5 ms·
Does anyone have any follow-up on this article from 2011 titled "Marine microbes digest plastic" [1]? Seems like some kind of bacteria can consume our discarded
by cobbzilla 9y ago
Does anyone have any follow-up on this article from 2011 titled "Marine microbes digest plastic" [1]? Seems like some kind of bacteria can consume our discarded hydrocarbons.
https://www.nature.com/news/2011/110328/full/news.2011.191.html https://www.nature.com/news/2011/110328/full/news.2011.191.h...
- eveningcoffee 9y agoThis is very very bad idea because this bacteria can also consume the not discarded plastics (unless this only happens under certain controlled conditions).
- cobbzilla 9y agoin the article i cited, these bacteria were discovered to be out there in the ocean consuming plastic. so the genie is already out of bottle, so to speak. i'm curious if any negative externalities have been found due to their activity, or more optimistically, do they really metabolise the hydrocarbons into something non-toxic that other life forms can use?
- sliverstorm 9y agoThe genie may be out of the bottle, but maybe if we cut off its food supply before it gets on land...