Scientists accidentally Produce an Enzyme that Devours Plastic

There are research teams around the world dedicated to finding a remedy for the growing plastic pollution crisis, but now it seems that one group of scientists have found a feasible answer – and they stumbled upon it by accident. Researchers studying a newly-discovered bacterium found that with a few tweaks, the bug can be turned into a mutant enzyme that starts eating plastic in a matter of days, compared to the centuries it takes for plastic to break down in the ocean.

The surprise discovery was made when scientists began investigating the structure of a bacterium found in a waste dump in Japan. The bug produced an enzyme, which the team studied using the Diamond Light Source, an intense beam of X-rays 10 billion times brighter than the sun. At first, the enzyme looked similar to one evolved by many kinds of bacteria to break down cutin, a natural polymer used by plants as a protective layer. But after some gentle manipulation, the team actually improved its ability to eat PET (polyethylene terephthalate), the type of plastic used in drinks bottles.

Speaking to The Guardian, Professor John McGeehan, who led the research from the University of Portsmouth, said the discovery was “a bit of a shock,” but that it could have a significant impact on the mounting global plastics problem. PET bottles that are currently recycled can only be turned into fibers for clothing and carpets. The mutant enzyme could be used to turn plastic back into its original components. “It means we won’t need to dig up any more oil and, fundamentally, it should reduce the amount of plastic in the environment,” said McGeehan.

Existing examples of industrial enzymes, such as those used in detergents and biofuels, have been manipulated to work up to 1,000 times faster in just a few years – McGeehan believes the same could be possible with the new enzyme: “It gives us scope to use all the technology used in other enzyme development for years and years and make a super-fast enzyme.” According to the team, potential future uses for the enzyme could include spraying it on the huge islands of floating plastic in oceans to break down the material.

Plastic pollution has seen renewed focus in recent times, thanks largely to attention drawn by David Attenborough’s Blue Planet II series, and through a number of legislative proposals. Science has examined a huge range of solutions, from plastic-plucking robots to infrared identification from space, but the discovery of this mutant enzyme could herald an entirely new way of dealing with the issue.

The Illegal Fishing happens at Night, there's so much Money Involved

Jonathan Garcia Pereda snapped a photo, the contraband glowing white in his smartphone. Mexican federal police had stopped a 28-year-old man from San Felipe at a checkpoint, discovering black plastic bags balled up in the tires. It appeared to be another familiar bust to the Mexican police, until they cut open the bags. Hong Kong bans the sale of totoaba, because it’s an endangered species. Perhaps the Hong Kong shop owner holding the picture was thinking of the law: Two weeks ago, he said he could sell totoaba. But on this second visit, he quoted the $100,000 price and urged us to shop elsewhere. At another store, a merchant pledged totoaba will help ease achy joints and soft tissues. The recommended way to ingest it? “Soup.” The only way to buy it? A lot of money.

The Russian-made helicopter lifted off the ground of the Mexican naval base at San Felipe, a fishing village in Mexico’s Baja California. Aboard the helicopter were nearly a dozen sailors, some armed with semiautomatic rifles. The chopper made its way from dusty flatlands to the pristine blue waters of the Sea of Cortez. Just a few clicks north of San Felipe, the Colorado River meets the Gulf of California, where freshwater flows into the sea.

It’s here, 5,019 square miles of the gulf, that is home to the totoaba’s nursery and spawning habitat. The Mexican military flies twice a day over this nursery, patrolling for poachers. Mexico’s government declared this area and 400 miles of coastline a protected habitat and off-limits to all fishing. But money is a more potent draw than the fear of arrest, with poachers making as much money from the bladders as they do from cocaine. That pound for pound profit is why observers dub the totoaba bladder “aquatic cocaine.”

Shortly after taking off, the pilot spots a giant net in the protected coastline. It’s is an illegal totoaba net, hidden until poachers can drop the 2 kilometer-long net in the gulf to trap totoaba. Nine sailors, heaving and sweating, pull the heavy net aboard the chopper. The captain of the mission lifts a corner of the net. “The holes are 12 inches wide,” he said. “It’s used specifically to fish totoaba illegally. The head gets stuck, and it suffocates. It’s dangerous to the totoaba, but it’s also the main killer of the vaquita.”

Fish Bladders Are Latest Mexican Smuggling Commodity

One hundred twenty-one fish swim bladders lay before Garcia Pereda on the concrete floor, most of them white, some with shades of pink. The smell of fish guts was overwhelming, a stench Garcia Pereda never grew accustomed to, even as he went from bust after bust of the illegal smuggling. This was a huge haul of “aquatic cocaine”: 39 kilos of totoaba fish swim bladders, with a Hong Kong street value of $750,000. Not quite as big as a recent bust, thought Garcia Pereda, where they’d stopped 600 bladders from getting across the U.S.-Mexico border, flowing eventually to China.

These swim bladders were large, all from totoaba bass at least 30 years old. Garcia Pereda, a representative from PROFEPA, Mexico’s version of the Environmental Protection Agency, knew this bust was barely a dent in the multibillion-dollar international black market, robbing Mexico of its endangered species. Garcia Pereda leaned down to snap another picture, wondering how Chinese buyers could pay so much for an irrelevant part of a fish. Most of all, he wondered even with all the efforts by the Mexican government, the Mexican navy and international environmental activists, if they could stop a seemingly insatiable and bizarre appetite for the dying species’ bladder.

“It’s the best of the best. It makes one more beautiful,” the shop owner said in Mandarin, holding up a picture of dried totoaba bladder. “You can oil it or put it in a stew,” he continued. The middle-age seafood shop owner pointed to the picture and said it would cost about $100,000 U.S. The totoaba’s swim bladder is the priciest dried fish item in Sheung Wan, a neighborhood in Hong Kong. In a cluster of shops on a street commonly known to tourists and locals as Dried Seafood Street, exotic dried fare sit in giant tubs and glass jars, promising a variety of cures to a number of health ailments.

Shops have entire sections displaying dozens of types of fish bladders, ranging from $100 U.S. to thousands of dollars. Chinese culture has long believed fish bladder is rich in collagen, improving skin texture and maintaining youthful-looking skin. Few items are as desired as the totoaba bladder, what one shopkeeper called the “Mercedes-Benz” of dried fish, referring to its cost. The high price comes from the tototaba’s scarcity. It exists only in the most northernmost section of the Sea of Cortez in Mexico, in a quiet reserve called the Gulf of California. The totoaba is the only fish bladder on the market that has two unusual-looking tentacles that stretch the length of the bladder, giving it a unique and otherworldly appearance.

A Note From A Reader on Preparedness

This strikes a nerve with me because my dad died suddenly and quite unexpectedly at the age of 43 from a massive heart attack.  I was 17 years old at the time. If anyone thinks this does not turn your world upside down, I would beg to differ.  Now, I am a CPA/MBA, and have some knowledge about what people go through when they find themselves in this kind of situation, and some experience in what can be done to minimize the chaos and confusion.  These are always very stressful, emotional situations, and it can be VERY difficult to keep things held together and keep everything from going to hell in a handbasket. Trust me.  I know the best way I know to prepare for this type of event.

Collect ALL important documents into one place.  Birth Certificates, Marriage License, Titles and/or deeds to Vehicles/Home/Properties/Boats, etc. ALL Insurance policies…life, health, disability, homeowners, auto, boat, medevac, umbrella liability,long-term care etc., wills, living wills, military service records, professional licenses, and any other documents you consider important or critical. Include copies of your most recent 2 years of tax returns.  Also include the articles of incorporation and bylaws/operating agreement for any closely held businesses you own or in which you have ownership interest as a partner, member, director (Sole propietorship, partnership, LLC, Sub S corporation, etc).

Make copies of all above documents.  Place originals in lockbox and keep copies at home for reference…or vice versa, depending on your opinion on this matter.  Some people prefer to have the original copies in their personal possession.  Some documents may warrant having certified copies made or requesting certified copies from the issuers..  Again, this is a personal decision.  This collection would be one of the critical items you would grab in a bug-out situation anyway, so having it all together is a good idea for lots of reasons. Obviously you would want to store these in-home in some kind of secure, fireproof portable box that would be hard for a burglar/looter to find, but easy for you to grab and go at a moment’s notice.   Fireproof file boxes are available that suit this purpose well. And obviously, since these things lock, be sure somebody besides just you knows the combination or how to locate the combination or key.

Make a list of every debt you owe, the balance as of some specific date in time, the minimum payment, payment due date, account number, and website/username/password to the account if applicable.  Likewise with all checking/savings/investment/brokerage./401k/IRA/HSA accounts.

This enables your appointed administrator/trustee to see at a glance the location of all your financial assets and liabilities, and the mechanism by which to access them should the need arise. Original debt instruments would not be a bad idea to add to the list of important documents, especially real estate mortgages, auto loans, and other collateralized debt instruments that create liens against any of your properties or assets.