103
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] wahming 19 points 2 years ago

I heard about the discovery of plastic eating bacteria years ago, and had always wondered why they weren't just spreading in nature and eating all the microplastics. This sheds a lot of light on current events in the field!

[-] kadu@lemmy.world 5 points 2 years ago

Without artificial selection, the few bacteria capable of digesting some plastics only do so when it's the only source of carbon and energy. Plastics require expressing complex enzymes and the process is not efficient.

If you have literally any other sugar available in your environment, it's better to digest that instead. So they aren't out there absolutely massacring plastic waste, unless they happen to be in an environment where this is all that's left.

[-] rbos@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 years ago

I wonder if they could be bred to be unable to directly metabolize sugar, or if that's a ridiculous thought.

[-] Daefsdeda@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 years ago

Easily. But then they would be outcompeted by bacteria that can.

[-] rbos@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 years ago

Unless they have a sole niche they alone can occupy, like prevalent plastic, maybe.

[-] CookieJarObserver@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 years ago

From what i know they are modified E. coli bacteria and where not released due to fears they would cause more problems than good in nature. Also they could potentially harm humans.

[-] can@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 years ago

Give them a few millenia

[-] mindbleach@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 years ago

That's how we got kudzu.

[-] bappity@lemmy.world 0 points 2 years ago

THROW THEM INTO THE OCEAN

this post was submitted on 28 Sep 2023
103 points (98.1% liked)

Excellent Reads

2354 readers
1 users here now

Are you tired of clickbait and the current state of journalism? This community is meant to remind you that excellent journalism still happens. While not sticking to a specific topic, the focus will be on high-quality articles and discussion around their topics.

Politics is allowed, but should not be the main focus of the community.

Submissions should be articles of medium length or longer. As in, it should take you 5 minutes or more to read it. Article series’ would also qualify.

Rules:

  1. Common Sense. Civility, etc.
  2. Server rules.
  3. Please either submit an archive link, or include it in your summary.

Other comms that might be of interest:

  1. !boardgames@sopuli.xyz
  2. !norway@sopuli.xyz

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS