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Plastic eating worms

CAPSLOCKSTUCK

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Researchers from the Institute of Biomedicine and Biotechnology of Cantabria in Spain found that wax worms can do serious damage to a plastic bag in less than an hour.

'We have found that the larva of a common insect, Galleria mellonella, is able to biodegrade one of the toughest, most resilient, and most used plastics: polyethylene,' said Federica Bertocchini, who led the research.

The researchers showed that the wax worms were not only ingesting the plastic, they were also chemically transforming the polyethylene into ethylene glycol - a translucent alcohol.

Although wax worms wouldn't normally eat plastic, the researchers suspect that their ability is a byproduct of their natural habits.




Wax moths, which are found widely in Europe and eastern North America, lay their eggs inside beehives.



According to the a new study , which is published in Current Biology, the worms naturally hatch and grow on beeswax, which is composed of a highly diverse mixture of lipid compounds.

It's likely that digesting beeswax and polyethylene involves breaking down similar types of chemical bonds.

'Wax is a polymer, a sort of 'natural plastic,' and has a chemical structure not dissimilar to polyethylene,' Dr Bertocchini said.

As the molecular details of the process become known, the researchers say it could be used to devise a biotechnological solution to managing polyethylene waste.

They'll continue to explore the process in search of such a strategy.

'We are planning to implement this finding into a viable way to get rid of plastic waste, working towards a solution to save our oceans, rivers, and all the environment from the unavoidable consequences of plastic accumulation,' said Dr Bertocchini.

https://www.researchgate.net/blog/p...-caterpillar-can-help-us-get-rid-of-our-trash
 
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DeJa Vu, I'm sure you posted "Plastic eating Worms" previously.
I recall having a chuckle over the title.
 
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I can sadly see this all going wrong as the worms get loose and start munching on all the polyethylene on the planet
 

CAPSLOCKSTUCK

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Thanks, my memory is nearly non existent, and fading as I get older :oops:
 

Kanan

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If they could transform this into something more useful it would be a game changer as plastic waste is one of the main problems humanity faces today.
 

peche

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'We are planning to implement this finding into a viable way to get rid of plastic waste, working towards a solution to save our oceans, rivers, and all the environment from the unavoidable consequences of plastic accumulation,' said Dr Bertocchini.
great! piles of plastic eaten by worms! nice idea

If they could transform this into something more useful it would be a game changer as plastic waste is one of the main problems humanity faces today.
agreed, pollution on rivers, oceans and beaches are mostly up to 90% plastic, i wish they could do something great with that investigation and campaign, plastic also lasts moar to be degraded than paper and others,

Regards,
 
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