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"within about 50-100 years" That's how bottlenecks work, but not evolution. No species is going to evolve in the next century which will be able to suddenly br
by newswriter99 8y ago
"within about 50-100 years"
That's how bottlenecks work, but not evolution. No species is going to evolve in the next century which will be able to suddenly break down plastic and turn it into energy/nutrients.
The ones that do, mostly bacertium and fungi, were pre-disposed to doing so, and didn't suddenly X-men their way into consuming plastic.
As for organisms such as the Chinese mealworm that "eats" plastic bags, jury is still out about whether it's actually chemically converting the plastic or merely biting it into smaller bits.
- pixl97 8y agoThere is a good chance a species already exists that can break down plastics along with whatever else its actual diet is. We would be giving it an environment to flourish.
- c3534l 8y ago> No species is going to evolve in the next century which will be able to suddenly break down plastic and turn it into energy/nutrients. Such a species already exists: https://www.sciencealert.com/new-plastic-munching-bacteria-could-fuel-a-recycling-revolution https://www.sciencealert.com/new-plastic-munching-bacteria-c... There are also bacteria that can break down nylon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nylon-eating_bacteria https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nylon-eating_bacteria I don't understand why people are so dismissive of ideas that are a simple google search away.
- sgslo 8y agoThe sentence after the one you quoted referenced the species that already exist. > The ones that do, mostly bacertium and fungi, were pre-disposed to doing so, and didn't suddenly X-men their way into consuming plastic. Not to be a smartass, but I don't understand why people read a post to the first sentence that upsets them then instantly reply without reading the rest.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- the8472 8y agoThe plastics that are broken down by bacteria have side groups or chains that make it feasible to attack them chemically. Now the question is if something can break down PTFE.
- newswriter99 8y agoYou obviously did not read my post all the way through.
- akvadrako 8y agoSpecies can evolve very fast - in this experiment from a couple years ago E. coli evolved from minimal antibiotic resistance to almost immunity in about 100 days: https://www.sciencealert.com/watch-this-amazing-video-shows-evolution-happening-in-just-days https://www.sciencealert.com/watch-this-amazing-video-shows-...
- macintux 8y agoI strongly suspect there’s a speed difference between evolving to survive a newly-hostile environment and evolving to take advantage of new opportunities to thrive.