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Reed College (Portland) Student Discovers Plastic-Eating Bacteria By Accident
Willamette Week ^ | December 20, 2019 | Elise Herron

Posted on 12/20/2019 8:29:10 AM PST by nwrep

As she prepared to fly back to Portland in January 2017, Morgan Vague stood nervously in the security line at Houston Airport, hoping the TSA agents wouldn't notice the contraband stored in her carry-on bag—nearly a dozen Ziploc bags full of dirt. The Reed College senior had flown to Texas to collect samples for her biology thesis project. Her theory was that, in areas with high rates of pollution, microbes would have evolved to eat certain types of plastic. Oregon's soil is too clean to accurately sample from, and many of the state's landfills and refineries are closed off. But that wouldn't be an issue in Houston, where she grew up—there are seven Superfund sites in her home county alone.

If she could isolate plastic-devouring bacteria in a lab, it could one day be put to use breaking down such environmental nuisances as the Pacific Ocean "garbage patch." Her fear, however, was that it would get flagged as a biohazard before she ever got the chance.

That's good news for Vague—and the planet. From one of the samples, collected at the beach in Galveston Bay, where she says hundreds of gallons of oil leak into the ocean daily, Vague was able to successfully isolate three strains of bacteria that break down and consume polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, a ubiquitous plastic—one of which, Pseudomonas morganensis, has never before been discovered. Her research professor, Jay Mellies, has called it a "watershed" discovery.

"What we're focusing now on," Vague says, "is getting a more appreciable degradation of plastic faster. And once we get that, maybe scaling that up to some sort of industrial size that can really help us tackle this [pollution] problem."


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To: nwrep

I saw a TV show where some deep sea germs had been boring holes in the Perri Dish they had been collected in. I suspect they stopped the research when they realized what such a bug could unleash upon civilization. Imagine trying to turn on your computer and failing because some creatures were eating the plastic in that computer or you had a big mess in your refrigerator because some germs had eaten a hole in your milk container. It really is a Pandora’s box you want to stay sealed.


21 posted on 12/20/2019 8:42:48 AM PST by Nateman (If the left is not screaming, you are doing it wrong ...and Epstein did not kill himself.)
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To: nwrep

So to Pelosi, it would be a flesh eating bacteria.


22 posted on 12/20/2019 8:43:05 AM PST by real saxophonist (Never let Sean Connery teach your dog to Sit!)
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To: DesertRhino

My thoughts exactly. I seriously doubt hundreds of gallons are spilled into Galveston Bay daily. Total hit job on Texas and the energy industry.


23 posted on 12/20/2019 8:44:02 AM PST by con-surf-ative
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To: null and void

Because she’s just that stupid to say such. Or more fake news.


24 posted on 12/20/2019 8:45:10 AM PST by bgill
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To: con-surf-ative

Note the necklace with the golden calf. Almost a textbook definition of a pagan.


25 posted on 12/20/2019 8:46:55 AM PST by nwrep
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To: nwrep

So someone at Weed College gets hassled by the TSA for sneaking baggies onboard a flight?

I can’t imagine *why*...


26 posted on 12/20/2019 8:47:40 AM PST by grey_whiskers (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change with out notice.)
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To: nwrep

Um ... it’s a pug ...


27 posted on 12/20/2019 8:50:38 AM PST by Blueflag (Res ipsa loquitur: non vehere est inermus)
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To: nwrep
Note the necklace with the golden calf.

LOL! That's a dog.....

28 posted on 12/20/2019 8:54:21 AM PST by Hot Tabasco (Never take a centipede shopping for shoes)
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To: Hot Tabasco

What could go wrong?


29 posted on 12/20/2019 8:55:41 AM PST by Cowgirl
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To: nwrep
OK, so we ramp up these plastic-eating bacteria to an industrial scale, because if they get loose, what could POSSIBLY go WRONG???


30 posted on 12/20/2019 8:58:05 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks (Show me the people who own the land, the guns and the money, and I'll show you the people in charge.)
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To: nwrep

Morgan Vague’s contribution to the research is ambiguous and unclear.


31 posted on 12/20/2019 8:58:38 AM PST by bwest
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To: con-surf-ative
Gal Bay is a bath tub. Spills are almost a daily occurrence. They are usually small, but add up. It's also part of the draining path of Houston, and has been hit hard by storms. It's a logical place to investigate bacteria due to location and output from commercial discharges.
32 posted on 12/20/2019 8:59:03 AM PST by Theoria (I should never have surrendered. I should have fought until I was the last man alive)
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To: dsc

Pet Schiff is left over and you are required to pick it up in plastic bags, uh, wait one...


33 posted on 12/20/2019 9:00:58 AM PST by American in Israel (A wise man's heart directs him to the right, but the foolish mans heart directs him toward the left.)
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To: con-surf-ative

Could be natural seepage from the sea floor in the bay.


34 posted on 12/20/2019 9:01:08 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks (Show me the people who own the land, the guns and the money, and I'll show you the people in charge.)
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To: nwrep

But, won’t the bacteria give off CO2 when they eat the plastic?


35 posted on 12/20/2019 9:04:31 AM PST by Ruy Dias de Bivar
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To: nwrep

That should get her into a top graduate program.


36 posted on 12/20/2019 9:04:40 AM PST by reg45 (Barack 0bama: Gone but not forgiven.)
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To: eyeamok

Ding ding ding! We have a winner!


37 posted on 12/20/2019 9:07:50 AM PST by vpintheak (Leftists are full of "Love, peace" and bovine squeeze.)
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To: DesertRhino

Another Oregon First!!!

Having been raised In Vancouver, Washington right across the river from Portland, this was heard regularly on the local Portland nightly news...


38 posted on 12/20/2019 9:08:44 AM PST by shotgun
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To: Grampa Dave

“...having a simple solution to solve a world wide problem.”

You mean “impacting their money and power train”

Rest assured, the moment this problem is solved, they’ll discover a brand new one that requires billions of dollars to “solve”.


39 posted on 12/20/2019 9:08:49 AM PST by Personal Responsibility (If we disarmed democrats gun violence would decrease by 90%.)
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To: Ouchthatonehurt

Shhhhhhhhh!

Don’t let out Oregon’s little secret that that their environment isn’t as pure as snow.


40 posted on 12/20/2019 9:11:07 AM PST by shotgun
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