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: No international standard has been established to define home-compostable plastics (i.e. those which do not rely on industrial composting facilities), but national standards have been created in Australia (AS 5810 "biodegradable plastics suitable for home composting") and in France (NF T 51-800 "Specifications for plastics suitable for home composting"). The French standard is based on the "OK compost home certification scheme", developed by Belgian certifier TÜV Austria Belgium. The following are examples of plastics that have conformed to an established national standard for home compostability:


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: One of the challenges for the design and use of biodegradable plastics is that biodegradability is a "system property". That is, whether a particular plastic item will biodegrade depends not only on the intrinsic properties of the item, but also on the conditions in the environment in which it ends up. The rate at which plastic biodegrades in a specific ecosystem depends on a wide range of environmental conditions, including temperature and the presence of specific microorganisms.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Though the terms "compostable, "bioplastics", and "oxo-degradative plastics" are often used in place of "biodegradable plastics", these terms are not synonymous. The waste management infrastructure currently recycles regular plastic waste, incinerates it, or places it in a landfill. Mixing biodegradable plastics into the regular waste infrastructure poses some dangers to the environment. Thus, it is crucial to identify how to correctly decompose alternative plastic materials.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Both compostable plastics and biodegradable plastics are materials that break down into their organic constituents; however, composting of some compostable plastics requires strict control of environmental factors, including higher temperatures, pressure and nutrient concentration, as well as specific chemical ratios. These conditions can only be recreated in industrial composting plants, which are few and far between. Thus, some plastics that are compostable can degrade only under highly controlled environments. Additionally, composting typically takes place in aerobic environments, while biodegradation may take place in anaerobic environments. Biologically-based polymers, sourced from non-fossil materials, can decompose naturally in the environment, whereas some plastics products made from biodegradable polymers require the assistance of anaerobic digesters or composting units to break down synthetic material during organic recycling processes.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Contrary to popular belief, non-biodegradable compostable plastics do indeed exist. These plastics will undergo biodegradation under composting conditions but will not begin degrading until they are met. In other words, these plastics cannot be claimed as “biodegradable” (as defined by both American and European Standards) due to the fact that they cannot biodegrade naturally in the biosphere. An example of a non-biodegradable compostable plastic is polylactic acid (PLA).


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: The ASTM standard definition outlines that a compostable plastic has to become "not visually distinguishable" at the same rate as something that has already been established as being compostable under the traditional definition.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: A plastic is considered a bioplastic if it was produced partly or wholly with biologically sourced polymers. A plastic is considered biodegradable if it can degrade into water, carbon dioxide, and biomass in a given time frame (dependent on different standards). Thus, the terms are not synonymous. Not all bioplastics are biodegradable. An example of a non-biodegradable bioplastic is bio-based PET. PET is a petrochemical plastic, derived from fossil fuels. Bio-based PET is the same plastic but synthesized with bacteria. Bio-based PET has identical technical properties to its fossil-based counterpart.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: In addition, oxo-degradable plastics are commonly perceived to be biodegradable. However, they are simply conventional plastics with additives called prodegredants that accelerate the oxidation process. While oxo-degradable plastics rapidly break down through exposure to sunlight and oxygen, they persist as huge quantities of microplastics rather than any biological material.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Oxo-degradable plastics cannot be classified as biodegradable under American and European standards because they take too long to break down and leave plastic fragments not capable of being consumed by microorganisms. Although intended to facilitate biodegradation, oxo-degradable plastics often do not fragment optimally for microbial digestion.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: All materials are inherently biodegradable, whether it takes a few weeks or a million years to break down into organic matter and mineralize. Therefore, products that are classified as “biodegradable” but whose time and environmental constraints are not explicitly stated are misinforming consumers and lack transparency. Normally, credible companies convey the specific biodegradable conditions of their products, highlighting that their products are in fact biodegradable under national or international standards. Additionally, companies that label plastics with oxo-biodegradable additives as entirely biodegradable contribute to misinformation. Similarly, some brands may claim that their plastics are biodegradable when, in fact, they are non-biodegradable bioplastics.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: In 2021, the European Commission's Scientific Advice Mechanism conducted an evidence review on biodegradable plastics and concluded that:


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Labelling plastic items as ‘biodegradable’, without explaining what conditions are needed for them to biodegrade, causes confusion among consumers and other users. It could lead to contamination of waste streams and increased pollution or littering. Clear and accurate labelling is needed so that consumers can be confident of what to expect from plastic items, and how to properly use and dispose of them.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: In response, the European Commission's Group of Chief Scientific Advisors recommended in 2021 to develop "coherent testing and certification standards for biodegradation of plastic in the open environment", including "testing and certification schemes evaluating actual biodegradation of biodegradable plastics in the context of their application in a specific receiving open environment".


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Microbial degradation: The primary purpose of biodegradable plastics is to replace traditional plastics that persist in landfills and harm the environment. Therefore, the ability of microorganisms to break down these plastics is an incredible environmental advantage. Microbial degradation is accomplished by 3 steps: colonization of the plastic surface, hydrolysis, and mineralization. First, microorganisms populate the exposed plastics. Next, the bacteria secrete enzymes that bind to the carbon source or polymer substrates and then split the hydrocarbon bonds. The process results in the production of HO and CO. Despite the release of CO into the environment, biodegradable plastics leave a smaller footprint than petroleum-based plastics that accumulate in landfills and cause heavy pollution, which is why they are explored as alternatives to traditional plastics.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Municipal solid waste: According to a 2010 report of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the US had 31 million tons of plastic waste, representing 12.4% of all municipal solid waste. Of that, 2.55 million tons were recovered. This 8.2% recovery was much less than the 34.1% overall recovery percentage for municipal solid waste.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Depressed plastics recovery rates can be attributed to conventional plastics are often commingled with organic wastes (food scraps, wet paper, and liquids), leading to accumulation of waste in landfills and natural habitats. On the other hand, composting of these mixed organics (food scraps, yard trimmings, and wet, non-recyclable paper) is a potential strategy for recovering large quantities of waste and dramatically increasing community recycling goals. As of 2015, food scraps and wet, non-recyclable paper respectively comprise 39.6 million and 67.9 million tons of municipal solid waste.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Biodegradable plastics can replace the non-degradable plastics in these waste streams, making municipal composting a significant tool to divert large amounts of otherwise nonrecoverable waste from landfills. Compostable plastics combine the utility of plastics (lightweight, resistance, relative low cost) with the ability to completely and fully compost in an industrial compost facility. Rather than worrying about recycling a relatively small quantity of commingled plastics, proponents argue that certified biodegradable plastics can be readily commingled with other organic wastes, thereby enabling composting of a much larger portion of nonrecoverable solid waste.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Commercial composting for all mixed organics then becomes commercially viable and economically sustainable. More municipalities can divert significant quantities of waste from overburdened landfills since the entire waste stream is now biodegradable and therefore easier to process. This move away from the use of landfills may help alleviate the issue of plastic pollution.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: The use of biodegradable plastics, therefore, is seen as enabling the complete recovery of large quantities of municipal solid waste (via aerobic composting and feedstocks) that have heretofore been unrecoverable by other means except land filling or incineration.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Oxo-biodegradation: There are allegations that biodegradable plastic bags may release metals, and may require a great deal of time to degrade in certain circumstances and that OBD (oxo-biodegradable) plastics may produce tiny fragments of plastic that do not continue to degrade at any appreciable rate regardless of the environment. The response of the Oxo-biodegradable Plastics Association (www.biodeg.org) is that OBD plastics do not contain metals. They contain salts of metals, which are not prohibited by legislation and are in fact necessary as trace-elements in the human diet. Oxo-biodegradation of low-density polyethylene containing a proprietary manganese-salt-based additive showed 91% biodegradation in a soil environment after 24 months.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Effect on food supply: There is also much debate about the total carbon, fossil fuel and water usage in manufacturing biodegradable bioplastics from natural materials and whether they are a negative impact to human food supply. To make of polylactic acid, the most common commercially available compostable plastic, of corn is required. Since as of 2010, approximately 270 million tonnes of plastic are made every year, replacing conventional plastic with corn-derived polylactic acid would remove 715.5 million tonnes from the world's food supply, at a time when global warming is reducing tropical farm productivity.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Methane release: There is concern that another greenhouse gas, methane, might be released when any biodegradable material, including truly biodegradable plastics, degrades in an anaerobic landfill environment. Methane production from 594 managed landfill environments is captured and used for energy; some landfills burn this off through a process called flaring to reduce the release of methane into the environment. In the US, most landfilled materials today go into landfills where they capture the methane biogas for use in clean, inexpensive energy. Incinerating non-biodegradable plastics will release carbon dioxide as well. Disposing of non-biodegradable plastics made from natural materials in anaerobic (landfill) environments will result in the plastic lasting for hundreds of years.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Biodegradation in the ocean: Biodegradable plastics that have not fully degraded are disposed of in the oceans by waste management facilities with the assumption that the plastics will eventually break down in a short amount of time. However, the ocean is not optimal for biodegradation, as the process favors warm environments with an abundance of microorganisms and oxygen. Remaining microfibers that have not undergone biodegradation can cause harm to marine life.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Various researchers have undertaken extensive life cycle assessments of biodegradable polymers to determine whether these materials are more energy efficient than polymers made by conventional fossil fuel-based means. Research done by Gerngross, "et al." estimates that the fossil fuel energy required to produce a kilogram of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) is 50.4 MJ/kg, which coincides with another estimate by Akiyama, "et al.", who estimate a value between 50-59 MJ/kg. This information does not take into account the feedstock energy, which can be obtained from non-fossil fuel based methods. Polylactide (PLA) was estimated to have a fossil fuel energy cost of 54-56.7 from two sources, but recent developments in the commercial production of PLA by NatureWorks has eliminated some dependence of fossil fuel-based energy by supplanting it with wind power and biomass-driven strategies. They report making a kilogram of PLA with only 27.2 MJ of fossil fuel-based energy and anticipate that this number will drop to 16.6 MJ/kg in their next generation plants. In contrast, polypropylene and high-density polyethylene require 85.9 and 73.7 MJ/kg, respectively, but these values include the embedded energy of the feedstock because it is based on fossil fuel.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Gerngross reports a 2.65 kg total fossil fuel energy equivalent (FFE) required to produce a single kilogram of PHA, while polyethylene only requires 2.2 kg FFE. Gerngross assesses that the decision to proceed forward with any biodegradable polymer alternative will need to take into account the priorities of society with regard to energy, environment, and economic cost.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Furthermore, it is important to realize the youth of alternative technologies. Technology to produce PHA, for instance, is still in development today, and energy consumption can be further reduced by eliminating the fermentation step, or by utilizing food waste as feedstock. The use of alternative crops other than corn, such as sugar cane from Brazil, are expected to lower energy requirements. For instance, "manufacturing of PHAs by fermentation in Brazil enjoys a favorable energy consumption scheme where bagasse is used as source of renewable energy."


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Many biodegradable polymers that come from renewable resources (i.e. starch-based, PHA, PLA) also compete with food production, as the primary feedstock is currently corn. For the US to meet its current output of plastics production with BPs, it would require 1.62 square meters per kilogram produced.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: To ensure the integrity of products labelled as "biodegradable", the following standards have been established:


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: ASTM International defines methods to test for biodegradable plastic, both anaerobically and aerobically, as well as in marine environments. The specific subcommittee responsibility for overseeing these standards falls on the Committee D20.96 on Environmentally Degradable Plastics and Bio based Products. The current ASTM standards are defined as standard specifications and standard test methods. Standard specifications create a pass or fail scenario whereas standard test methods identify the specific testing parameters for facilitating specific time frames and toxicity of biodegradable tests on plastics.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: ASTM D5511-18 - Standard Test Method for Determining Anaerobic Biodegradation of Plastic Materials Under High-Solids Anaerobic-Digestion Conditions


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: ASTM D5526-18 - Standard Test Method for Determining Anaerobic Biodegradation of Plastic Materials Under Accelerated Landfill Conditions


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Both standards above indicate that a minimum of 70% of the material should have biodegraded by 30 days (ASTM D5511-18) or the duration of the testing procedure (ASTM D5526-18) to be considered biodegradable under anaerobic conditions.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: ASTM D6400 - Standard Specification for Labeling of Plastics Designed to be Aerobically Composted in Municipal or Industrial Facilities


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: ASTM D6868 - Standard Specification for Labeling of End Items that Incorporate Plastics and Polymers as Coatings or Additives with Paper and Other Substrates Designed to be Aerobically Composted in Municipal or Industrial Facilities


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Both standards above outline procedures for testing and labelling biodegradability in aerobic composting conditions. Plastics can be classified as biodegradable in aerobic environments when 90% of the material is fully mineralized into within 180 days (~6 months).


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: EN 13432:2000 - Packaging: requirements for packaging recoverable through composting and biodegradation


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Similar to the US standards, the European standard requires that 90% of the polymer fragments be fully mineralized into within 6 months.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: EN 14046:2004 - Evaluation of the ultimate aerobic biodegradability and disintegration of packaging materials under controlled composting conditions.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: In 2021, the European Commission's Scientific Advice Mechanism recommended to the Commission to develop new certification and testing standards for biodegradation of plastic in the open environment, including:


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: In October 2020 British Standards published new standards for biodegradable plastic. In order to comply with the standards biodegradable plastic must degrade to a wax which contains no microplastics or nanoplastics within two years. The breakdown of the plastics can be triggered by exposure to sunlight, air and water. Chief executive of Polymateria, Niall Dunne, said his company had created polyethylene film which degraded within 226 days and plastic cups which broke down in 336 days.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: With rising concern for environmental ramifications of plastic waste, researchers have been exploring the application of genetic engineering and synthetic biology for optimizing biodegradable plastic production. This involves altering the endogenous genetic makeup or other biological systems of organisms.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: In 1995, an article titled “Production of Polyhydroxyalkanoates, a Family of Biodegradable Plastics and Elastomers, in Bacteria and Plants” describes the use of synthetic biology to increase the yield of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), specifically in "Arabidopsis" plants. Similarly, a study conducted in 1999 investigated how the oil seed rape plant can be genetically modified to produce PHBVs. Although a high yield was not produced, this displays the early use of genetic engineering for production of biodegradable plastics.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Efforts are still being made in the direction of biodegradable plastic production through genetic fabrication and re-design. A paper published in 2014 titled “Genetic engineering increases yield of biodegradable plastic from cyanobacteria” outlines procedures conducted to produce a higher yield of PHBs that is industrially comparable. Previous research indicated that both Rre37 and SigE proteins are separately responsible for the activation of PHB production in the "Synechocystis" strain of cyanobacteria. Thus, in this study, the "Synechocystis" strain was modified to overexpress Rre37 and SigE proteins together under nitrogen-limited conditions.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Currently, a student-run research group at the University of Virginia (Virginia iGEM 2019) is in the process of genetically engineering "Escherichia coli" to convert styrene (monomer of polystyrene) into P3HBs (a type of PHA). The project aims to demonstrate that waste polystyrene can effectively be used as a carbon source for biodegradable plastic production, tackling both issues of polystyrene waste accumulation in landfills and high production cost of PHAs.


title: Biodegradable plastic

text: Biodegradable Conducting Polymers (CPs) are a polymeric material designed for applications within the human body. Important properties of this material are its electrical conductivity comparable to traditional conductors and its biodegradability. The medical applications of biodegradable CPs are attractive to medical specialties such as tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. In tissue engineering, the key focus is on providing damaged organs with physicochemical cues to damaged organs for repair. This is achieved through use of nanocomposite scaffolding. Regenerative medicine applications are designed to regenerate cells along with improving the repair process of the body. The use of biodegradable CPs can also be implemented into biomedical imaging along with implants, and more.


title: Neil Robertson

text: Neil Robertson (born 11 February 1982) is an Australian professional snooker player who is a former world champion and former world number one. The only Australian to have won a ranking event, he is also the only player from outside the United Kingdom to have completed snooker's Triple Crown, having won the World Championship in 2010, the Masters in 2012 and 2022, and the UK Championship in 2013, 2015 and 2020. He has claimed a career total of 23 ranking titles, having won at least one professional tournament every year since 2006.


title: Neil Robertson

text: A prolific break-builder, Robertson has compiled more than 850 century breaks in professional competition, including five maximum breaks. He is the fourth player in professional snooker history to reach the 800-century mark, after Ronnie O'Sullivan, John Higgins and Judd Trump. In the 2013–14 season, he became the first player to make 100 centuries in a single season, finishing with a record 103 centuries.


title: Neil Robertson

text: Robertson began his snooker career at 14, when he became the youngest player to make a century break in an Australian ranking event. He began his professional career in the 1998/1999 season. Then, when he was 17 years old, he reached the third qualifying round of the 1999 World Championship.


title: Neil Robertson

text: In July 2003, Robertson won the World Under-21 Snooker Championship in New Zealand. This earned him a vital wildcard spot on the subsequent WPBSA Main Tour. In 2003, he won the qualifying tournament for a wildcard place at the 2004 Masters, where he subsequently lost 2–6 to Jimmy White in the first round.


title: Neil Robertson

text: In the 2004–05 season, he moved up to the top 32 in the rankings, reaching the final stages of six of the eight tournaments, despite having to play at least two qualifying matches for each one. He qualified for the final stages of the 2005 World Championship, losing 7–10 to Stephen Hendry in the first round.


title: Neil Robertson

text: In the 2005–06 season, he continued to progress, moving up to the top 16 of the rankings at the end of the season. He reached four quarter-finals in the season, including the 2006 World Championships, in which he fought back from 8–12 down to level at 12–12 against eventual champion Graeme Dott, before losing the final frame by inadvertently potting the final pink, which he needed on the table in his attempts to snooker Dott.


title: Neil Robertson

text: He made his breakthrough in the 2006–07 season. After finishing top of his group at the 2006 Grand Prix's round robin stage (he lost only one match, his opener against Nigel Bond by 2–3), Robertson beat Ronnie O'Sullivan 5–1 in the quarter-finals. He went on to the semis, being only the fourth Australian ever to do so in a ranking event. He beat Alan McManus 6–2 to reach his first major final, where he faced a fellow first-time finalist, the unseeded Jamie Cope, whom he beat comfortably by 9–5 to win his first ever professional ranking tournament. The win earned Robertson £60,000, his highest amount of money earned in one tournament.


title: Neil Robertson

text: Robertson had early exits in both the UK Championship and the Masters, but found his form again en route to the final of the Welsh Open. He defeated Stephen Hendry 5–3, making a break of 141 in the last frame, then recovered from 4–3 down to beat Ronnie O'Sullivan 5–4 in the quarter-finals. He beat Steve Davis 6–3 in the semi-finals, and surprise finalist Andrew Higginson 9–8 in the final to take the title. He led 6–2 after the first session, then dropped six frames in a row to come within one frame of defeat, but took the remaining three frames to win the match.


title: Neil Robertson

text: He reached the second round of the 2007 World Championship, losing 10–13 to Ronnie O'Sullivan despite winning six frames in a row at one stage.


title: Neil Robertson

text: Robertson started the 2007–08 season poorly, making early exits in three of the first four ranking events, as well as at the 2008 Masters and the 2008 Malta Cup. He did reach the quarter-finals of the 2007 Northern Ireland Trophy though, after wins over Jamie Cope and Ian McCulloch. He finished the season ranked 10th, but outside the top sixteen on the one-year list.


title: Neil Robertson

text: After a disappointing start to the 2008–09 season, Robertson reached the final of the 2008 Bahrain Championship, where he played Matthew Stevens. The match lasted almost six hours in total, with the Australian edging it 9–7.


title: Neil Robertson

text: During the 2009 Masters, Robertson and opponent Stephen Maguire set a record of five consecutive century breaks. Robertson made two centuries and Maguire made three, the latter sealing a 6–3 win over the Australian with his third. At the 2009 World Championship, Robertson defeated Steve Davis, Ali Carter and Stephen Maguire to reach the semi-finals of the World Championship for the first time, before losing to Shaun Murphy 14–17 (after recovering from 7–14 behind to level at 14–14).


title: Neil Robertson

text: In October 2009, Robertson clinched the 2009 Grand Prix trophy in Glasgow with a 9–4 win over China's Ding Junhui in the final. His semi-final match with defending champion John Higgins was won on the final black of the deciding frame. He also made his 100th career century during the event. Robertson's fourth title made him the most successful player from outside the UK and Ireland in ranking tournaments, although Ding Junhui equalled his total at that season's UK Championship.


title: Neil Robertson

text: On 1 April 2010, Robertson made the first official maximum break of his career in his second round match in the 2010 China Open against Peter Ebdon.


title: Neil Robertson

text: At the 2010 World Championship, Robertson defeated Fergal O'Brien 10–5 in the first round. In his second round match against Martin Gould, Robertson trailed 0–6 and 5–11 before recovering to win the match 13–12. He defeated Steve Davis 13–5 in the quarter-finals. He faced Ali Carter in the semi-finals, winning 17–12 to reach the final. There he defeated 2006 champion Graeme Dott 18–13 to become only the third player from outside the UK, only the second from outside the UK and Ireland, and the first Australian to become world champion in the modern era of the game. (Although the record books show Australian Horace Lindrum triumphed in 1952, that was the year when the sport's leading players staged a boycott so Lindrum has not been widely regarded as a credible world champion.) The win took Robertson to a career-high ranking of world number two in the following season.


title: Neil Robertson

text: At the start of the new season Robertson lost in the first round of the 2010 Shanghai Masters to Peter Ebdon. However, at the World Open, where he was drawn in the last 64 against Graeme Dott in a repeat of their world final, Robertson won 3–1, then went on to beat David Morris, Andrew Higginson, Ricky Walden and Mark Williams before producing an assured display to beat Ronnie O'Sullivan 5–1 in the final, to confirm his position as the eighth world number one in snooker. He was invited to the Premier League Snooker, where he reached the semi-final, but lost 1–5 against O'Sullivan. Robertson reached the quarter-finals of the UK Championship, where he lost 7–9 to Shaun Murphy, then also reached the quarter-finals of the Masters, but lost again, by 4–6 to Mark Allen. He was defeated in the first round of the German Masters too. At the next two ranking tournaments he lost in the second round, 1–4 against Graeme Dott at the Welsh Open and 1–5 against Peter Ebdon at the China Open, and he could not defend his World Snooker Championship title either, as he lost 8–10 in the first round against eventual finalist Judd Trump.


title: Neil Robertson

text: Robertson's season started in a disappointing fashion as he lost 4–5 to Dominic Dale in the last 16 of his home tournament, the Australian Goldfields Open. However, his form soon improved and at the next world ranking event, the Shanghai Masters, he dismissed Liang Wenbo, Michael Holt and John Higgins, before losing 5–6 to Mark Williams in a tightly contested semi-final.


title: Neil Robertson

text: His first silverware of the season came in Warsaw at the PTC Event 6, where he beat Ricky Walden 4–1 in the final. This success was quickly followed up by another PTC title in Event 8 where he won by a 4–1 scoreline again, this time against Judd Trump. Victory ensured that Robertson maintained his record of never having lost in a ranking event final. He would later finish third in the Order of Merit and therefore qualify for the 2012 PTC Finals. His fine form continued into the UK Championship in York, where he beat Tom Ford, Graeme Dott and Ding Junhui en route to his first semi-final in the event. He played Judd Trump and lost in an extremely tight encounter, 7–9, with there never being more than two frames between the players throughout the match.


title: Neil Robertson

text: Robertson won the 2012 Masters by defeating Shaun Murphy 10–6 in his first Masters final. He beat Mark Allen and Mark Williams in the opening two rounds, before facing Judd Trump in the semi-finals for the second successive major tournament. He exacted revenge for his defeat in York a month earlier by winning 6–3, and said after the match that he had been spurred on by fans cheering when Trump fluked shots. Such was Robertson's feeling that he lacked support from the local crowd, he offered to buy a pint of beer for anyone attending his matches in an Australian hat or shirt, but only one person heeded this call in his semi-final match against Mark Williams. In the final he opened up a 5–3 lead over Murphy in the first session and, although he lost the first frame upon the resumption of play, won four frames in a row to stand on the edge of the title. Despite a brief fightback from the Englishman, Robertson secured the frame he needed with a break of 70 to become the fourth man from outside the United Kingdom to win the event.


title: Neil Robertson

text: Robertson did not advance beyond the second round in any of his next three ranking events, and then saw his run of televised finals without defeat finally come to an end when he was beaten 4–0 by Stephen Lee in the PTC Finals.<ref name="2011/12"></ref>


title: Neil Robertson

text: He lost in the quarter-finals of the China Open 3–5 to Peter Ebdon, before drawing 1997 champion Ken Doherty in the first round of the World Championship. Robertson won the match 10–4, then beat qualifier David Gilbert 13–9 to set up a quarter-final clash with Ronnie O'Sullivan. Robertson was 5–3 ahead after the first session, but his opponent produced a match defining run of six frames in a row and went on to win 13–10. Robertson finished the season ranked world number seven.


title: Neil Robertson

text: Robertson once again began the season poorly as he lost in the first round of the Wuxi Classic, and the second round of both the Australian Goldfields Open and the Shanghai Masters.<ref name="2012/13"></ref> He returned to form at the minor-ranking Gdynia Open in Poland by defeating Jamie Burnett 4–3 in the final. At the inaugural International Championship in Chengdu, China, Robertson saw off Ryan Day, Matthew Stevens, Lü Haotian, and Shaun Murphy 9–5 in the semi-finals to reach the final. There he led Judd Trump 8–6 but lost four consecutive frames to succumb to an 8–10 defeat. He enjoyed a comfortable passage into the quarter-finals of the UK Championship with 6–1 and 6–2 wins over Tom Ford and Barry Hawkins respectively to face Mark Selby. Robertson squandered a 4–0 lead to lose 4–6 in a match which finished after midnight.


title: Neil Robertson

text: Robertson started 2013 by attempting to defend his Masters title. He produced a comeback in the first round against Ding Junhui by taking the final three frames in a 6–5 triumph, shouting "You beauty!" when he potted the clinching red. Another deciding frame followed in the next round against Mark Allen, with Robertson making a 105 break in it to progress to the semi-finals, and a more comfortable 6–2 win against Shaun Murphy. Robertson won three frames from 3–8 down to Mark Selby in the final, before Selby held off the fightback by taking the two frames he required to win 10–6. Robertson was beaten in the semi-finals of both the German Masters (2–6 to Ali Carter) and the World Open (5–6 to Matthew Stevens). Robertson's victory in the Gdynia Open earlier in the season helped him finish fifth on the PTC Order of Merit to qualify for the Finals. Wins over Jamie Burnett, Barry Hawkins, Xiao Guodong and Tom Ford saw him reach the final. He faced Ding Junhui, and from 3–0 ahead went on to lose 3–4, meaning that Robertson had now lost his last three ranking finals, having won his first six.


title: Neil Robertson

text: Robertson returned to form at the China Open by winning his seventh career ranking event. He advanced to the final by defeating Jimmy Robertson 5–0, Mark Allen 5–1, Marcus Campbell 5–2 and Stephen Maguire 6–5 (after fighting back from 2–4 down). He exacted revenge over Mark Selby for his 10–6 loss in the final of the Masters in January by beating the Englishman by the same scoreline, moving to world number two in the process. Despite appearing to be in top form for the World Championship, he lost to Robert Milkins 8–10 in the first round, saying afterwards that he should have gone out to win the match rather than getting too involved in safety. Robertson finished the season ranked world number two for the second time in his career.


title: Neil Robertson

text: In May 2013, Robertson made the second official maximum break of his career in the Wuxi Classic qualifiers against Mohamed Khairy. In the main stage of the tournament, he defeated John Higgins 10–7 in the final to secure his eighth ranking event title. He came from 2–5 down against Higgins to lead 8–5 before withstanding a fightback to complete the victory and ensure his second consecutive ranking event win in China. In his home tournament, the Australian Goldfields Open, he made it past the second round for the first time in the three stagings of the event, before continuing his run by beating Joe Perry 5–2 in the quarter-finals and Mark Selby 6–3 in the semis.<ref name="2013/14"></ref> He would have become the first man since Ronnie O'Sullivan in 2003 to win back to back ranking events in the same season, but he lost 6–9 to Hong Kong's Marco Fu in the final. On 8 December 2013, Robertson defeated Mark Selby 10–7 in the final of the UK Championship, becoming the first overseas player to win all Triple Crown events.


title: Neil Robertson

text: In January 2014, during the Championship League, Robertson reached 63 century breaks in a single professional season, breaking the previous record of 61 centuries held by Judd Trump. By early February, Robertson had reached 78 centuries, a feat that Ronnie O'Sullivan called "probably the most phenomenal scoring in the history of the game." In February, he made his 88th century of the season while playing Mark Williams in the last 32 of the Welsh Open, but went on to lose 4–3.


title: Neil Robertson

text: At the World Open, he extended his season total to 92 centuries, but lost 5–4 on a re-spotted black against Marco Fu in the last 32.


title: Neil Robertson

text: At the China Open he won a trio of deciding frames before beating Graeme Dott and Ali Carter to reach the final, where he lost 10–5 to Ding Junhui.


title: Neil Robertson

text: He added one more century break during the event and extended the total to 99 in his first two World Championship matches. Robertson also missed a black on a break of 94 that would have seen him reach the 100 milestone during his win over Mark Allen. However, in the 22nd frame of his quarter-final clash against Judd Trump, Robertson made his 100th century break of the season, which also levelled the scores at 11–11. Robertson went on to win the match 13–11 (having trailed 6–2 and 11–8) to set up a semi-final against Mark Selby. Selby, the eventual champion, defeated Robertson 17–15 in a high-quality match that saw Robertson make three more century breaks to end his tally for the season at 103. He ended the campaign as the world number three.


title: Neil Robertson

text: Robertson beat Shaun Murphy on the final black in the quarter-finals of the 2014 Wuxi Classic to win 5–4, and then beat Barry Hawkins 6–3 to reach the opening ranking event final of the 2014–15 season. He played friend and practice partner Joe Perry, and from 3–0 behind rallied to lead 8–6, before Perry won three frames in a row to be one away from the title. Robertson then produced breaks of 87 and 78 to win the title 10–9, and paid tribute to Perry's influence on his own career after the match. A week later he comfortably won through to the final of his home event, the Australian Goldfields Open, without any of his opponents taking more than two frames off him.<ref name="2014/15"></ref> Robertson was beaten in the final for the second year in a row, this time 9–5 by Judd Trump, but reclaimed the world number one spot afterwards. He then had early exits at the Shanghai Masters and International Championship, and was knocked out at the semi-final stage of the Champion of Champions 6–4 by Trump.


title: Neil Robertson

text: Robertson trailed Graeme Dott 5–0 in the fourth round of the UK Championship, but then made five breaks above 50, which included two centuries, to draw level, before falling short of a big comeback as Dott took the final frame to win 6–5. He produced his best snooker to reach the final of the Masters by defeating Ali Carter 6–1 in the quarter-finals and Ronnie O'Sullivan 6–1 in the semis. The latter victory marked the first time O'Sullivan had been eliminated at that stage of the event after 10 previous wins, and also ended a run of 15 consecutive wins in all competitions. However, in the final Robertson suffered the heaviest defeat in the Masters since 1988, as Shaun Murphy thrashed him 10–2. He did not lose a frame in reaching the quarter-finals of the German Masters, but Stephen Maguire got the two snookers he required in the deciding frame when Robertson accidentally potted the black, and went on to clear the table to win 5–4. Robertson was forced to concede the fifth frame of his fourth round match with Gary Wilson at the Welsh Open when he failed to hit a red three times in a row, and lost the next frame to exit the tournament. Robertson won his only European Tour event this year at the Gdynia Open by beating Mark Williams 4–0, meaning he has now claimed three titles in Poland during his career.


title: Neil Robertson

text: Robertson enjoyed comfortable 10–2 and 13–5 wins over Jamie Jones and Ali Carter to face Barry Hawkins in the quarter-finals of the World Championship. It was an extremely high quality encounter as both players compiled four centuries to match a Crucible record in a best of 25 frame match, but eventually Robertson lost 13–12. He made 11 centuries in the event, which included a 143 in the first round, a 145 in the second, and breaks of 141 and 142 in the final session of the match. Despite this, Robertson, who had won four ranking titles since his world title in 2010, stated that he believed he had underachieved in his career.


title: Neil Robertson

text: Robertson exited in round one of the first two ranking events in the 2015–16 season, and lost 6–4 to Mark Selby in the quarter-finals of the International Championship.<ref name="2015/16"></ref> He then claimed his first major title in over 12 months by beating Mark Allen 10–5 in the final of the Champion of Champions. At the UK Championship Thepchaiya Un-Nooh missed the final black for a 147 in their third round match, before Robertson made a 145 break in the next frame and went on to win 6–2. After that he saw off Stephen Maguire 6–1, John Higgins 6–5 and Mark Selby 6–0 to capture the title for the second time with a 10–5 win against Liang Wenbo. Robertson became the first player to make a 147 break in a Triple Crown final in the sixth frame of this match. It was also the first final in the event not to feature a player from the United Kingdom.


title: Neil Robertson

text: Robertson and Judd Trump set a record of six centuries in a best-of-11 frame match (four from Trump and two from Robertson) in the second round of the Masters, with Trump progressing 6–5. Robertson proclaimed the match as the greatest ever at the Masters. Later he was on the receiving end of a 147 break during his quarter-final match with Ding Junhui in the Welsh Open, but the Australian prevailed 5–2. He then overcame Mark Allen 6–4 in the semi-finals to set up a final with Ronnie O'Sullivan. Despite leading 5–2, Robertson lost 9–5 as O'Sullivan produced a comeback by winning seven frames in a row. Following this he ended the season with three first round defeats.


title: Neil Robertson

text: At the Riga Masters, Robertson did not lose more than one frame in any match as he reached the final, in which he secured his 12th ranking title with a 5–2 win over Michael Holt. He reached the semi-finals of the World Open, but lost 6–2 to Joe Perry. He also played in the semi-finals of the European Masters where he was defeated 6–0 by Ronnie O'Sullivan, then lost 6–3 to Peter Lines in the first round of the UK Championship. Similar to last year, he was beaten in the quarter-finals of the Masters, by O'Sullivan 6–3, and was also knocked out at the same stage in the World Grand Prix, the Gibraltar Open and the Players Championship. After losing 13–11 to Marco Fu in the second round of the World Championship in a performance he described as garbage, Robertson said that next season he would be playing with more passion and aggression to improve his game and make it more interesting for the viewing public.


title: Neil Robertson

text: Robertson was the winner of the 2017 Hong Kong Masters, besting Ronnie O'Sullivan 6–3. Later in the season he reached the quarter-finals of the English Open where he lost 5–3 to Anthony McGill. In December he won the Scottish Open, coming from 4–8 down to win 9–8 in the final against Cao Yupeng.


title: Neil Robertson

text: In 2018 Robertson was a quarter-finalist yet again at the 2018 Players Championship, but suffered a 1–6 defeat by Judd Trump. He exited the 2018 China Open at the semi-finals, losing 6–10 to Barry Hawkins.


title: Neil Robertson

text: At the 2018 Riga Masters, Robertson won the event for the second time by defeating Stuart Carrington in the semi-final and then Jack Lisowski 5–2 in the final. He also reached the final at the 2018 International Championship, but lost 5–10 against Mark Allen, to whom Robertson also lost the quarter-final of the 2018 Champion of Champions 1–6 a few days later.


title: Neil Robertson

text: In the season's second half, Robertson won the Welsh Open, winning 9–7 over Stuart Bingham, then became runner-up to Ronnie O'Sullivan in the Players Championship and the Tour Championship. He also made it into the semi-finals of the Masters, but lost to eventual winner Judd Trump 6–4. Nearing the end of the season Robertson won the China Open after defeating Lisowski again, this time 11–4. At the World Snooker Championship, he beat Michael Georgiou 10–1, then defeated Shaun Murphy 13–6 in the second round, and finally played John Higgins in the quarter-finals, where he lost 10–13.


title: Neil Robertson

text: Robertson started the season as world number four. Due to technical issues linked with the flight, he was not able to defend his title at the opening ranking tournament of the season, the Riga Masters. Later he reached the semi-final at the non-ranking Shanghai Masters, but he was beaten 6–10 by Ronnie O'Sullivan. In November, Robertson won the invitational Champion of Champions after defeating Judd Trump 10–9 in the final. However, in the first half of the season he failed to reach the quarter-finals at any ranking tournament. As world number five, he had qualified for the Masters, but lost in the first round to Stephen Maguire 5–6 in spite of leading 5–1.


title: Neil Robertson

text: After the Masters, he produced fabulous form, reaching three consecutive ranking finals at the European Masters, German Masters and the World Grand Prix. He won the European Masters, whitewashing Zhou Yuelong 9–0, and the World Grand Prix by defeating Graeme Dott 10–8. At the German Masters, he fell short to world number one Judd Trump with the result of 6–9. As a result of these performances he reached second place in the world rankings again.


title: Neil Robertson

text: Robertson's title defence ended at the quarter-final stage of the Welsh Open after being whitewashed by Kyren Wilson 0–5. He also lost in the quarter-finals both in the 2020 Tour Championship and the 2020 World Snooker Championship.


title: Neil Robertson

text: In the first half of the season, Robertson was the runner up of the 2020 English Open, losing it 9–8 to Judd Trump, and the 2020 Champion of Champions, being bested by Mark Allen 10–6. In December, he won his third UK Championship title, defeating Trump 10–9 in the 2020 edition of the tournament. He went on to lose in the first round at the World Grand Prix though, by 4–2 to Robert Milkins, and at the start of the second half of the season he suffered yet another 6–5 first round exit at the Masters, losing this time to Yan Bingtao, the event's eventual winner. In March, he won the 2021 Tour Championship, beating Ronnie O'Sullivan 10–4 in the final. He was quarter-finalist three other times throughout the season, in the 2020 European Masters (2020–21 season), the 2021 Players Championship, and yet again in the World Championship, for the third time in a row.


title: Neil Robertson

text: In November, Robertson won the English Open by defeating John Higgins 9–8. Later that month, he was to defend his UK Championship title, but got knocked out in the first round by John Astley. He reached the quarter-finals of the 2021 Champion of Champions, where he was defeated 6–4 by Kyren Wilson, and the final of the 2021 World Grand Prix, which he lost 10–8 to Ronnie O'Sullivan.


title: Neil Robertson

text: In the second half of the season, he won the Masters for the second time. After that, he won the Players Championship, beating Barry Hawkins both times, by the scoreline of 10–4 and 10–5 respectively. In April, he defended his Tour Championship title, winning 10–9 against John Higgins in the final, coming back after trailing 8–3 and 9–4 in the match. At the end of the season, he made his fifth maximum break at the World Championship, in the 19th frame of his second round match against Jack Lisowski, though eventually he ended up losing 12–13 in a decider.


title: Neil Robertson

text: Robertson has missed the Championship League event in Leicester, as well as the European Masters in Fürth and the British Open in Milton Keynes. He has admitted he is comfortable with his decision to opt out of the early action of the new snooker season and said:


title: Neil Robertson

text: " I used to play in most tournaments, but I'm playing for fun now. I've got a young family now so I don't need to play in every tournament these days. My family is really important to me, they're my inspiration to win."


title: Neil Robertson

text: He did participate in the 2022 World Mixed Doubles though, ending up as the winning pair with Mink Nutcharut, beating Mark Selby and Rebecca Kenna 4–2.


title: Neil Robertson

text: Later on in the season, he exited at the semi-final stage of the Hong Kong Masters, losing to Ronnie O'Sullivan 6–4, the Northern Ireland Open, being beaten by Mark Allen 6–2, the Scottish Open, in which he was defeated by Joe O'Connor 6–3, and the English Open, where his 6–4 loss to Mark Selby saw the end of his title defence.


title: Neil Robertson

text: Born and raised in Melbourne, Victoria to Ian Robertson and Alison Hunter who are both British nationals. Robertson attended Norwood Secondary College in Ringwood, Victoria. He is now based in Cambridge, England. He has previously practised at Willie Thorne's snooker club in Leicester and Cambridge Snooker Centre, but is now based at WT's Snooker and Sporting Club in Cambridge. He has a younger brother, Marc Robertson, a former snooker amateur and current professional pool player.


title: Neil Robertson

text: Robertson has two children with his Norwegian wife Mille Fjelldal, whom he met in 2008 and married in August 2021. Fjelldal had been due to give birth to the couple's first child while Robertson was playing in the 2010 World Championship final, but their son Alexander was not born until 12 May 2010. Their daughter Penelope was born on 16 March 2019. Robertson has spoken publicly about supporting his wife through her struggles with anxiety and depression, while also acknowledging how these issues affected his commitment to professional snooker.


title: Neil Robertson

text: Robertson has been a vegan since 2014. He began to pursue a plant-based diet following advice from fellow snooker professional Peter Ebdon as well as his admiration for vegan athlete Carl Lewis.


title: Neil Robertson

text: Robertson is a friend of former England footballer John Terry, and is an avid supporter of Chelsea FC.


title: Neil Robertson

text: In June 2016, he became ambassador of electronic snooker simulator app Snooker Live Pro. He was an avid gamer but gave up the hobby in April 2017, believing he was spending too much time playing games and it was affecting his snooker form.


title: Chiton

text: Chitons () are marine molluscs of varying size in the class Polyplacophora (), formerly known as Amphineura. About 940 extant and 430 fossil species are recognized.


title: Chiton

text: They are also sometimes known as gumboots or sea cradles or coat-of-mail shells or suck-rocks, or more formally as loricates, polyplacophorans, and occasionally as polyplacophores.


title: Chiton

text: Chitons have a shell composed of eight separate shell plates or valves. These plates overlap slightly at the front and back edges, and yet articulate well with one another. Because of this, the shell provides protection at the same time as permitting the chiton to flex upward when needed for locomotion over uneven surfaces, and even allows the animal to curl up into a ball when dislodged from rocks. The shell plates are encircled by a skirt known as a girdle.


title: Chiton

text: Chitons live worldwide, from cold waters through to the tropics. They live on hard surfaces, such as on or under rocks, or in rock crevices.


title: Chiton

text: Some species live quite high in the intertidal zone and are exposed to the air and light for long periods. Most species inhabit intertidal or subtidal zones, and do not extend beyond the photic zone, but a few species live in deep water, as deep as .


title: Chiton

text: Chitons are exclusively and fully marine, in contrast to the bivalves, which were able to adapt to brackish water and fresh water, and the gastropods which were able to make successful transitions to freshwater and terrestrial environments.


title: Chiton

text: All chitons bear a protective dorsal shell that is divided into eight articulating aragonite valves embedded in the tough muscular girdle that surrounds the chiton's body. Compared with the single or two-piece shells of other molluscs, this arrangement allows chitons to roll into a protective ball when dislodged and to cling tightly to irregular surfaces. In some species the valves are reduced or covered by the girdle tissue. The valves are variously colored, patterned, smooth, or sculptured.


title: Chiton

text: The most anterior plate is crescent-shaped, and is known as the cephalic plate (sometimes called a head plate, despite the absence of a complete head). The most posterior plate is known as the anal plate (sometimes called the tail plate, although chitons do not have tails.)


title: Chiton

text: The inner layer of each of the six intermediate plates is produced anteriorly as an articulating flange, called the articulamentum. This inner layer may also be produced laterally in the form of notched insertion plates. These function as an attachment of the valve plates to the soft body. A similar series of insertion plates may be attached to the convex anterior border of the cephalic plate or the convex posterior border of the anal plate.


title: Chiton

text: The sculpture of the valves is one of the taxonomic characteristics, along with the granulation or spinulation of the girdle.


title: Chiton

text: After a chiton dies, the individual valves which make up the eight-part shell come apart because the girdle is no longer holding them together, and then the plates sometimes wash up in beach drift. The individual shell plates from a chiton are sometimes known as butterfly shells due to their shape.


title: Chiton

text: The girdle may be ornamented with scales or spicules which, like the shell plates, are mineralized with aragonite — although a different mineralization process operates in the spicules to that in the teeth or shells (implying an independent evolutionary innovation). This process seems quite simple in comparison to other shell tissue; in some taxa, the crystal structure of the deposited minerals closely resembles the disordered nature of crystals that form inorganically, although more order is visible in other taxa.


title: Chiton

text: The protein component of the scales and sclerites is minuscule in comparison with other biomineralized structures, whereas the total proportion of matrix is 'higher' than in mollusc shells. This implies that polysaccharides make up the bulk of the matrix. The girdle spines often bear length-parallel striations.


title: Chiton

text: The wide form of girdle ornament suggests it serves a secondary role; chitons can survive perfectly well without them. Camouflage or defence are two likely functions. Certainly species such as some members of the genus "Acanthochitona" bear conspicuous paired tufts of spicules on the girdle. The spicules are sharp, and if carelessly handled, easily penetrate the human skin, where they detach and remain as a painful irritant.


title: Chiton

text: Spicules are secreted by cells that do not express engrailed, but these cells are surrounded by engrailed-expressing cells. These neighbouring cells secrete an organic pellicle on the outside of the developing spicule, whose aragonite is deposited by the central cell; subsequent division of this central cell allows larger spines to be secreted in certain taxa.


title: Chiton

text: The organic pellicule is found in most polyplacophora (but not basal chitons, such as "Hanleya") but is unusual in aplacophora. Developmentally, sclerite-secreting cells arise from pretrochal and postrochal cells: the 1a, 1d, 2a, 2c, 3c and 3d cells. The shell plates arise primarily from the 2d micromere, although 2a, 2b, 2c and sometimes 3c cells also participate in its secretion.


title: Chiton

text: The girdle is often ornamented with spicules, bristles, hairy tufts, spikes, or snake-like scales. The majority of the body is a snail-like foot, but no head or other soft parts beyond the girdle are visible from the dorsal side.


title: Chiton

text: The mantle cavity consists of a narrow channel on each side, lying between the body and the girdle. Water enters the cavity through openings in either side of the mouth, then flows along the channel to a second, exhalant, opening close to the anus. Multiple gills hang down into the mantle cavity along part or all of the lateral pallial groove, each consisting of a central axis with a number of flattened filaments through which oxygen can be absorbed.


title: Chiton

text: The three-chambered heart is located towards the animal's hind end. Each of the two auricles collects blood from the gills on one side, while the muscular ventricle pumps blood through the aorta and round the body.


title: Chiton

text: The excretory system consists of two nephridia, which connect to the pericardial cavity around the heart, and remove excreta through a pore that opens near the rear of the mantle cavity. The single gonad is located in front of the heart, and releases gametes through a pair of pores just in front of those used for excretion.


title: Chiton

text: The mouth is located on the underside of the animal, and contains a tongue-like structure called a radula, which has numerous rows of 17 teeth each. The teeth are coated with magnetite, a hard ferric/ferrous oxide mineral. The radula is used to scrape microscopic algae off the substratum. The mouth cavity itself is lined with chitin and is associated with a pair of salivary glands. Two sacs open from the back of the mouth, one containing the radula, and the other containing a protrusible sensory subradular organ that is pressed against the substratum to taste for food.


title: Chiton

text: Cilia pull the food through the mouth in a stream of mucus and through the oesophagus, where it is partially digested by enzymes from a pair of large pharyngeal glands. The oesophagus, in turn, opens into a stomach, where enzymes from a digestive gland complete the breakdown of the food. Nutrients are absorbed through the linings of the stomach and the first part of the intestine. The intestine is divided in two by a sphincter, with the latter part being highly coiled and functioning to compact the waste matter into faecal pellets. The anus opens just behind the foot.


title: Chiton

text: Chitons lack a clearly demarcated head; their nervous system resembles a dispersed ladder. No true ganglia are present, as in other molluscs, although a ring of dense neural tissue occurs around the oesophagus. From this ring, nerves branch forwards to innervate the mouth and subradula, while two pairs of main nerve cords run back through the body. One pair, the pedal cords, innervate the foot, while the palliovisceral cords innervate the mantle and remaining internal organs.