Co-inventor of Bioloon and PhD researcher Juliana Cumming gives a demonstration of a piece of fully biodegradable rubber being inflated, at Imperial College in London on August 19, 2026. A symbol of celebration but an ecological nightmare, the party balloon is undergoing a green revolution: researchers in London claim to have developed the first fully biodegradable model, which they plan to bring to market within two years. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP via Getty Images) / TO GO WITH STORY by Alexandra DEL PERAL

Co-inventor of Bioloon and PhD researcher Juliana Cumming poses for a photo at Imperial College in London on August 19, 2026. A symbol of celebration but an ecological nightmare, the party balloon is undergoing a green revolution: researchers in London claim to have developed the first fully biodegradable model, which they plan to bring to market within two years. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP via Getty Images) / TO GO WITH STORY by Alexandra DEL PERAL

Bioloon CEO Charlotte Melia holds a sample of biodegradable rubber at a laboratory at Imperial College in London, on August 19, 2026. A symbol of celebration but an ecological nightmare, the party balloon is undergoing a green revolution: researchers in London claim to have developed the first fully biodegradable model, which they plan to bring to market within two years. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP via Getty Images) / TO GO WITH STORY by Alexandra DEL PERAL

Co-inventor of Bioloon and PhD researcher Juliana Cumming gives a demonstration of a piece of fully biodegradable rubber being inflated, at Imperial College in London on August 19, 2026. A symbol of celebration but an ecological nightmare, the party balloon is undergoing a green revolution: researchers in London claim to have developed the first fully biodegradable model, which they plan to bring to market within two years. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP via Getty Images) / TO GO WITH STORY by Alexandra DEL PERAL

A piece of fully biodegradable rubber is seen being inflated during a demonstration, at Imperial College in London, on August 19, 2026. A symbol of celebration but an ecological nightmare, the party balloon is undergoing a green revolution: researchers in London claim to have developed the first fully biodegradable model, which they plan to bring to market within two years. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP via Getty Images) / TO GO WITH STORY by Alexandra DEL PERAL

Bioloon CEO Charlotte Melia holds a sample of biodegradable rubber at a laboratory at Imperial College in London, on August 19, 2026. A symbol of celebration but an ecological nightmare, the party balloon is undergoing a green revolution: researchers in London claim to have developed the first fully biodegradable model, which they plan to bring to market within two years. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP via Getty Images) / TO GO WITH STORY by Alexandra DEL PERAL

Co-inventor of Bioloon and PhD researcher Juliana Cumming gives a demonstration of a piece of fully biodegradable rubber being inflated, at Imperial College in London on August 19, 2026. A symbol of celebration but an ecological nightmare, the party balloon is undergoing a green revolution: researchers in London claim to have developed the first fully biodegradable model, which they plan to bring to market within two years. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP via Getty Images) / TO GO WITH STORY by Alexandra DEL PERAL

This photograph shows a view of a technology hub, in Dembéni, on the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, on August 22, 2026. Édouard Philippe, leader and candidate of the centre-right wing Horizons party in the 2027 French presidential election, is on a two-day visit in Mayotte, France's poorest territory, on August 21 and 22, 2026, speaking on asylum applications, birthright citizenship and the suspension of family reunification, and promising to put an end to the immigration "pull factor". (Photo by Marine Gachet / AFP via Getty Images)