Plastic Eating Worms
It's so fun to read about interesting goings-on in the world of science and how that research may impact our lives and our world in years to come.
In the past few weeks, I've shared here on MattChat about:
* sweating robots
* lab-produced breast milk
* radiation-eating fungi
* lab-produced breast milk
* radiation-eating fungi
* 3-D printing with used McDonalds oil
Here's another cool one:
These tiny, plastic-munching caterpillars can clean up our world – but there's a catch
A species of caterpillar may provide answers on how to best eradicate plastic waste, a 300 million ton per year problem.
The waxworm, researchers discovered in 2017, is seemingly able to eat through common types of plastic – including polyethylene, a nonbiodegradable type of plastic that is the most commonly used worldwide.
Now researchers have offered an explanation: A study published Tuesday in the open peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B finds that the microorganisms in the wax worm's gut help them consume and metabolize plastics.
This got me excited! But look at the last 4 words of the article's title: "but there's a catch"
And it's a troubling one:
Waxworms are not an end-all solution to plastic waste, however. Wax larvae are pests for bees, naturally feeding off honeycomb and running the risk of reducing their populations – and those of plants and crops.
(https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/03/06/waxworms-caterpillars-eat-plastic-pollution-but-could-also-hurt-bees/4952495002/)
Yeah, we really don't want to do anything to hurt the bee population.
I've written about that in a couple previous MattChat posts too:
2015: https://matthonnold.blogspot.com/2015/08/save-honeybees.html
2016: https://matthonnold.blogspot.com/2016/05/bee-bye-bye.html
Gotta take care of those bees as they take care of us. No bee = no pollination = no human food.
Grace & Peace & Love to you all -
Matt
Here's another cool one:
These tiny, plastic-munching caterpillars can clean up our world – but there's a catch
A species of caterpillar may provide answers on how to best eradicate plastic waste, a 300 million ton per year problem.
The waxworm, researchers discovered in 2017, is seemingly able to eat through common types of plastic – including polyethylene, a nonbiodegradable type of plastic that is the most commonly used worldwide.
Now researchers have offered an explanation: A study published Tuesday in the open peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B finds that the microorganisms in the wax worm's gut help them consume and metabolize plastics.
This got me excited! But look at the last 4 words of the article's title: "but there's a catch"
And it's a troubling one:
Waxworms are not an end-all solution to plastic waste, however. Wax larvae are pests for bees, naturally feeding off honeycomb and running the risk of reducing their populations – and those of plants and crops.
(https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/03/06/waxworms-caterpillars-eat-plastic-pollution-but-could-also-hurt-bees/4952495002/)
Yeah, we really don't want to do anything to hurt the bee population.
I've written about that in a couple previous MattChat posts too:
2015: https://matthonnold.blogspot.com/2015/08/save-honeybees.html
2016: https://matthonnold.blogspot.com/2016/05/bee-bye-bye.html
Gotta take care of those bees as they take care of us. No bee = no pollination = no human food.
Grace & Peace & Love to you all -
Matt
