Boy discovers microbe that eats plastic (actually 2 boys)

[ensho]

http://ow.ly/dLUW


PhDs have been searching for a solution to the plastic waste problem, and this 16-year-old finds the answer.


It's not your average science fair when the 16-year-old winner manages to solve a global waste crisis. But such was the case at last month's year's Canadian Science Fair in Waterloo, Ontario, where Daniel Burd, a high school student at Waterloo Collegiate Institute, presented his research on microorganisms that can rapidly biodegrade plastic.

NOTE: a bit of confusion... there are TWO high school students who discovered plastic-consuming microorganisms. The first was Daniel Burd (last year). The second was Tseng I-Ching (last month), a high school student in Tawain.

-snip-

It goes without saying that these discoveries need to be tested to ensure, for instance, that the bi-products of organic decomposition are not carcinogenic (as in the case with mammalian metabolism of styrene and benzene). The processing of plastics by these methods would also have to be contained in highly controlled environments. So, no, we're not talking about a magic panacea or a plastic-free paradise, but the innovative application of microorganisms to break down our most troublesome waste products is nevertheless a major scientific breakthrough.
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we can only hope it tests out well

[Jade Fox]

1. Wow, let's hope it works...

cause god know we need it!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. This needs to be shouted from the rooftops!

K&R

[Triana]

3. Of course the best way to get rid of plastic waste is still

to stop creating and using it. Even if this works, it will have limited ability to process all the plastic waste created and used by the entire population (which isn't getting any smaller).

I'm not saying it's a bad idea at all - it's a great discovery and we do need it - but we STILL have to stop creating and using plastic whenever/wherever possible.

[ashling]

20. You can't really say what an impact it would have

until more testing and development is done. Consider, for example filter buoys that could be place in the Pacific Ocean area where all that plastic accumulates. Again, I'm not saying that something like that could be done, more research needs to be done.

I remember when this was posted last year and there were several doleful comments about how it wouldn't do much, etc. Seems there is always somebody here to poo poo every positive idea someone has about cleaning up the environment.

[tularetom]

4. I have one word for those two boys, just one word

Plas...

Aw the hell with it.

[konnichi wa]

5. I heard about this a couple years ago. There seems to be little info on what the byproducts are

and how or if it can contribute to recycling.

edit...I was mistaken, not a couple years, about one year. I knew I had heard that name
http://news.therecord.com/News/CanadaWorld/article/354044

[havocmom]

8. Yeah, gotta wonder about the rule of unintended consequences

What else does the microbe do?

[Deja Q]

11. Well, what goes in must come out. what we eat is manufactured and comes out brown, therefore...

these critters excrete oil. Keep them tied to some special toilets, made by Exxon...



Whoops, wrong pic...

[femrap]

18. That ex-CEO

of Exxon just gives me the creeps...not only is he evil, he looks evil.

[keep_it_real]

6. Thank GOD!

[merh]

7. Let's hope they are successful and very careful with the tests

if it eats plastic, what else can it eat? :scared:

[bvar22]

10. Be careful.

Remember "Ice Nine".

[Deja Q]

12. Drat. There goes my CD collection, my car, my girlfriend's vibrator...

WE'RE DOOMED!!!!!!!

[Deja Q]

9. "bi-products" sounds kinky and right up my alley too. Try "byproducts" instead.

:evilgrin:

[Politicalboi]

13. And we can run our cars on waste from landfills

But we've yet to do it. All these ideas get set on a back burner. But you can't blame us, we've only had 30 some odd years to fix this problem. :sarcasm:

[Bolo Boffin]

14. The ideal thing would be a process of reclamation

Like photosynthesis and respiration, a naturally occurring one where the waste products of one reaction become the ingredients of the next, and so on, until you end up with controlled and accessible energy. Being able to break down plastic into more organic ingredients would be a boon for humanity.

[MineralMan]

15. It's the Andromeda Strain...

It's all over for us now!

[Oeditpus Rex]

16. Beat me by three minutes

Level V has been sealed.

[MineralMan]

17. I can't believe I got that in there.

We are OLD, OLD, OLD. Our allusions to things are ancient.

Things fall apart.
The center cannot hold.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

19. This is old news

http://news.therecord.com/News/CanadaWorld/article/354044

Happened a year ago.

[zbdent]

21. read a sci-fi short story a while back about a bunch of microscopic aliens who

decided to reimburse the unknowing human whose residence they were in ...

their first attempt at reimbursement, a fine layer of gold on top of the newspaper the guy was reading, was rolled up and tossed away ...

later, the microscopic aliens did something which caused plastic to turn into alcohol (grade-A, too) ... now THAT got the human's attention ...