belts, marine products, windshield wipers, and miscellaneous goods. Natural rubber offers good elasticity, while synthetic materials tend to offer better resistance to environmental factors such as oils, temperature, chemicals, and ultraviolet light. "Cured rubber" is rubber that has been compounded and subjected to the vulcanisation process to create cross-links within the rubber matrix. Allergic reactions Some people have a serious latex allergy, and exposure to natural latex rubber products such as latex gloves can cause anaphylactic shock. The antigenic proteins found in Hevea latex are greatly reduced by about 99.9 percent (though not eliminated) through vulcanization processing. Latex from non-Hevea sources, such as guayule, can be used without allergic reaction by persons with an allergy to Hevea latex. Some allergic reactions are not to the latex itself, but from residues of chemicals used to accelerate the cross-linking process. Although this may be confused with an allergy to latex, it is distinct from it, typically taking the form of Type IV hypersensitivity in the presence of traces of specific processing chemicals. Microbial degradation Natural rubber is susceptible to degradation by a wide range of bacteria. The bacteria Streptomyces coelicolor, Pseudomonas citronellolis, and Nocardia spp. are capable of degrading vulcanized natural rubber. See also Akron, Ohio, center of the United States rubber industry Crepe rubber Ebonite Emulsion dispersion Fordlândia, failed attempt to establish a rubber plantation in Brazil Reinforced rubber Resilin, a highly elastic protein found in insects Rubber seed oil Rubber technology Stevenson Plan, historical British plan to stabilize rubber prices Charles Greville Williams, researched natural rubber being a polymer of the monomer isoprene References Citations Sources Ali, Muhammad Fadzli, et al. "The dynamics of rubber production in Malaysia: Potential impacts, challenges and proposed interventions." Forest Policy and Economics 127 (2021): 102449. (1999 Granta edition). Further reading Dean, Warren. (1997) Brazil and the Struggle for Rubber: A Study in Environmental History. Cambridge University Press. Grandin, Greg. Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City. Picador Press 2010. Weinstein, Barbara (1983) The Amazon Rubber Boom 1850–1920. Stanford University Press. Tully, John A. The Devil’s Milk; A Social History of Rubber. New York: Monthly Review Press, 2011. External links Adhesives Crops Forestry in Indonesia Forestry in Malaysia Forestry in Thailand History of forestry Natural materials Non-timber forest products Nonwoven fabrics Organic polymers Terpenes and terpenoids Thermoplastic elastomers