Could Plastic-Eating Worms Solve The Plastic Crisis? | An Expert Explains
Finding Genius Podcast
Richard Jacobs
4.4 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 3 April 2023
⏱️ 22 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Are polyethylene-destroying enzymes the answer to plastic pollution that we've been looking for? Federica Bertocchini, an expert in molecular biology, joins the podcast today to enlighten us on this fascinating research topic.
Federica works with the Department of Plant and Microbial Biotechnology at Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas-Margarita Salas in Madrid, Spain. With a passion for environmental science, Federica found herself looking for plastic eating-organisms – and you'd be surprised what her research has uncovered…
In this episode, we cover:
- How plastic affects the worms that eat it.
- The enzymes that are able to break down polyethylene.
- What happens to plastic substances after worms digest them.
To find out more about Federica Bertocchini and her work, click here now!
Episode also available on Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/30PvU9C
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Basically, the research is about these worms, which are called the Wax worms. |
| 0:04.1 | They are larvae of nipidoptic colgolade melonella. |
| 0:07.1 | And the habitat of these worms of this animal is the beehive, so they lead and thrive and |
| 0:13.5 | eat to do everything their life cycle within the honeycombs of a beehive. |
| 0:18.3 | That's why big keepers usually consider them as plates, but they can kill tall beehive. |
| 0:23.3 | So I had my beehives and I found these worms in there, put them in the plastic bag, and |
| 0:27.4 | I found the plastic bag and wriggle with the holes after a few hours. |
| 0:30.3 | So I went and checked the plastic in there and I found it too, was a chemically modified. |
| 0:34.1 | That's when the old story started. |
| 0:36.7 | Forget frequently asked questions. |
| 0:38.5 | Common sense, common knowledge, or Google. |
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| 1:05.1 | Here come the geniuses. |
| 1:06.5 | This is the Finding Genius Podcast. |
| 1:09.1 | The Richard Jacobs. |
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