Meet The Plastic-Eating Worms | Planet Fix | BBC Earth Science

[@nickbarber2080]

As a beekeeper I've noted the ability of wax-moth larvae to eat everything in their path...even polystyrene...but I thought this was purely mechanical chewing rather than actual digestion...well done that lady for making the connection!

[@foryol]

I also noticed the ability of every common household moth worm to eat through plastic and also thought it was just a mechanical chewing.

[@tavisui4779]

eat everything in their path? 😨 i hope they dont evolve and grow into 2 meters tall 🤣 its scary :P

[@helentee9863]

Same here. Indian meal moths do this too (as l found to my cost ☹) but l just assumed mechanical chewing.

[@liammurphy2725]

Because? Scientist.

[@1904Ernst]

@@foryol fkn mice will eat plastic(sometimes at least :D)

[@sadiemcnabb4444]

I'm going to be endlessly entertained if these worms end up saving the world.

[@marcusrobinson1778]

Plastic ain't the only problem.

[@halatiny6537]

@@marcusrobinson1778 it’s a huge one

[@marcusrobinson1778]

@@halatiny6537 no way? Really?

[@FablestoneSeries]

I wouldn't be so sure. It is all great if they remained contained where we want them to be. But it is only a matter of time before they accidentally spread everywhere and suddenly car parks are plagued with car eating bugs, warehouses of textiles are destroyed, drones come crashing to the ground, computer farms are destroyed. It is only a matter of time before people start using them as weapons. protestors infecting companies, to terrorists trying to cause as much collateral damage as possible. This could go horribly wrong very quickly.

[@TheBelrick]

If a microbe got out that ate plastic. You die. Your neighbour dies. Modern civilization dies. How is that good? How did you get so many upvotes? How do you not know this.?

[@rayanderson5797]

This reminds me a bit of something odd that occurred in my own field (pest control). The termite bait we use is actually made primarily out of plastic. The company that makes the bait had an issue with a phone line, and found that it was being eaten by termites. Turns out that there's a kind of plastic that termites like to eat. I'm not sure if it's the same sort of case, but to me it's a little funny. It also means the bait last as long as it needs to, and we don't need to worry about it degrading.

[@cheth5604]

Like maybe a soy based plastic? It’s still a plant derived material

[@rayanderson5797]

@@cheth5604 I'm afraid I don't know. All I know is that it's a kind of plastic.

[@cheth5604]

I know that rats would eat the soy based plastics on the wiring of high end cars, so that’s my guess

[@Sami-fg2bm]

@@cheth5604 well all plastic is plant derived, oil-based plastic is produced by processing oil, which itself is fossilized plants from millions of years ago, whether rats could eat it or not is irrelevant of its source, it only depends on its molecular structure, I think an edible plastic probably could be made, but whether it's quality and price could compete with oil-based plastic is another question.

[@cheth5604]

@@Sami-fg2bm I’m speaking of the termite bait in particular from the original post because it is designed to be an attractant for termites

[@MrSuvvri]

1 year later and nothing to be heard about these anymore

[@anandsharma7430]

Too disruptive for commerce as we know it. We'll switch when we can no longer make profits. Without plastic and packaging, there is no wholesale, retail, transport, and no electronics or computers.

[@MrSuvvri]

@@anandsharma7430 but these dont eat your packagings when you need it but when its already considered a trash

[@anandsharma7430]

@@MrSuvvri Yes, but that is today. What about a decade from now when nature and evolution have enabled them to adapt. Surely they will escape into the wild, you cannot contain small organisms perfectly.

[@MrSuvvri]

@@anandsharma7430 these are worms, not some invisible bacteria. If you can keep ants and rats and whatnot from breaking into warehouses, shops and houses and eating your stuff then you can do the same with worms lol

[@anandsharma7430]

​@@MrSuvvri You are not seeing the big picture. A specific species of Argentine ants has conquered the world. Australia and NZ are superstrict at airport customs about seeds, dust, flora and fauna because they have had a history of ecosystem disruption due to species brought on ships in small numbers. Point is, the history of movement of small animals around the world is pretty well established that species can spread in really unplanned and unexpected ways. My argument is that the people in charge of trillion dollar economies dependent on packaging and plastic are fully aware of this danger and that is why they will, quite logically, fight the release of plastic eating organisms into the global ecosystem anywhere. They will even fund the production of milder and milder variants of all such organisms such that the current status quo of globalised industries is not disrupted. Also, think of the value of such organisms to Russia or Iran in their war with NATO. The world is complex and the super rich understand all this complexity. The idea of AGW (Climate change) was first suppressed, then denied, then battled at all levels. Plastic eating bacteria and plastic eating worms are both in the existential threat category for modern industries, and therefore for their economies too.

[@NZKiwi87]

I’ve never crossed my fingers so hard 🤞 not for the worms so much, but what we could potentially learn and develop.

[@honorablelord67]

🤓

[@wildlifewarrior2670]

All the wax worms are very important also

[@Zaxares]

This is why conservation is so important. Nature is a gargantuan chemical lab with millions of experiments running every second of every day, with evolutionary fitness being the prize. Plastic is a tremendous waste burden on the planet, but it's ALSO an immense and untapped resource, if only something was able to exploit it. And it seems that, just like it has countless times in the past, some organism has finally found a way to do it. A similar situation occurred millions of years ago during the Carboniferous period, which is when plants first evolved the ability to produce lignin, the central component that makes up wood. Nothing in their environment at the time could attack wood, so the early trees had an immense survival advantage, but the downside was that, once these trees died, you had tons and tons of wood just lying around on the ground that nothing could decompose. (In fact, the vast majority of the world's coal supply dates back to the Carboniferous, from when all of this undecayed wood got buried underground and eventually turned into coal.) Then, finally, a species of fungus developed the enzymes and ability to break down wood, and with all of this bonanza of uneaten wood lying around, it basically spread like wildfire around the world with a near-unlimited food source. Eventually other species and creatures developed similar abilities, but at the end of the day, nature found a solution. That's why conserving rare and unusual species is important, because you never know if one of them holds the key to solving some strange, as yet undiscovered, problem we'll have in the future.

[@Nn-uh2kb]

Why do you have to add that you don't care about the worms lol

[@NZKiwi87]

@@Nn-uh2kb I didn’t 🤷‍♀️ you just read it that way.

[@junaid2606]

It would be extremely helpful if you provided references to the journal articles that are spoken about.That way, we wouldn't have to go stumbling around looking for it, especially if someone doesn't know how to find a research paper. This is information that should be more easily accessible to the public, should they choose to read further about it.

[@Manj_J]

Yes to this, they should put links to all the papers and resources in the description for us to find and read on our own as well.

[@HABLA_GUIRRRI]

this sht has been around for decades. some narcisst millennial numptie at the beeb with his self regarding vocal fried voice just decided to look clevah with it twenty yrs too late with the sea still full of fookin plastic. twats all.

[@dddddd211]

Then make your own channel smartass...

[@Frivals]

Exactly

[@gijs-janbruil6738]

This should have gone without saying!

[@haroldvalin7110]

This is absolutely amazing. A majority of scientific discoveries were discovered by accident such as penicillin, indigo dye, and the list goes on and on. It’s a very exciting time to be alive.

[@zion3335]

As a "great scientist" once said " life..am...am...finds a way"

[@yesIdostudy]

So..... How far can these go? Are they safe? I am ready to save the world but this is... I ma skeptical. I don't know, I am just a little human haha

[@cameronschyuder9034]

@@yesIdostudywell, these questions are why it’s important for thorough research and containment. It is true that in trying to solve a current big problem, we should try to not create a different, larger problem

[@sriramnarayanaswamy7777]

Not if you are one of those worms and your food tastes like plastic.

[@naturedesign8551]

This clearly shows that Mother Nature always has got a solution to everything!... even to the most complex issues that this world is battling with - "plastic"...!

[@archietiberius5005]

I would be interested in knowing the chemical composition of the worms droppings... This is incredible.

[@peppermint-sauce]

That was my first thought

[@wildlifewarrior2670]

I'm sure they tested the poop

[@archietiberius5005]

​@@RealPlatoishere Yes, I watched the video. Digestion does not equal "renders safe" If their biological processes are just making more micro plastics instead of completely breaking down the plastic the problem has not been solved.

[@Seroxm13]

​@@archietiberius5005 reducing the plastic is still a win. You just can't solve something instantly, especially a worldwide issue. Huge problems like this will get solved gradually and will take decades.

[@archietiberius5005]

@@Seroxm13 Which is the exact reason I made my original comment in the first place my dude. I don't think, or expect, it to be solved overnight. I would still like to know what the biological precipitates are after digestion. Edit: Furthermore, my comment specifically refers to microplastics, which are small enough to be /suspended in atmosphere/ and are a much, MUCH larger problem than the existence of plastic in general. Making it smaller and smaller and smaller makes the problem exponentially worse. KZbin is wild.

[@middleclassic]

I’m 60 and after watching this video, these are the kind of discoveries that makes me want to be 10-20 years old again. Because I want so much to be a part of these discoveries, transformations, and possibilities of tackling what initially appeared to be insurmountable problems such as what to do with all the plastic we use daily.

[@Ming1975]

We can't stop aging but we can do what it takes to live young till the end. I'm 48, kids still see me as a cool teen to hang out with even though i joke a lot about loosing my grey hair.😂

[@beethao9380]

a leech trying to take the accomplishment of others. shame on you. make your own discoveries.

[@shellyu1442]

I agree, Life 100 years ago was already so different. Just the fact that we are alive during this time with all these innovations happening in our lifetime is already a miracle. There’s no better time to be alive

[@mcfly7]

Would you like to have a worm inside of you? It will help digest your food. All problems you see are created.

[@camojoe83]

Plastic is diesel in solid form, mostly. You just pyrolize it and reclaim the fuel. No need for trying to figure out any new chemistry wizarding. Just heat a pot full of plastic and reclaim the fuel. The end.

[@Alasdair37448]

if this actually works out this could be game changing. Nature is incredible.

[@triggeredbyeverything2580]

Nature is amazing. Just hairless monkeys tend to fuck it up

[@Hana085]

God is overwhelmingly awesome

[@Renzowoo]

​@@Hana085 Don't involve god into this, not everyone believes in him.

[@PSy84]

@@Hana085 😂😂😂😂😂 So who or what created God?

[@bornsniper9531]

@@PSy84 your mum

[@abrahammnjama7962]

You are my heroes guys thank God your parents invested in your education

[@tamikacopeland138]

Right like sounds like another pandemic waiting to be discovered for a new future jab to me

[@adamyooz]

@@tamikacopeland138 People tend to fear what they don’t understand. This attitude is why so many advances in science were demonized in the Middle Ages.

[@pirojfmifhghek566]

The worms are cool and all, but honestly I'm most impressed by the upscaling concept. Not just degrading plastics, but turning them into something USEFUL and marketable. That means there's incentive for a profit-seeking company to actually do it. Microbiology is really starting to take off in some cool directions and it's a damn shame we're not hearing more about it. Heck, I just read an article published recently that some researchers found a way to develop regular ol' brewer's yeast so that it produced THC from glucose. That's... pretty friggin cool. Not because of "lmao 420 blaze it" clout, but because they were able to use the available technology to casually engineer the yeast to do it. When sci-fi writers talk about things like food replicators and the like, this is how I actually see it manifesting. Using bacterium and fungi and other micro-organisms to break down or combine materials into things that can be used in manufacturing. Turning trash into food, fuel, medicine, minerals, you name it. I just hope they are able to use similar methods to process things like PFAs and heavy metals that are being found in higher concentrations in nature. They simply don't biodegrade at all, unless you're counting their atomic half-life.

[@spooky5338]

Frankly I'd rather it be used as substrate or fertilizer than food.

[@Redflowers9]

@Spooky no worries, just give it to all the people who like eating processed junk food, they are a form of worm themselves lol

[@sylpherstorm]

However it is giving possible out of control grey ooze kind of

[@downstream0114]

I watched a doc on Valmet and every time they made their paper processes more environmentally friendly it seemed like they gained a new product from the "waste" stream.

[@Holvistan]

I hate this capitalist world where the only incentive we can think of is proffit. smh.

[@reemavishwanath1046]

Now all we need is to figure out the chemical composition of the enzymes capable of breaking down plastic and recreate them in a lab!

[@rivertonhigh-v4t]

Yawn. For years now, scientists have been uncovering worms, fungi, bacteria, algae that can easily, quickly, naturally biodegrade plastic into harmless organic compost . . . and every years, millions of tons of plastic are manufactured, used once, and end up in landfills, streams, rivers, oceans, into marine and animal life --- and microplstics into people's cells and DNA.

[@larzkruber822]

We spend 56 billion dollar to build a translator for animal speech We asked the Worm King His answer was Nom Nom Nom

[@sarcasticstartrek7719]

Yes, congratulations on manging to watch the video.

[@amit30706]

Yes, sure biologist are working on that hope so

[@amit30706]

Hi you are indian🇮🇳 living in USA 🙋🏽‍♂️🙋🏽‍♂️

[@YeshwanthReddy]

Congrats to Jesse Pinkman in taking up a responsible career and doing good to the environment

[@TheFos88]

Yeah! Science!

[@colonelkernal297]

Yo! Mr White! Ima scientist

[@mirroredchaos]

im glad I wasnt the only person who thought he looked like jesse lol

[@lullaby218]

Don't believe anything in this v|deo.

[@lullaby218]

Companies will do anything to avoid having to stop using plastic.

[@FF2Guy]

Nature never ceases to amaze me

[@DougMarv]

I love your avatar xD 1000 noodles !

[@FF2Guy]

@@DougMarv thanks

[@jacobjeleniewski8694]

Ive been hearing about this kinda stuff for a while because im so interested in these things and it makes me so happy to see how far weve come fighting the plastic crisis

[@alexcisneros2980]

Weve

[@steveinsbrook2479]

What is depressing is that old saying "junk in junk out" or in this case "Toxic in Toxic out" This is no solution, this is just another symptom of the plastic disease, that is poisoning our ecosystem. Its game over.

[@realdragon]

"Fighting" lol People will literally do anything than use less plastic. Cool now we have plastic eating worms.That doesn't solve the problem

[@steveinsbrook2479]

@@realdragon They eat toxic waste and crap out the same amount of toxic waste only its smaller and can get deeper into our food chain. Set the doomsday clock to Midnight we are screwed.

[@gijs-janbruil6738]

I always had the impression that, geven the enormous amount of plasticwaste in this stage of the antropocene, an organism being capable of digesting (some sort of) plastics would have a huge advantage, and that sooner or later this organism, probably a fungus or a bacterial heterotroph, would show up, or rather, would be discovered, i.e. in developing stage. Great!

[@yakb.7690]

Problem is we literally engineered these carbon chains to be indestructible.. plastics not reacting with anything or dissolving is why they are so impossible for any organism to break down. Ideally we would just change what we produce but you cant take away human comfort ofc

[@ThePickledsoul]

I just hope they're kept in their own closed system. Otherwise, say goodbye to the plastic covering on wires, plastic plumbing and similar infrastructure.

[@gijs-janbruil6738]

I used the word 'fungus', the correct word is 'mould' or 'mold', I bilieve.

[@gijs-janbruil6738]

@@yakb.7690 Indeed!

[@yakb.7690]

@@gijs-janbruil6738 No you are fine, Fungus is the term of the entire group of organisms.

[@arturm6621]

Kardashians been real quiet since this came out

[@Inquisitive_Nomad]

💀

[@abbiebome]

😮

[@youtubesucks1821]

The plastic eating worms is actually how they procreate and develop offspring. Fascinating creatures the Kardashians, known under their scientific name, "Gluteus Plasticus"

[@JohnSmith-op7ls]

They’ve never been quiet

[@Fischerrrrrrrr]

LMAO

[@Kakashi713]

As a beekeeper and a Biology major, I remember reading this years ago and experimented this with the wax worms I found in my beehives and a plastic bag. Yup, they ate holes out of my plastic thin grocery bag. They are a huge nuisance and destroy my frames for my bees to work and take care of things on so the worms are like a double edge sword (like Chemotherapy). Still, very interesting to see that they can get rid of my trash bag.

[@wildlifewarrior2670]

So I'm assuming they eat thicker Plastics veriquick also

[@Kakashi713]

@Wildlife Warrior it depends on the type of plastic as the researcher said. If it was the same as my plastic grocery bag, then yes in theory they should be able to.

[@wildlifewarrior2670]

@@Kakashi713 yeah I know what he said but I wonder if a few of those could eat a thick piece of plastic in a few months

[@Kakashi713]

@Wildlife Warrior again, depends on the plastic as they said. There are many types of plastic and they are (to what is seen) capable of eating through two. If you gave them something that is not the two that they eat, then they won't be able to eat it, regardless of the size.

[@sdqsdq6274]

@@wildlifewarrior2670 doubt they can eat thru plastic bottle

[@SleepingKoi]

We made a niche (creating a ton of plastic) and they filled the niche (eating the plastic we created). It's nature and it's awesome

[@wildlifewarrior2670]

I love nature

[@Manj_J]

Nature is awesome!

[@theplumscrub1627]

Truly! Also, I love your profile picture and the game it’s from

[@meoff7602]

Just shows you that we can only kill ourselves, not nature.

[@Dimarious.G]

Next most wanted invention: plastic eating worms resistant plastic 🗿

[@S2042S]

True

[@cbxk1xg]

Fire police: "You said your house burned down, because a "worm" was eating the insulation of the power cables? Are you mental?"

[@abhinavbisht9851]

Then next generation of worms will develop enzymes to digest worms resistant plastic😂😂😂😂

[@Dimarious.G]

@@abhinavbisht9851 Exactly! 😂

[@amanagnihotri9473]

And the cycle goes on...

[@SoberOKMoments]

Very much look forward to hearing about future discoveries in this field. Fantastic and fabulous work by all doing this research. Go science!

[@realdragon]

I would rather hear actual solutions. But what I'm talking about people are too lazy to make simple changes

[@4m0nym]

I love this. This is basically a modern and real, not magical, version of Alchemy. Turning wood to gold, so to speak. I'm excited to see where this goes.

[@АндрейОнищенко-з8х]

in macro scale it looks like that but the de-facto difference is that alchemy was about transforming metals which means working on atomic level and changing number of protons in atom while organic chemistry is on molecular level thus it is under common chemistry rules. Physically it is rather nucleosynthesis which is real-life alchemy because there you are not transforming chemicals one into another but transforming the elements.

[@SweetLilWren]

​@@АндрейОнищенко-з8х it was a metaphor

[@АндрейОнищенко-з8х]

@@SweetLilWren I know but still wanted to comment an opinion on that, sorry ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@4m0nym]

@@АндрейОнищенко-з8х Interesting information. Thanks!

[@JokerFace090]

That is what chemistry is, alchemy with the scientific method . Look up vids of a guy turning a plastic glove into hotsauce and another vid of a guy refining impurities out of a 1oz gold bullion.

[@bmanpura]

4:18 I love this guy here. And the editor of this video. That sentence's placement and articulation is just perfect.

[@learner8509]

when they said they turn plastic into vanilla ice cream, I face palmed

[@redrose9330]

I've done a research of this last year, found that it does eat plastic. I was going to use it as my SIP in my school, but then I found that out that it can only eat thin plastic (I mean, it would be really the key if it can eat at least something like a plastic bottle, but no). It's still useful though from the help of nature, but it's us still who help ourselves.

[@camojoe83]

It's cheaper and faster to extract the hydrocarbons via pyrolysis. Always will be and it's more useful. Cheap, too. That's why it's non existent.

[@objectzer070]

@@camojoe83 Did we watch the same video? Is not existent because as pointed out in the video THE WORM ARE NOT THE SOLUTION BUT THE ENZYMES THEY CREATED.

[@sheilalara5431]

Well, it's also humans who brought this problem upon ourselves.

[@98Zai]

It's pretty difficult to recycle thin plastics, so that's actually a good thing. This will be used for plastic that is too broken to recycle again. None of this will solve the problem of lazy people dumping rubbish in the sea.

[@Cybo-Man]

With all your research did you learn that these worms only process plastic into nano-plastic waste? Did you learn that there’s zero nutritional value in which nothing is absorbed into the worms but instead just pushed out the other end as nano-plastic poop. Didn’t do much research did you 🤷‍♂

[@luminousauthenticity2302]

What I want to know is are they testing how these enzymes and chemicals effect the earth/soil/water/marine life? This is so wonderful AND if your going to put it out on the 🌎 to help the environment, you should know how it will effect the environment. However I'm grateful that there are scientists thinking about this and trying to fond ways to deal with this problem! 🎉

[@koutsioj4762]

Yes, it sounds promising in theory but I'm still a bit skeptical. I really hope these worms don't leave microplastics or other harmful substances behind and the upscaling of plastic truly becomes possible. Meaning that it wouldn't need too much energy, time or money.

[@foryol]

I think, that's something we should always keep in mind when developing new solutions. It's often overlooked and leaves as with other problems in the end.

[@adamofblastworks1517]

They probably aren't even close to being able to start that research, though I would definitely like to see it happen.

[@Kittyintheraiyn]

This video cleared up a lot of question I had about this topic, thank you.

[@nickwest1305]

I can just see a farmer accepting plastic to feed the warms and then just feeding it to their chickens on an industrial scale

[@punnamrajenderreddy5537]

Hope there is no micro plastic in this process😮

[@arlynnecumberbatch1056]

The worms saliva breaks down plastic, basically deleting the bonds of that plastic

[@arlynnecumberbatch1056]

Also i dont think chickens eat those kinds of worms or they would prolly face stomach issues

[@scrub_lord]

chickens will eat anything. im sure they can eat those worms. theyd probably enjoy the protein

[@scoobydoobydoooo]

picqued my curiosity so I did a quick google just now. 'Wax Moth Larvae Galleria mellonella are a very nutritious livefood full of vitamins and minerals, these are excellent for feeding to very small reptiles and insect eating birds they are also very good at getting reluctant eaters started'. Does this mean chickens? Not sure

[@endabcs4708]

OMG, this just explained how the wax moths got to the honey combs I was saving sealed tight in plastic bags. I was like, "no way did they eat through these bags".... I was wrong🙃

[@darenabryant9100]

This is LITERALLY the plot of the game STRAY, where you play a cat. They developed something that could eat plastic and it mutated into something that tried to eat basically any living thing it could, eventually ending civilization. Only a few sentient robots were left behind.

[@suikun245]

The best explanation I found about this game, was that humans died from a plague due to the high density of the environment, and because there was no sun to kill some common bacteria and also provide vitamin D to keep the human metabolism working correctly, lots of people started do become ill and eventually die. The Zurks (evolved bacteria) mutated hundreds of thousands of years after human extinction (at least from that shelter)

[@YourComputerExpert]

I just wonder if this oxidation causes lots and lots of microplastics, or if it actually transforms all the plastic into something else. Extra clarification: the keyword here is 'all'. E.g.: How do we ensure the ratios of enzymes vs plastic are so that all plastic gets transformed and not leave a lot of smaller plastics in the process. To me that sounds like a realistic scenario, but I might be mistaken.

[@sodalitia]

This whole segment about worms was kind of inconsistent. In one place they say they extracted the enzyme from their saliva. Later they say, the enzymes has to be yet identified. Did they even bother examining the droppings of the worms? For all it is, it could be just worms mechanically shredding the plastic. It's like claiming that humans can digest celulose, because they can eat toilet paper and poop it out in mashed up form. Also that's not helping very much, because the smaller the plastic the more contaminating it is for the ecosystems. Also majority of the plastic pollution on the planet is nylon fishing nets, which is much tougher than your grocery plastic bag. Also all this technophiliac crap about how "science" will save us from plastic one day is a grenwashing obfuscation of actual policy of banning single use plastics altogheter.

[@generycenterprise2580]

I was wondering about the same thing, they didn't mention the most important question

[@DrDanQ92]

@@sodalitia Unfortunately whether we ban plastics or not, they're polluting every corner of the earth already and so microbes and other such organisms will probably have to save us. Not to mention the vast amount of problems that banning single use plastics would cause, such as vastly lower shelf life which would further our waste and a lower footprint than most reusable products.

[@leightonolsson4846]

No once the enzyme which they cite enables the oxidative breaking of the polymer bonds they are not longer plastics!

[@ericfleet9602]

@ahtan2000 Plastics are just long hydrocarbons. If the worms are able to break down the hydrocarbons, they are incorporating the shorter hydrocarbons into their body.

[@amenamen5648]

I’m humbled to see that a small creature may be able to help save the planet 🙏

[@behooman7749]

It's not going to be the worms. It's going to be us, every single one of us, making a conscious decision to make a change. If we don't change our mindset, our lifestyles, perhaps this problem might go away, but we'll create other problems.

[@fredlada1634]

All it needs to save the planet from excess of waste and trash is to get rid of dumbos buying sheet all the time. These worms can eat their ways out of a plastic bag to just go about their lives, it’s not their natural source of food, this doc is fallacy, these people are complete liars. Just because a person can drink his own urine for survival, and even eat their own faeces doesn’t mean we can now get rid of toilets. People will make idiots believe anything on a screen

[@Etrancical]

Can't wait till I get into Organic Chemistry next semester. I wanna learn all about the breakdown of polymers, and all the natural processes that come with the class

[@lemedico]

And then you break bad

[@wrathofzombies]

Exceptionally beautiful thought and I would recommend you read on the side, if you don't get access to information in your course material. Best of luck.

[@FLPhotoCatcher]

Note that the focus in this video was on the long-chain polymers that make up the bulk of plastics, but the harmful plasticizers, "forever chemicals" and other additives in plastics were ignored. Making food flavorings from plastic should be very illegal.

[@Bloodybear06]

Organic Chemistry is fun! Loved every second of it because my professor was very good at teaching it. Hope it also does the same to you.

[@Arexack999]

Try to add some extra biochemistry classes to your curriculum that should really help in inderstanding the biology side of these interdisiplinary studies. Maybe add some microbiology, possibly some nano etc. Good luck !

[@fredriddles1763]

I am curious to know how plastic eating bacteria would be controlled if it were released in nature. It would suck if food at grocery stores went bad prematurely because the plastic packaging started to rot away, or the parts in a car broke down more quickly. This is really cool though, and assuming the logistical problems could be resolved it be nice to dump that stuff into the ocean and watch all the plastic trash magically vanish.

[@spulwasser]

The fact that those bacteria and worms evolved plastic-degrading enzymes all by themselves, this fast, makes me much more optimistic for the future. Nature seems to have a much bigger potential for regeneration and self-balancing the system than I had anticipated

[@koutsioj4762]

Nature will be fine, it has survived much worse and it will probably survive until the planet gets completely destroyed. We, however, will not be fine and neither will the animals of this planet if we don't stop harming it.

[@Quetzalcoatl_Feathered_Serpent]

Until you realize that others could do it as evolution allows some creatures other than these bacterias and worms and suddenly you might have bugs destroying plastic in things we need.

[@NachozMan]

@@Quetzalcoatl_Feathered_Serpent You say this like it's a bad thing lmfao. Fuck plastic. Whatever we "NEED" that's made with plastic can or even in the past WAS made without, fuck plastic.

[@rainbowprism6242]

Eat shit, creationists. And evolve to like it.

[@Myria83]

@@Quetzalcoatl_Feathered_Serpent Last year I published a short story with that premise...

[@dylanstorts4327]

Genuinely amazing! This is the kind of work we need our scientists working on. Actual world change for the good and for Mother Earth. Love it!

[@AnonYmous-ow9zr]

The potential of this is actually fascinating.

[@WhereOceansMeeet]

Considering that other vanillian can be made from wood pulp, manure, and other things, this isn't too surprising. As someone who recycles everything I can, I'm glad to hear there are other ways in the works to help deal with plastic. Now if we could only figure out how to deal with styrofoam and other things that don't break down as well, but hopefully some day!

[@yakzivz1104]

this is freaking gross and i don't think that the majority of people are okay with it.

[@theplumscrub1627]

@@yakzivz1104 It’s the same as recycling water. Even if these things were once gross, like urine for example, when they are changed they don’t retain any of that original grossness. If they did retain that grossness, then all the water in the world would be unclean. (This is just the best example i can give)

[@yakzivz1104]

@@theplumscrub1627 I still don't want plastic in my darn food. Certain things should not be mixed with food.

[@theplumscrub1627]

@@yakzivz1104 I don’t want plastic in my food either. That’s why they’re working on figuring out how to break down the plastic and restructure it until it is no longer plastic!

[@yakzivz1104]

@@theplumscrub1627 Look all these companies have to do is stop making plastic all together. The plastic that is already all over our planet can be eaten by these worms or recycled then eaten by these worms. There is absolutely no reason to reconstitute plastic into our foods- that is not a viable option. We have to stop this madness.

[@spitfire155k2]

We as humans have such a capacity to fix modern issue however if it’s not financially lucrative nobody is going to do it. Very interesting and compelling video.

[@phelan8385]

That's one of my biggest frustrations in this world

[@Stefanitza27]

The currency creators can afford ANYTHING as long as there are real resources available! The entire world suffers and people die over a simple misconception of money 😢 #LearnMMT

[@taseenmuhtadi513]

I hope these discoveries lead to practical ways to deal with plastic pollution, not just solutions that only work in the lab.😊

[@sbok9481]

The solution with worms are already there. As usual, the research company is probably trying to monetize the concept. That's why she said that we can't simply unleash the worms. Everything on this planet is about money.

[@vladislavdonchev1271]

9 out of 10 robot building future world domination planning AIs hate this.

[@danielsimon4542]

Passive aggressive

[@heroe1486]

​@@danielsimon4542 Redditor

[@steveinsbrook2479]

What is depressing is that old saying "junk in junk out" or in this case "Toxic in Toxic out" This is no solution, this is just another symptom of the plastic disease, that is poisoning our ecosystem. Its game over.

[@joeldanielsson]

"life always finds a way"

[@SannPisetha]

That's so incredible! Save more for amazing natural creature.

[@mikedennington8856]

I heard about this 15 years ago. So where has it been all these years?

[@emc5678]

Your medal is in the mail.

[@freevipservers]

@@emc5678 You need a medal for how far that comment went over your head!

[@drac124]

As many things, never goes anywhere. The car moved by pressurized air. The paint that doesn't stick any dirty, the batteries that doesn't pollute and charge in seconds. In capitalism that is what we get. Technology is advance but its not worth the money, never goes out of paper. Governments should invest in this, but they don't care. They cathr the interests of corporations. Only if recycling worth more than a new plastic this will go on. Otherwise will die.

[@chitinskin9860]

While they are considered a plague to beekeepers, they typically aren't considered a threat to healthier hives, usually just making things worse whenever something else goes wrong like the bees get a virus or mites. On top of that, there are a lot of feral honeybees introduced to many locations in the world causing all kinds of issues, and waxworms harassing them is one of several factors that evens the playing field with other bee species that the waxworm doesn't care about. Personally I'd say that the pros outweigh the cons here and they should be released, at least outside of their native habitat (especially Australia and the Americas, especially South), but I'm also extremely biased against European honeybees for reasons both rational and irrational. Then again, waxworms are already roaming the wilds on their own, following the honeybees wherever they are introduced, so there's not really a point. I'd say that there should be some focus on getting wild waxworms to target plastic more often than they already do, maybe lining plastic bags with beeswax or something.

[@AsifAli-od1cf]

Am I the only one who knew larva can eat plastics before this video😅. Because I caught one with a plastic, and it ate the plastic to find its way out I am pretty sure they are consuming it, because they don't have access to their primary food source.

[@stocktonjoans]

Anyone else got the urge to introduce a bunch of these things to the nearest amazon warehouse?

[@robertm3329]

Well that doesn’t seem very productive

[@karezaalonso7110]

no but to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

[@MrChristianDT]

Well, we'll have to teach them to swim first, but...

[@nunyabitnezz2802]

No, just psychos.

[@stocktonjoans]

@@nunyabitnezz2802 psychos are people too

[@akkiskiller]

We can also recycle waste PET Bottles into filaments for 3D printing application. I am researching on it!

[@erdvilla]

I've seen termites doing something similar, I once had a table that was infested with the darn bugs, and when I was going to burn it I opened the drawer and saw a plastic bag I used to store some papers almost disintegrated because under it there were several of the termites munching on the wood, but seems they also took a liking for the bag because they were making paths on it, and seriously it was almost confetti. They didn't touch the papers because they dislike white paper. So after contemplating them having broken down a plastic bag I threw them into the fire.

[@ShyRo1466]

worms and termites arent the only ones tho , Curculionidae also eat plastic easily

[@Dankpuffin]

This is one of the greatest discovery this century so far.

[@nikolaykostadinov2335]

:D if u think worms eating plastic would solve our plastic problems , you are the lowest IQ guy of the century

[@jeremyphelps5140]

It’s so good to see so much hope in these comments. I feel like my generation doesn’t have much to hope for, so this is such a huge breath of fresh air.

[@BestMods168]

🤡 comments by a bunch of people who dont know what they're talking about.

[@infomercialwars]

I used to keep hundreds of wax worms and super worms for my bearded dragons and noticed back then that they easily ate through certain plastics and styrofoam

[@Thisisaweirdthing2makeusdo]

Yeah the styrofoam was always weird choice of snack but i have seen it too.

[@beethao9380]

sure sure. you're like the 100th person claiming to have discovered this. shame on you for trying to take the credit away from the scientist.

[@heroe1486]

​​​@@beethao9380 What do you see here is that would be unbelievable to witness for a random person ? What merit is there to take away ? It's mere observation that doesn't require any expensive or technical setup nor knowledge, just these worms and some plastic

[@DrNatemiester]

It sounds like one of the most important points that should be brought up about this is at 1:39 , the plastic “almost” is treated like food in the worm’s digestion. This sounds like the worms do still need a primary, traditional food source. This might not be feasible in an industrial scale without a very habitable and isolated living condition for the worms.

[@matthewbadger8685]

You are right, the worms might need more than just carbon. Though it would be interesting to see if selective pressure leads to worms surviving off of mainly plastic, allowing them to thrive in landfills where there is meagre access to other nutrient sources.

[@Federico-mj3si]

As the video said, they don't plan on using the worms, just their enzymes

[@kashifaslam4605]

Could we also prescribe some food supplements to make sure it doesn’t affects worms health and they get other vitamins during this confined period when they are only fed plastic ?

[@hamster_knight]

Amazing!

[@darkglass3011]

In terms of "upscaling" plastics, I draw the line at anything that I eat or drink. Turning them into fabrics and clothing is something that I would support, but not for food.

[@PhoenixAttact]

Meh, I wouldn't mind really. It's not like we'd be force to eat it. It would just be another option. Along with vegan labeled food, gluten free, impossible meat, etc. It'll just say plastic-made food and it'll be up to the consumer to buy it or not. Not like it would be the only option for us.

[@YesterdaysMoose]

I saw a similar story about plastic eating organisms a few years back, I sincerely hope there have been some vast improvements and innovations. We are in a serious plastic crisis; it's in our earth, our oceans, our food, and ourselves. If a solution is not implemented soon, it will be beyond salvation.

[@KlausRiede]

True same sbout mealworms eating polystyrol

[@ottomatic3123]

I noticed that a larva/worm had eaten through a plastic bag to get to the bread that was inside. I did some quick research to find out what the larva were I learned that they were from a moth and that they can eat plastic. I just wonder what they're pooping out.

[@billable1861]

Plastic and bread

[@BollywoodBonanzaB]

SAME

[@Anglosaxon69]

It’s a beautiful thought

[@thehowlingterror]

Nature has always held the keys to innovation. Probably a good idea to look after it...just thinking about the amount of useful medicines obtained from forests.

[@protercool8474]

I've been thinking about this recently in terms of microbes and microplastics. We've introduced an entirely new energy source into the ecosystem, on a massive scale. It's only natural that certain creatures able to break it down start to select for this. It's only a matter of time before it's common, eventually we will have a world where plastic can and will rot.

[@meoff7602]

Yup

[@Widestone001]

This is so cool! Life finds a way. The image I can't get rid of in my head right now is a moldy computer. 😀

[@Jben7976]

This sounds really promising!!! I pray that scientists are able to develop their research into a viable solution to upscaling plastics!!! Way to go guys!!!!!

[@Supercooljoshman]

Amazing stuff!! Thank you for making this! And a big thank you to all the scientists making it possible!

[@pulkitsujaan]

Those worms' digestion is stronger than my will to live

[@owleeva]

This lady deserves a Nobel Prize.

[@NikolaTomic]

And when they eat plastic and die… where eaten plastic goes?

[@nikolche]

did you watch any of the video?

[@NikolaTomic]

@@nikolcheNope. Just started play and add comment. It was late…

[@bloodcanadian]

@@NikolaTomic so where eaten plastic goes?

[@David-jx4gw]

I presume the hydrocarbons get broken down and becomes part of the organism and then becomes carbon dioxide and water through respiration using oxygen from the air.

[@LightbringerZXS]

If a worm can make this enzyme, I'm sure a mushroom can do something similar. Fungus always saves the world.

[@HABLA_GUIRRRI]

eat the plastic urself then

[@foolydude4305]

Perhaps nature is stronger than we thought. Such an amazing adaptation. The future may actually be bright.

[@six-p-668]

skeptical that these worms can eat industrial/commercial/commonly used plastic, which have a variety of toxic chemical additives

[@Sami-Nasr]

I am not sure if this is a good idea, especially when the moth lays her eggs in your car then you find few worms eating your dashboard

[@amandamakin1542]

Or worse, in an aeroplane, & causes lives to be lost ☹

[@arifalmalaibari4021]

​@@amandamakin1542plastic in airplane?

[@wlockuz4467]

Nature is truly humble. We screw with it upside down and yet it is the one that gives us solutions to our problems.

[@lilarrin1220]

Science is the study of nature to figure out how it works, so yes, literally all of our solutions come from nature.

[@nigeljohnson9820]

Many years ago, late 60s early 70s, there was a television program Doom Watch. One episode dealt with a bacteria that had evolved to "eat" plastic. This turned out to be a disaster, as resilient objects started to rapidly decompose. In one scene, a jet pilot crashed his aircraft as a result of his oxygen mask and connection hose dissolving as it is eaten by the bacteria. At the time this was complete science fiction, now, like many science fiction concepts, it maybe reality. One must consider if such a disaster scenario could become real life. We are used to plastics being stable, lasting practically forever. If some organism evolves to destroy plastics in days or weeks, what will happen to the packaging industry, and food safety? Will the next step be the development of packaging which are toxic to such bacteria, so we have somewhere to store milk and other perishables? How likely is it that we will create a new problem when our new stable plastic is found to be toxic to us as well? The problem of the huge amount of plastic in the world's oceans must be address. If nature or humans solve it by chemical/biological means, we could be exchanging one ecological disaster for yet another. It's a case of good intentions having unintended, and unforseen, consequences.

[@Snufkin224]

From what I have seen the problem with plastic is mostly with poor/unorganized countries not collecting the waste and let it float down the water ways.

[@nigeljohnson9820]

@@Snufkin224 you are right, but then the rich organised countries send the poor unorganized countries all their plastic rubbish to float down their rivers. In the UK we have a mostly enlightened middle class, that collect and sorts their rubbish, so the local councils can arrange collection, usually by one lorry, so that the carefully sorted rubbish can be muddled up again, and be sent to landfill, or exported to the aforementioned disorganised countries. Not that landfill is a particularly secure storage, as any passing motorist will testify. Such landfill sites are usually surrounded by landscaping of concealing trees, tastefully decorated with tattered and torn supermarket plastic bags. Sorry if I sound cynical, but the recycling publicity does not often describe reality. The value of the recycled waste being so very low. We are even happy to tolerate a huge mountain of electronics waste, provided we can buy the latest smartphone, with personal identity tracking spyware, and a list of features not that dissimilar to last year's model. Nothing like convincing the consumer to re-buy what they purchased just a year ago. The justification for scrapping yesterday's technological marvel, with its 100 million transistors: Because its sealed for life battery is flat, and no longer holds a charge.

[@aysmch622]

i think there will be good plastic that can compostable but is actually cannot withstand such heat,but there was real plastic (not compostable) was stable and can withstand heat so i think about single use plastic can use plastic that can compostable,but they can use real plastic for repeated use (like you put food,and you clean it and use it again) i see there many thing that we can subtitued like wood,steel etc ,but there some of it that i think more good to use plastic (repeated use) cause it is lightweigh but kinda strong material... i wil say,plastic is have to be reduced but not have to totally unused/gone there will be new plastic that can be compastible i'm 100% sure,but it is not stable if it use for heat food/drink like boiling water etc but i think for making it heatproof,and waterproof it is use box/carton with normal plastic (from renewable soure not from fossil fuel) lining on it,so it can be use for heat food/drink (like coffe etc) it still have plastic on it,but at least it is reduce the full plastic packaging,and it will be easy for the worms eating plastic to compost it (cause not many of the plastic lining)

[@parghi22]

Really interesting and exciting, thank you for sharing!

[@grahamt2672]

After years of dire stories about how plastics have become an insidious pollutant in all corners of our environment, even our own bodies, this is the most uplifting video I have watched in a long time. I hope these scientists and organizations are getting the political and financial backing that they need to process and upcycle the colossal amounts of plastic that we throw away.

[@realdragon]

Oh they will because government will do anything but actually solve the problem, but people will this shit up as a silution

[@Preaplanes]

Don't be too happy. If plastic-eating bacteria propagates out of control, as bacteria is wont to do, then a LOT of vital infrastructure we've made out of plastic we've presumed to last for years upon years suddenly starts rotting like untreated wood. That would be absolutely devastating to the modern world.

[@keymonkey1230]

insidious?! are you fucking kidding me?! idiots! plastic is not the problem, human's stupid ideals is the problem that the pharmacists and capitalists instilled in our minds! the earth doesn't hurt nature, doesn't hurt the planet. plastic came out of the earth. millions of years ago oxygen is the most toxic fume to life in the planet then every living thing adapt to it and evolved to! we came out of the water environment we still have the tail bone actually! but now, without oxygen we will not survive! infact! we should all quadruple the proliferation of plastic and integrate it in our organic system coz breathing and eating plastic is the next step before we can actually thrive outer space floating in a hawaian silk shirt! and cross the keiper belt on an electric space scooter and a baseball cap. what we need to do is grow plastic on and in our skin! makes us even tougher! with the moist and melanin and collagen and calcium and iron and all other minerals that make up and maintain our skin we will have ultra high tolerance from radiation and the rays of the sun and eliminate skin cancer, grow limbs and finally solve bone degradation in the absence of gravity and maybe even store electricity in our body! lemon, the new rice and wheat, a polysodiopetro-activated carbon base life form! we can't save nor doom the earth, get the fuck outta here!

[@MrAmitkr007]

​@@Preaplanesok Big plastic

[@Preaplanes]

"Big plastic?" Mogfug have you any idea how much PVC you're using to keep your shid together? We were using copper before that, good luck with that scarcity, and lead before that, good luck with the heavy metal poisoning. @@MrAmitkr007

[@misterdubity3073]

Say a plastic molecule is like a chain with 2000 links. If every link gets oxidized and the chain breaks into 2000 different pieces, then there's no more plastic. But if it just oxidizes here and there, and breaks into 10 chains, each 200 links long, well, then you just made a lot of microplastic. The devil is in the details, which we are not given.

[@agnelomascarenhas8990]

Our body synthesizes fats by sticking a pair of carbon atoms per step. We need a few essential fatty acids, the rest are synthesized by elongation of a carbon chain. I don't know about the reverse process which happens too when fasting. I expect once a chain is broken, which is an energy intensive process, then it would be consumed like any hydrocarbon chain aka lipid/fat. The video nfortunately wasn't very clear to me, except for the oxidative step.

[@misterdubity3073]

@@agnelomascarenhas8990 I think if there is enough enzyme relative to the amount of plastic, and enough time, and the right conditions (temperature, pH, moisture ...) then all is good; but if not then maybe not. Also: I don't know if every 'chain link' in the plastic is the same: maybe some enzymes can break some of them but not all of them. Maybe some plastics are mixtures of multiple types of plastic, so your enzyme mixture breaks down 3 types, but your plastic is a mix of 5 types, so you have lots of microplastic left over. It would be nice to know.

[@agnelomascarenhas8990]

@Mister Dubity Yes, more info would be great. Enzymes are reused and in principle zero quantity is required. Most plastics have an ethylene monomer with various attachments. Polyester, PVC, Teflon(PVF), PET, PS etc. and without attachments PE/LDPE/HDPE, PP. Vast majority of plastic is of this class. Exceptions are polyamides like Nylon, Kevlar. Synthetic rubber polybutadiene is another class. Waiting to hear more on this. Interesting topic.

[@misterdubity3073]

@@agnelomascarenhas8990 In "The Andromeda Strain" the alien 'virus' at one point mutated into something that dissolved plastic causing a jet airplane to crash. SciFi for sure; but how interesting it would be if a lot of bacterial strains eventually acquire genes coding for plastic breakdown enzymes.

[@0SilentLeopard0]

The plastic (namely polyethylene) is broken down into ethylene glycol. It's an alcohol that biodegrades rapidly. But not sure about other forms of plastics.

[@pierrecurie]

Wasn't there some hype about styrofoam eating mealworms a few years ago? Supposedly they could eat 100% styrofoam and survive for several generations. Then suddenly nobody ever talked about them again. Any relation?

[@sleepyhorou]

It just might be that the researching groups are really small private organizations… and as they usually don’t get results “Here and Now”, the investments they receive are barely enough to speak about any proper advancements🥲

[@kapytanhook]

Government funding. It was never useful. But these guys like government money so they keep trying to get grants. If you want to recycle plastic you can burn it and have the co2 used by algea or trees. That route will always be most cost effective

[@ncooty]

The relation is that these "technology will soon save us" stories are recycled on a regular basis as a way to undercut efforts to legislate environmental protections. Cf. recycled stories on plastic-eating bacteria, plastic-eating worms, recycled plastic roads, bioplastics, etc. Wait about a year and you can read this story again, replete with all of the hopeful comments. We love stories that absolve us of responsibility.

[@laureloneiros1500]

Sussy

[@0SilentLeopard0]

Like any research, it gets talked about for a bit... then the media and the masses forget about it. But work is still being done behind the scenes. Some people dedicate their entire lives to research that few people know about. Maybe BBC is generating some media hype about it to get people interested and get the research a jump in funding.

[@DamonRiley-n3i]

ed in these things and it makes me so happy to see how far weve come fighting the plastic crisisIve been hearing about this kinda stuff for a while because im so interest

[@Dev1nci]

8:06 I think we as a society didn’t know synthetic vanilla comes from oil 😂😂😂

[@Christian-gb8zf]

Nature is so incredible! I’ve seen oyster mushrooms digest plastic, cardboard, pretty much anything if you get an aggressive enough strain. I work on a culinary mushroom farm. I wonder if putting large amounts of plastic in an extreme oxygen chamber partially powered by plants would be another possible solution if oxygen can break it down

[@koutsioj4762]

That sounds great in theory but I am curious how well it would work in practice. For example, if we ended up releasing these worms at the ocean garbage patches and they ate the plastic would they break it down into something better for the environment or would they just make microplastics instead? Also, if we used them to upcycle plastic how efficient, cost effective and time consuming would that be? I really hope these worms have the potential to help us with our plastic problem but for now I'm skeptical.

[@Quetzalcoatl_Feathered_Serpent]

More than likely the best option is collecting the plastic that can be recovered and leaving it in pools or pits or facilities where these creatures can break them down effectively.

[@junaid2606]

These worms won't be released into oceans. As for your question, the worms break down the plastic molecules using their saliva. At that stage, it's no longer plastic and is a chemical process. Microplastics are only formed by mechanical means like shredding. I hope this answers your question. I'm currently reading this paper for my research, and that's how I know what these worms are doing.

[@szazorkan]

@@junaid2606 so, basically, microplastics are like, groups of a few molecules of "plastic", while digested plastic is turned into other chemicals ?

[@junaid2606]

@@szazorkan Imagine you cut a plastic bottle into 20 pieces. Each piece is still plastic, just smaller in size. That's what microplastics are. They're really small molecules of plastic. The wax worm chemically breaks down the ethylene molecule and it is no longer a plastic.

[@szazorkan]

@@junaid2606 I see, thanks !

[@sparklejuice]

"Bags of gonads that can fly." You win the internet, Dr LeMoine.

[@sjacrane]

Where is this said?

[@sparklejuice]

​@@sjacrane 2:15

[@sjacrane]

@@sparklejuice I still dunno what he means by that.

[@dantemustson]

These worms don't completely digest plastic and part of it stays in their crap

[@matthewlim-dot-ml]

this is so awesome :) im curious as to how it will be implemented into society

[@kindGSL]

Plastic to biofuel sounds good to me. I'm not convinced electric is going to solve our transportation issues due to the greater risks involved [fire and collusion]. My truck driver friend tells me electric trucking is not going to be a good idea.

[@BenvanBroekhuijsen]

Now this is of course fantastic, but if we release these engineered enzymes massively in nature, eventually it could happen that by touching stuff, one could transfer the enzymes to products in the supermarket that are not supposed to be decomposed yet. Or what if you lay down your polyester shirt on the beach, just to find out that a week later your shirt starts to decompose? So how are we going to control this?

[@koutsioj4762]

We will obviously need a plan and not just spread the enzymes everywhere, but It's still way too early for all that.

[@BenvanBroekhuijsen]

@@koutsioj4762 Funny, people keep telling me this all the time, but then months later, or years later, everyone starts to panic and then I wonder... How can this be a surprise to you? I think it is of the essence that a policy will be created before they start releasing altered enzymes in the wild. Once they are there, it is hard to get rid of them. Let's see, who knows we will go back to glass bottles and cotton clothes only :D

[@koutsioj4762]

@@BenvanBroekhuijsen Yes of course we need policy, I'm just saying that there are still a lot of research to be done before and IF we start spreading enzymes around so it's still early to worry about that. Let's see if these worms have real life potential we could use first and then we'll see how we'll use them

[@EDYSON-Cyborg]

Very informative. 😊

[@sarcasmo57]

We need a better material than plastic.

[@CommonTater100]

how about... ultra-plastic!

[@user-wy4mp9ts3u]

They found a plastic eating micro bacteria in a well in Australian waters(North West Shelf)that ate the plastic petrie dish they where placed in,over night.That was nearly 30 years age and it all went quiet,very suspicious.If you search long and hard you will find it pn the net but only the beginning.There was not much interest at the time as plastic was still enjoying it's honey moon.

[@HABLA_GUIRRRI]

u cant make honey or moon out of plastic try lard

[@XenonPrimeSBSV]

Ha, it would be very useful if we could turn plastics into feedstock for all sorts of chemical synthesis.

[@RaoulLeDegueu]

rien ne se perd, rien ne se crée, tout se transforme. super intéressant, merci à vous

[@catherinehourihan3768]

wow they've got a lot of plastic to go through - they'll probably grow to be gigantic and take over the world!

[@TheNewRobotMaster]

This is extremely interesting. I very much hope they make the breakthrough that makes them not only very rich and famous but saves the world from one kind of pollution.

[@SweetLilWren]

Reverse the order of priority

[@TheNewRobotMaster]

@@SweetLilWren No priority was implied in my sentence. Both are attainable simultaneously.

[@beethao9380]

they won't. If a huge comet was to destroy earth, these corporations would hold humans hostage until their demands are met.

[@aucklandnewzealand2023]

Another advantage of transferring plastic-eating genes to fruit flies and cockroaches is that they can consume the plastic waste at home, in your grocery, without the need for special equipment or facilities. This could reduce the amount of plastic that ends up in landfills or oceans, and also provide a source of food for these insects. However, this could also pose some risks, such as the potential disruption of plastic shelves and walls in your fridge and plastic containers. But the latter is a minor risk compared to the alternatives

[@ExiledBowser]

This I what I fear. The stuff eating away our computers and phones or life-saving medical devices such as breathing machines etc.

[@amandamakin1542]

​@@ExiledBowser It would be a plague & so destructive

[@WilliamGibble]

One got loose in my sports car.. next morning, nothing left 😅... Lol

[@sfacets]

But is the plastic broken down completely, or is what is excreted just smaller plastic particles (microplastics)?

[@Praxss]

Same question

[@blurryface139]

It's not plastic anymore

[@0SilentLeopard0]

It's broken down into ethylene glycol.

[@aysmch622]

poop

[@ianhall7513]

"Damn, my water bottle spoiled..." Things we might say in the future.

[@josemilian4167]

I would be so happy with my career if I could be working on this type of research.

[@HABLA_GUIRRRI]

be a high paid moron at the bbc then

[@Squaremuffin]

The damage plastic has done should have been a warning to us on the dangers of running blind into the future. Not something to rely on science and AI to fix.

[@madameblavatsky2345]

So wise! I agree fully. Scientists are so eager to get attention for their research and make money that they don’t care about the consequences that are inevitably going to be discovered 10 years down the line post the implementation of these ideas.

[@haryakokun2422]

These worms can be a big helpful to balancing environments avoiding pollutions 🙂

[@steveinsbrook2479]

What is depressing is that old saying "junk in junk out" or in this case "Toxic in Toxic out" This is no solution, this is just another symptom of the plastic disease, that is poisoning our ecosystem. Its game over.

[@yza1belleofficial]

Fr

[@steveinsbrook2479]

They are processing toxic pollution into another form of toxic pollution. They are delivering the toxic waste as a smaller particle deeper into our eco system. This is why everyone eats about a credit cards worth of plastic a WEEK. Tis is no solution just a mechanism of our destruction.

[@diorme]

Best news heard from ages