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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: con-surf-ative
I seriously doubt hundreds of gallons are spilled into Galveston Bay daily.

Most of the oil on Galveston Beach is from natural seeps found in the Gulf of Mexico. With the advent of offshore drilling the pressure has been reduced and the biggest seeps are now from farther away, closer to Mexico. Please note that the Beach is not the same as the Bay.

There is an enormous amount of monitoring of the water quality in Galveston Bay. Here is one of the report cards available online:

https://www.galvbaygrade.org/pollution/#oil-spills

About 225 spills per year of any kind, from a land facility or from a shipping vessel, reported over the past few years. Most are less than 5 gallons.

41 posted on 12/20/2019 9:13:35 AM PST by texas booster (Join FreeRepublic's Folding@Home team (Team # 36120) Cure Alzheimer's!)
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To: nwrep

Plastic eating bacteria...

What could possibly go wrong?

Imagine if every plastic part in your car, house, phone was suddenly consumed.


42 posted on 12/20/2019 9:17:53 AM PST by DannyTN
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To: Jonty30

So plastic is biodegradeable... I suspected as much.


43 posted on 12/20/2019 9:21:17 AM PST by willyd (I for one welcome our NSA overlords)
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To: nwrep

Years ago there was a story about a bacteria that was developed to ‘eat garbage’

It did a good job - until it escaped into the environment.

Pretty much ended life on Earth. Trying to find a link to the story now...


44 posted on 12/20/2019 9:23:36 AM PST by ASOC (Having humility really means one is rarely humiliated)
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To: nwrep

If the bacteria eats plastic, why didn’t it disolove the plastic bags she put it into? I recall seeing stories that this entire article was bogus.


45 posted on 12/20/2019 9:23:53 AM PST by GreyFriar (Spearhead - 3rd Armored Division 75-78 & 83-87)
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To: King_Corey

I wouldn’t touch their refrigerator... let Mandy do it...


46 posted on 12/20/2019 9:23:54 AM PST by Neidermeyer (There's a Tesla owner born every minute.)
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To: Nateman
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.

Envisioned (sort of) in a Star Trek Next Generation episode:

In the Next Generation episode “Evolution,” Wesley falls asleep while conducting a science experiment and accidentally unleashes tiny nanites. He experimented with nanites aboard the USS Enterprise-D to see if he could enhance their capabilities, by letting them work together. When these nanites escaped they entered the Enterprise computer core where they multiplied and interfered with almost all ship operations. Their increasing numbers allowed them to develop collective intelligence.

47 posted on 12/20/2019 9:31:49 AM PST by CedarDave (Public schools are better named "propaganda indoctrination centers." Educate your children at home.)
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To: con-surf-ative

There are seeps that occur
naturally in the gulf.
From the WIKI;
“In the Gulf of Mexico, there are more than 600 natural oil seeps that leak between one and five million barrels of oil per year, equivalent to roughly 80,000 to 200,000 tonnes.[41] When a petroleum seep forms underwater it may form a peculiar type of volcano known as an asphalt volcano.


48 posted on 12/20/2019 9:36:29 AM PST by Lean-Right (Eat More Moose)
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To: nwrep

So there are things that eat plastic. When we throw plastic out we are feeding the animals. Paper or plastic? Plastic please I’m all for feeding hungry animals!


49 posted on 12/20/2019 9:38:49 AM PST by DouglasKC
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To: Jonty30

Patent a discovery? What was invented?


50 posted on 12/20/2019 9:39:19 AM PST by Bitman
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To: nwrep

I like the blue fingernail polish.

Hopefully these bacteria don’t get loose. We’d have to go back to using wood.


51 posted on 12/20/2019 9:43:35 AM PST by <1/1,000,000th%
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To: null and void

“...contraband stored in her carry-on bag—nearly a dozen Ziploc bags full of dirt.”

How is this contraband?

In some states agricultural laws forbid bringing in soil samples without a cert or a quarantine so that you don’t introduce new pests or bacteria. You can’t bring in soil from the Middle East (I think Kuwait?) because the sand fleas can carry leishmaniasis and tungiasis for example.

Similar to the laws about bringing fruit into California.


52 posted on 12/20/2019 9:47:38 AM PST by DBrow
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To: dsc

beef? cows? . . . people?


53 posted on 12/20/2019 9:47:43 AM PST by imardmd1
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To: nwrep

The Andromeda Strain.


54 posted on 12/20/2019 9:53:19 AM PST by ealgeone
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To: DBrow

Good point. Thanks.


55 posted on 12/20/2019 10:02:51 AM PST by null and void (The government wants to disarm us after 243 yrs 'cuz they plan to do things we would shoot them for!)
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To: nwrep

Am I the only nerd who read a 1971 apocalyptic book titled: The Plastic Eaters

Plot: Cola companies are under fire for producing non-biodegradable waste (bottle caps filling sewers/drains) so they invent a bacteria that will eat plastic.
Eventually said bacteria escapes the lab and hilarity ensues...well...not hilarity exactly. The bacteria makes it’s way across the word, airplanes dropping out of the sky, infrastructure failing, cars imobilized as they all have plastic coated wires etc. Was a good book, but kind of short.

I think I found a version of it on Amazon. Dated 2012 referring to a 1971 version.
https://www.amazon.com/Mutant-59-Plastic-Kit-Pedler-ebook/dp/B0081RLFEY/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+plastic+eaters&qid=1576864911&sr=8-1


56 posted on 12/20/2019 10:03:22 AM PST by ransomnote (IN GOD WE TRUST)
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To: PGR88
Morgan Vague named pseudomonas morganensis after herself

Real name: vagunosis?

57 posted on 12/20/2019 10:04:10 AM PST by Reeses (A journey of a thousand miles begins with a government pat down.)
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To: nwrep
Note the necklace with the golden calf. Almost a textbook definition of a pagan.

Looks like a golden pug to me.

nully refraining from suggesting that she didn't want a canine that is prettier than her...

58 posted on 12/20/2019 10:07:16 AM PST by null and void (The government wants to disarm us after 243 yrs 'cuz they plan to do things we would shoot them for!)
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To: nwrep

Didn’t GE invent Lexan through an accident?

Cool.


59 posted on 12/20/2019 10:09:20 AM PST by Daffynition (*I'm living the dream.* & :))
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To: dsc

[[What’s left over after the bacteria eat the PET?]]

small little plastic poop pellets of course (which then get lodged in the esophaguses of polar bears and make them drown of course- evil man you know-)


60 posted on 12/20/2019 10:11:21 AM PST by Bob434
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