All Plastic degradation articles
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News
Genetically modified bacteria break down plastics in saltwater
Researchers have genetically engineered a marine microorganism to break down plastic in salt water - specifically, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a plastic used in everything from water bottles to clothing.
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Opinion
Emerging risks in public health: is plastic pollution something to worry about?
Could plastic waste act as a vector for pathogens and contribute to the spread of infectious diseases?
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News
Waste colonies yield bacterium with 3 enzymes that may break down polyester
Scientists have enriched expanded polystyrene waste from a beach in Ireland to isolate a bacterium which proved to contain three enzymes that could break down polyester.
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News
Soil microplastics could usher superbugs into food supply
Micro- and nanoplastics in agricultural soil could contribute to antibiotic resistant bacteria with a ready route into our food supply, a new study warns.
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Features
Lessons learned from microbes that stick to plastic
Lower density plastics tend to float or remain in the upper 30 meters of aquatic environments, interacting with biota in ways still being deciphered.
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News
Peat bog microbes could be deployed to break down plastic pollution
Microbes discovered in a peat bog could be used to break down plastic pollution, research being carried out at Queen’s University Belfast has revealed.
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News
Researchers uncover how PETases go about recovering monomers
A new study has revealed the details, at the molecular level, of the PET degradation process by polyester hydrolases - aka PETases.
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News
Icy microbes digest plastic at low temperatures
Scientists have found microbes that can digest plastics at low temperatures, potentially saving money and energy.
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News
Two fungal strains make meal of hard-to-recycle plastic
Two common strains of fungi have been used to successfully biodegrade polypropylene in a laboratory experiment.
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News
Fashion company joins fibre-to-fibre consortium founded by Carbios, On, Patagonia, PUMA and Salomon
Carbios, a pioneer of biological technologies for reinventing the life cycle of plastics and textiles, has signed an agreement with fashion company PVH Corp to join its fibre-to-fibre consortium founded with On, Patagonia, PUMA, and Salomon1.
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News
Scientists discover how plastic-eating bacteria digest complex carbons
Researchers have deciphered the metabolic mechanisms that enable the bacterium Comamonas testosteroni to digest complex wasste from plants and plastics, potentially leading to novel biotechnology platforms that harness the microbe to help recycle plastic waste.
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News
Rhodococcus reveals where missing plastic in world’s oceans could have gone
The bacterium Rhodococcus ruber eats and actually digests plastic - as revealed in laboratory experiments by PhD student Maaike Goudriaan at Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ).
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News
Fungi convert ocean plastic into ingredients for drug industry
Research on fungi underway at the University of Kansas has helped transform tough-to-recycle plastic waste from the Pacific Ocean into key components for making pharmaceuticals.
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News
Bacteria team with catalysts to recycle waste plastic into useful chemicals
A combination of chemical catalysts and engineered bacteria has been used to convert a mix of common plastic rubbish into a useful product.