Wriggling critters armed with enzymes can break down plastics that would otherwise take decades, or even centuries to degrade.
At first glance there’s nothing particularly remarkable about waxworms. The larval form of wax moths, these pale wriggling grubs feed on the wax that bees use to make their honeycomb. For beekeepers, the pests are something to swiftly get rid of without a second thought.
But in 2017 molecular biologist Federica Bertocchini, who at the time was researching the embryonic development of vertebrates at the Spanish National Research Council, stumbled on a potentially game-changing discovery about these creatures.
Bertocchini, an amateur beekeeper, threw some of the waxworms in a plastic bag after cleaning her hive, and left them alone. A short time later, she noticed the worms had started producing small holes in the plastic, which begun degrading as soon as it touched the worms’ mouths.
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This is hella cool, but I do want to say that it seems like there’s been a flood of news articles talking about how we’re sooooooo close to cracking plastic recycling and microplastics ever since the UN had that big push to try and regulate global plastic production. Seems like the industry is on a PR drive similar to the one for big carbon and oil; “no, you don’t need regulations, that’s ignorant, you’re being ignorant, a tech solution is just around the corner, we swear” etc. That’s primed me to view all “plastic solution” articles with more suspicion.
100% ! Similar to all those youtube celebrities promoting Ocean Clean Up projects but avoiding the fact that the only real solution is just stop producing unnecessary plastic trash. Also that instead of looking for donations, these projects should be paid by the companies that produced these plastics.
Maybe I’m missing where the article said it, but what does it break the plastic down into? That seems like it would be pretty critical information in terms of the utility here.
my guess is that something else will be able to unzip it and use it as an energy source
yep in the linked article it is mentioned that product is ethylene glycol
That’s really interesting. Other than the common usage as antifreeze in your car and for airplane de-icing ethylene glycol is a precursor for plastics used in soda bottles. Left on it’s own ethylene glycol breaks down into CO2 eventually.
Wikipedia article about ethylene glycol including uses
Stack Overflow answer containing the ethylene glycol decomposition process
It’s also a molecule that can be used in the process to make any number of other products, including vanilla flavoring, per the article
Well we don’t need more of that… Shit.
Mercury :)
/s
That’s pretty cool.
Just to be clear, I’m taking the piss.
ohhhh, and it’s your piss that produces the mercury? that is cool.
It’s better than the asbestos my dandruff is made of.
It’s pretty metal, too…
From the research article results there are various compounds.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-33127-w
The detected compounds comprised oxidized aliphatic chains, like 2-ketones from 10 to 22 carbons. Ketones from 10 to 18 carbons were identified by comparing the fragmentgram of the ion m/z 58 from methyl ketones that correspond with the transposition of the McLafferty on the carbonyl located at the second carbon of each ketone. Those not present in the library as 2-eicosanone and 2-docosanone showed the same fragmentgram m/z 58 and were defined by the equidistance of the peaks along the retention time and their molecular weight (Supplementary Table 1). Furthermore, the presence of 2-ketones was confirmed with GC-MS/MS in MRM mode with the ion with the highest m/z and the exclusive of each molecule as 212 > 58 for 2-tetradecanone, 240 > 59 for 2-hexadecanone, and 282 > 58 for 2-octadecanone. Also, butane, 2,3-Butanediol, 2-trimethylslyl (TMS) derivative, and sebacic acid, 2TMS derivative were identified using sample silylation, indicating the deterioration of the PE chain (Fig. 3C). At the same time, a small aromatic compound recognizable as benzenepropanoic acid, TMS derivative, a plastic antioxidant, was found. Derivative chemicals were confirmed as well using GC-MS/MS with an m/z of 147 > 73, 331 > 73, and 104 > 75, respectively. The presence of this plastic antioxidant suggests an “opening” in the polymeric structures, with the release of small stabilizing compounds normally present in plastics (plastic additives).
Ethylene glycol.
It’s toxic to mammals.Not the big solution that’s hoped for then, I guess.
We use this molecule to make numerous other things, like vanilla flavoring per the article….
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zFZ5jQ0yuNA
This guy makes cool chemistry videos
Lots of things are toxic, we can deal with them in industrial settings just fine. Pretty much everything we use is toxic at some point in its manufacturing process
Cool, good thing all of those landfills full of plastic won’t leak those chemicals anywhere.
Just don’t do it in the landfills, then? Ethylene glycol is a chemical with practical uses, there’s no reason not to collect it in a recycling facility.
Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.
I don’t think anyone is suggesting you manufacture this enzyme and just pour it onto a landfill.
wondering same. exothermic? worms like it I guess
just wait until they develop a taste for the microplastics in our brains
Is anyone else’s tadpole squirming a lot more than usual?
Tsk’va!
I doubt there’s enough concentration in one place to be noticed. However, the enzymes could be used to possibly treat us and remove the microplastics
Anyone starting a pool on how long until something really likes eating plastic and we have to deal with infestations of those, like with termites and wood?
My bet is some scientist accidentally leaks plastic eating bacteria into the wild. Then rust, plastic rust, everywhere.
Scientist: It’s for the good of the planet! [releases plastic-eating bacteria into the wild]
[Later, in the smoldering ruins of a post-plastocalyptic future…]
Former Scientist Now Pottery Shard Crusher: Okay, maybe that was a mistake.
Are we sure it’s not just breaking the plastic in microplastics?
Pretty sure that was the case a while ago with some sort of organism.
hope it works on most common grocery bags
