Category Archives: Biological Sciences

From Poison to Prescription: The History, Biology and Biotechnology of Ergots

Imagine this.

It’s the Middle Ages, around 500-1500, at dinner time. You’re sitting at the dinner table, surrounded by family. You reach a hand over to grab a small loaf of freshly baked bread; the day has been long and tiring so, as soon as your fingers grasp the warm rye roll, you can feel your stomach grumble with anticipation.

You take a bite, chew, swallow and everything goes downhill.

It’s the Middle Ages, around 500-1500, just past dinner time. You’re hunched over at the dinner table, your family surrounds you with worried looks on their faces. You reach a hand up to your mouth, the half-eaten loaf lays forgotten on the floor. You feel dizzy and your muscles ache; weak in a way that’s different from exhaustion. Before your fingers even touch your face, you can feel your stomach churning with nausea.

Maybe the bread was old? -but it was freshly baked and still warm.

Maybe you caught the flu? -but you don’t get better. In fact, you get worse. You start convulsing, you start hallucinating, your tissues start to die as your blood flow is constricted. Then, after a few frantic attempts to keep you alive, you pass away… along with other members of your village who experienced the exact same thing.

Now, you wouldn’t have known it at that time, but you were a victim of an ergotism epidemic.

What is Ergotism?

Ergotism is a disease caused by ergots, a form of fungi. Often found growing on cereal and forage plants like grass, wheat and rye, ergots can be deadly when ingested.

Throughout history, there have been multiple epidemics of ergotism. With symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, hallucinations, convulsions and gangrene (a condition where your tissues will die from a lack of blood flow), there have been records of ergotism outbreaks and deaths dating back as early as the Middle Ages; maybe even before then.

Because ergots will grow on forage plants such as wheat and rye, they can easily be ingested by a large population as infected crops are fed to livestock and processed into contaminated flour, a common ingredient used in multiple food dishes. For that reason, ergotism has been the cause of death for tens of thousands of people throughout history; a single case in 944 France caused the death of 40 000 people.

 

‘The Temptation of St Anthony’ (1512-1516) Ergotism depicted by Matthias Grünewald. Source from Wikipedia

Nowadays, however, as the knowledge on ergots advance, there has been fewer reported deaths caused by ergotism and nearly zero ergotism outbreaks within the human population in developed countries. Regulations have been placed on agricultural and milling procedures to prevent ergots from being milled into flour. Furthermore, farming methods such as rotating between growing wheat and rye plants have been devised to reduce ergots from growing on the crops altogether.

It’s been mentioned briefly but…what exactly are ergots again?

Biology of Ergots

Ergots are a life stage of the Claviceps sp. fungi. Claviceps sp. are an obligate biotroph and a plant parasite, which means they have to gain nutrients from another plant in order to survive. While the type of host plant can vary depending on the specific species of Claviceps, the main concern for humans are the Claviceps that grow on cereal and forage plants such as Claviceps pupurea; which often grows on plants like wheat, rye and grass.

Because Claviceps need the presence of a healthy host plant to survive, usually its life cycle will be in tune with the life cycle of the plant. Not to mention, fungi will typically reproduce asexually when environmental conditions are ideal and stable so they can quickly disperse their spores and infect other plants more effectively. When conditions are not ideal, however, fungi will rely on sexual reproduction and may even enter a dormant and toxic phase until conditions are stable again.

With that said, the life cycle of Claviceps sp. with grass flowers as its host plant might go as follows:

Life cycle of Claviceps pupurea. Source from Plantlet

In early spring, spores called ascospores of the fungus will be blown by the wind until it’s caught on the style of the grass flower. Branching structures called hyphae will grow from the ascospores into the grass’ ovary where it’ll absorb the sugars from the ovary. In spring, conditions are stable and ideal for the fungus, so it’ll reproduce asexually. Claviceps will produce asexual spores called conidia outside of the grass’ ovary. It’ll also produce this sweet “honeydew”-like substance to attract insects that will disperse the conidia and infect other plants.

As long as the conditions remain stable, this cycle of infecting plants, absorbing sugars, producing conidia will continue throughout spring. However, when summer begins, the host plants start to die as the weather gets hot and dry.

As conditions become unstable, the fungi will go dormant and toxic. It will form a dense mass of non-reproductive tissue generally called the sclerotium. For Claviceps, that sclerotium also has another name you might recognize as the ergots. Ergots are the dormant and toxic stage of Claviceps and if ingested, will cause ergotism. Fortunately, ergots in cereal plants differ quite drastically from uninfected grain kernels; not only are they a dark purple-black colour compared to the lighter coloured grains, but they can also grow a lot longer, making it easy to identify the infected grains.

Ergot on rye. Source from Bioweb

From ergots, pin-head-shaped structures called stroma will sprout as conditions start to stabilize in the next spring season. Embedded in the pin-head of the stroma, are the reproductive structures the fungi need to produce ascospores; the spores that infected the plant in the first place. Finally, the ascospores will be shot from the stroma and carried by the wind to infect another host plant where it will continue on the cycle.

 

Stroma growing out of ergot (sclerotium). Source from Bioweb

With the knowledge of what ergots are and what they can do, it sounds terrifying! …Or is it?

Biotechnology of Ergots

Despite the toxic properties, there have been discovered ways to utilize ergots. The mycotoxins produced by ergots are known as ergot alkaloids and from those mycotoxins, multiple compounds have been derived for human use.

One of the compounds derived is ergotamine; a medicine used to prevent and treat migraines and cluster headaches. Because ergots restrict blood flow, ergotamine works by reducing the extra blood flow to the cranium and therefore reducing the amplitude of the pulsations within the arteries.

Another compound derived is ergometrine, also known as ergonovine; a medicine used to induce labour and stop postpartum bleeding. Similar to ergotamine, ergometrine relies on the properties of ergots that reduce blood flow by narrowing the walls of the blood vessels which, in turn, reduces blood loss postpartum.

Chemical structure of the compound, ergometrine. Source from Wikipedia

With that said, there are risks and side effects to both of these compounds. An overdose of either compound can lead to ergotism and possible side effects of ergometrine include vomiting, headaches and high or low blood pressure. Both these compounds aren’t for daily use and should only be used if prescribed by a medical professional. They’re also heavily regulated; ergometrine especially so due to the fact that it’s also known as a precursor to LSD.

Because of the risks and regulations, the use of ergot-based compounds as medicine is a debatable topic. Some people argue that the safety concerns are far too great to be ignored while others argue that it’s already prevented many deaths from postpartum bleeding.

Now, whether you are against ergot-based medicines or not, it’s fascinating to see how much impact a small fungus, not much longer than a child’s pinky finger, has on our history… and perhaps, our future as well.

– Christine Sun

The Future of Milk May Be Spoiled

Has anyone else noticed that humans are the only species to drink milk after their initial infant stage or to drink the milk from another species? Well, it seems that more people are gravitating away from milk lately and milk substitutes seem to have taken over. Popular milk alternatives include: oat milk, soy milk, almond milk & etc.  It’s has been common to cut out dairy milk from one’s diet. Studies show that the percentage of adults drinking milk in the United States decreased about 20% from 2003 to 2014. But why are people drinking less milk now?

Milk from Chaney and other farms is stocked alongside dairy alternatives at IGA grocery store in Bowling Green. Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/14/style/milk-dairy-marketing.html

Side effects of Milk

While growing up many parents preached the consumption of milk by claiming it would make kids stronger and healthier. Milk has healthy components such as protein, B12, and calcium. However, it also brings its share of health complications. Dairy is the top source of saturated fat. As we get older, we can’t easily break down the lactose and sugar from milk as we could as infants. About 70% of the world’s population has lactose intolerance. Some common side effects of this are an upset stomach and gas problems. Milk is also known to cause acne because of all the hormones it contains and can lead to weight gain. Moreover, all of the calcium from milk that’s supposed to help our bones grow stronger actually does the opposite. This is because animal proteins produce acid when they are broken down and calcium neutralizes acid. Therefore, calcium from our bones is getting extracted to neutralize the protein from cow’s milk. Moreover, cow’s milk causes three times more greenhouse gas emissions than any other alternative.

Milk alternatives

Navigating around milk substitutes can be challenging because there are so many options. This might make some wonder, what is the best milk substitute? Soy milk has been the most popular for years because its nutrients are the closest to actual milk and it has the most protein. Oat milk has become the crowd favourite lately since it mixes well into cooking and is sustainable. There are even new substitutes that I’ve never heard about until now like quinoa milk and macadamia milk. In short, no, there isn’t one milk beverage that can be considered “the best” because everyone has vastly different dietary goals. For example, Individuals with nut allergies may want to try rice milk because it’s the least allergenic. Whereas rice milk is absorbed quickly in the gut and raises blood sugar levels rapidly which is not ideal for people with diabetes.

Is Oat Milk Healthier Than Cow’s Milk? | Northwestern Medicine Source: https://www.nm.org/healthbeat/healthy-tips/nutrition/is-oat-milk-healthier-than-cows-milk

While regular milk works well for some, it’s nice to have other options especially since cow’s milk may not be as great as we once thought. I expect to see a decrease in other animal products due to the popularity of  Vegan and Vegetarian lifestyles.

-Shilpa Shrestha

New UBC Research Could Provide A Cure For Spinal Cord Injuries

Currently, 27 million people worldwide are affected by a spinal cord injury (SCI). In Canada, an SCI will cost $1.5 to 5 million per person over their lifetime. With the significant amount of SCI’s and the cost associated with this traumatic event has researchers eager to find a cure, but there has not been a successful solution so far. However, UBC researchers think they may have found a potential solution.

What is a Spinal Cord Injury?

The spinal cord is a column of nerves that runs down the middle of your back. It functions to carry sensory information from your body to your brain, motor signals from your brain to your body and controls one’s reflex responses. The spinal cord is an essential part of the human body and allows us to sense and interact with our surrounding environment. Therefore, it can have profound implications when the spinal cord gets injured. The most common cause for SCI’s is from trauma to the back, with the most common being motor vehicle accidents for younger individuals in the USA, and falls are the most common cause for individuals over 65 years. Over 50% of spinal cord injuries occur in individuals between the ages of 16-30 years, and most are males. 

Description: Statistics associated with spinal cord injuries Source: https://mendthegap.ubc.ca/approach/

Exciting New UBC Research

Description/Source: Project Video By UBC Applied Science 

UBC researchers just received a $24 million grant for their “Mend the Gap” project working on spinal cord regeneration. The research aims to use a soft gel containing small magnetic filaments that will help guide and reconnect or regrowth the nerves damaged in the spinal cord. “Mend the Gap” has had success doing this in a petri dish and is now working on how this concept can be applied to the human body in a non-invasive way. With the gel being soft, it can mend to different sizes and shapes of gaps in the spinal cord in a non-invasive way preventing further damage to the spinal cord. This gel will also contain medication that can help reduce scar tissue that will help with the regeneration process. The UBC scientist Dr. John Madden leads this project and works with engineers and researchers from Canada, the United States, Europe and Australia. Within Canada, ICORD, UBC, the University of Alberta, the University of Western Ontario, McGill University and the University of Toronto are all involved. The projects have 32 researchers from many disciplines, including electrical engineers, material chemists, microbiologists, neurobiologists, and neurosurgeons. “Mend the Gap” is hoping the project will be complete in 7 years from now. Dr. Madden hopes that their research will provide hope for SCI’s and potentially a cure.

The proposed method for spinal cord repair      Source: https://mendthegap.ubc.ca/approach/

Ultimately, SCI’s have many consequences that affect many aspects of an individual’s life. UBC researchers’ new approach to fixing injured spinal cords can hopefully help people with spinal cord injuries gain independence. In the meantime, this research provides hope for the future of spinal cord injury research.

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The tiny but mighty solution to antibiotic resistance

So picture this… It’s the year 1928 and penicillin has just been discovered. Penicillin revolutionized modern medicine and with other antibiotics to come, it would go on to treat the untreatable and save millions of lives. Now, let’s flash forward to a more grim version of the future. It’s the year 2022. Antibiotics were supposed to be our precious resource but every time we misused them or overused them, we gave bacteria a chance to evolve and become resistant, and at the same time our scientists were unable to bring new antibiotics to the market. The World Health Organization (WHO) is calling antibiotic resistance “one of the biggest threats to global health today” so in recent years scientists have been looking for new multi-dimensional strategies to combat this issue. One of those is the use of light-activated quantum dots.

Over-prescription and patient non-compliance exacerbate the issue of antibiotic resistance. Getty Images/Joe Raedle

What are quantum dots?

Quantum dots are tiny particles made of semiconducting material, meaning they partly conduct electrical current. They are only a few nanometres in size and can be engineered in terms of shape, size, and material. The way these quantum dots kill bacteria is not all that complicated. Basically, when our bodies are infected with bacteria, they naturally produce what scientists call Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) in our immune cells to kill bacteria, and what light-activated quantum dots do is that they essentially mimic this natural killing process of the body by producing ROS of their own.

How is the killing initiated?

Now you may be thinking, how do we ensure that the cells that are not infected with bacteria, don’t end up getting killed? Well, the answer is quite simple. In application, quantum dots are specifically injected at the site of bacterial infection in the human body, so as to not affect other tissues, and when they receive an input of light of sufficient energy in a process called photoactivation, their electrons (particles with a negative charge of electricity) jump from a region of space with lower energy called the valence band to a region of space with higher energy called the conduction band. The energy difference between these two is referred to as the “bandgap” and when the electrons relax back to their ground level (i.e. the valence band), a photon of light is released that provides the energy needed for producing the killer Reactive Oxygen Species.

An input of light causes electrons of the quantum dots to move around, energy is released, and the killer ROS come to life! Adapted from Redox-Active Therapeutics

What are the consequences?

The killer ROS will break down bacterial biofilms (self-contained bacterial communities), damage the bacterial cell wall and cell membrane and inactivate enzymes needed for bacterial survival. And because the ROS are killing these microbes through all these different non-specific ways, the microbes can no longer develop resistance!

Quantum Dots and their many ways of killing bacteria! Adapted from McCollum et
al. and Imlay

One for the future?

It is abundantly clear that quantum dot technology shows great promise in combating the widespread issue of antibiotic resistance. Although the clinical use of the technology is a long way off, the strategy is an intriguing new approach at a time when the rate of drug development is much slower than the rate of antibiotic development and the pharmaceutical industry is lagging behind.

Student research on the applications of quantum dots at The University of Colorado. Materials Research Society

 

 

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Exercise can Improve Brain Chemistry by Protecting Aging Synapses

 

Covid-19 pandemic has impacted communities across the world. In order to mitigate the spread of virus, the government is promotoming  ‘social distacing’ at a population level and ‘self-isolation’ of elderly people. However, despite the importance of Public Health and Social Measures (PHSM), the government face challenges to maintaining a physically active lifestyle, particularly for older adults.

According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division, it is predicted that the global population of elderly people in developed and developing countries will double by 2050. As the number of people aged over 80 years is rising rapidly, it is increasingly important for individuals to maintain their quality of life, whilst preventing chronic conditions.

Physical activity among elders is one of the most widely recommended practices to support the brain, cognitive aging, and even delay memory loss from Alzheimer’s disease.

Elderly People Should Exercise Regularly           Credit: Donald Davis

According to a UC San Francisco study which was the first to utilize a set of data from human subjects, it has been discovered that proteins, which aid connection between neurons to maintain healthy cognition function, are found more abundantly in elderly people who remain more active.

This discovery has also been proven true in people with toxic proteins linked to Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Furthermore, microglia is a specialized population of macrophages in the central nervous system (CNS) that can regulate a potent inflammatory response by clearing away biological debris in the brain.

YouTube Preview ImageSource: What Are Microglia?

During communication between neurotransmitters, the neuron releases a small peptide called amyloid-beta. An accumulation of amyloid-beta, in severe cases, result in memory loss and other cognitive diseases; the microglia is important because it clears such accumulation.

YouTube Preview Image Source:What you can do to prevent Alzheimer’s 

One such cognitive disease that is affected by accumulation of amyloid beta is Alzheimer’s. While the main cause of Alzheimer’s is still debated among many scientists, most neuroscientists believe that this is true.

To prove the effectiveness of elderly physical activity on cognitive health and wellbeing, Kaitlin Casaletto, Ph.D., an assistant professor of Neurology, conducted a study to show the relationship between synaptic protein regulation and physical activity.

More Proteins Mean Better Nerve Signals

Her study traced the late-life physical activity of elderly participants who gave consent to donate their brains after death. Researchers examined 167 stored brains to trace lingering biochemical markers of microglia activity.

The research found a strong linear relationship between levels of activity and healthy microglia, especially in the hippocampus, which is known to regulate memory as well as other functions in the brain. Also, more protein was found in the brains of elderly people who remained more active during their late years.

Greater average late-life physical activity relates to higher synaptic protein
Credit: Kaitlin Casaletto PhD

On the other hand, the relatively less active participants’ microglia tended to look very dysfunctional with low memory capacity compared to those with more active lifestyles.

While there is no perfect cure for Alzheimer’s disease, there are things we can still do to delay or alter complete memory loss. Since recent research has exemplified the positive overall effect of physical activity on cognitive health and function, a greater focus on educating elders and caretakers to support a more proactive and physical lifestyle may be worth pursuing. Turns out, exercise is not only good for the heart and the body, but also for our most used organ – the brain.

-Yeonjun (Irene) Choi

 

Sleep: The Key to Athletic Performance

 

Is Sleep Important?

How many hours of sleep did you get last night? Sleep is essential for all individuals as it allows the body to recover and perform at its best the next day. Whether in learning, a performance, or using your brain to understand and acquire knowledge, sleep allows one to do these tasks to the best of their ability. While sleep is important for everyone, it is crucial for athletes because to perform at a high level requires plenty of practice and skill/play memorization. Although it may seem best to train more and sleep less as an athlete, it is found that prioritizing sleep maximizes performance and maintains high effort and enthusiasm for an extended period of time. Additionally, it provides a more optimal mental and physical state.

Description: Sleeping Athlete                                                                                        Source: Men’s Journal

 

Sleep Restores Your Body Through REM & NREM Sleep

Firstly, sleeping allows the body to repair and restore muscles, cells and tissues that make up the body for us to perform to our highest capability. By sleeping for the suggested amount of hours, our body is able to go through 4 different stages of sleep, which include both rapid and non-rapid eye movement (REM & NREM) sleep. The first three stages make up NREM sleep and are where the body prepares itself for a deeper sleep later on by slowing down and relaxing everything in the body. Once a deep restorative sleep begins (stage three), physical repairs, restoration of energy, and solidifying memories and information learned in the brain occur. REM sleep is where most dreams occur to stimulate the neurons (nerves) in the brain that are important for learning and mental well-being. Lastly, all stages of sleep of both NREM and REM occur multiple times through the night and, as shown, are crucial in the process of recovery and consolidation of memories.

Description: “Benefits of Optimal Sleep                                                                          Source: Metrifit

 

Lack of sleep has consequences on performance 

Knowing the benefits of sleep, imagine the consequences of not getting enough sleep. Some noticeable signs in athletes not obtaining sufficient quality rest are their decreased reaction time, developing sickness, and being more quickly exhausted. Studies have supported this and there is a link between insufficient sleep and increased amounts of injuries. This consequence is serious as injuries can cause significant setbacks and ruin future professional careers. Watch this video to see more of the effects:

YouTube Preview Image

Source: Performance Health Academy Network, “How Sleep Affects Athletic Performance and Mental Health” by Randy Cohen

 

So should athletes make the switch to get more sleep? Yes, they should! Multiple studies have observed and shown the incredible effects on the body and its significant benefits, as well as the dire consequences sleep can have on your athletic performance and other aspects of your life. Ultimately, athletics should make sleep a priority in their lives in order to maintain their high level of performance.

The Renaissance of Magic Mushrooms!

What do you think of when you hear magic mushrooms, otherwise known as psychedelic or medicinal mushrooms? Do you think of hippies protesting wars? Or high teenagers walking through the woods talking about how “trippy” the trees are? I bet you don’t see a therapist office with a licensed therapist and physician guiding a patient through a powerful psychedelic experience. However, this is precisely where the field of psychedelic research is heading.

Psilocybin, the active compound found in psychedelic mushrooms, is a powerful hallucinogenic that can cause numerous physical and psychological effects in the user. The potential physical effects include numbness, dry mouth, exaggerated reflexes and more. However, it is the psychological effects that make psilocybin a potential therapeutic drug for depression. Psilocin, a psilocybin metabolite, acts on serotonin receptors in the brain, increasing the hormone serotonin. This effect is similar to that of SSRIs, the most commonly used drug for depression. Unlike SSRIs, though, psilocybin has another property that helps combat depression; it increases communication across networks in the brain. This allows for a state of unstrained cognition that helps users resist depressive patterns by assisting the brain in building new neural connections.

Image showcasing the brain connections of a person on psilocybin (b) versus a person taking a placebo (a) Credit: Science Alert

The John Hopkins Center for Psychedelics and Consciousness Research leads the way in psychedelic research. The university hosted a clinical trial into psychedelic mushrooms as a treatment for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). In this study, participants went through two psilocybin sessions four weeks apart in the context of supportive psychotherapy. Of the 24 participants in the trial, 17 (71%) saw an improvement in their MDD and 13 (54%) were considered in remission after 4 weeks. See the two videos below to hear Roland Griffiths talk about his research and this study and a participant speak about his experience.

YouTube Preview Image The video covers the experience of an individual that was participating in the study and their experience with psilocybin. Video Credit: John’s Hopkins Media Team

YouTube Preview Image The Video covers the motivation behind studying psilocybin as a treatment option for Major Depressive Disorder and the experience of carrying out the experiment. Video Credit: John’s Hopkins Media Team

Although the research into psilocybin as a treatment for depression seems like new, breakthrough research, it is actually a rediscovered field. In the 1960s and 1950s, hundreds of studies were done on the use of LSD and psilocybin as therapeutic agents. However, the association between these drugs and counterculture killed the research in this field until recently. In the past few years, there have been hundreds of studies published each year on psilocybin as a treatment for numerous mental health disorders: PTSD, addiction, and anxiety, along with depression. The renaissance we are experiencing into using psilocybin and other psychedelic compounds as treatment for mental health disorders could help millions of people as the prevalence of these disorders continues to rise.

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The Development of Bacteria Eating Plastics

Discovery of plastics

A century ago, the discovery of plastics brought the convenience of a strong and affordable structure. However, finding something so strong and easily disposable creates environmental concerns. Science is rapidly developing to accommodate issues caused by the developments. Science has now permitted the development of bacteria to decompose the plastics that have long contaminated Earth. Using bacteria to destroy plastics may be a long-term sustainable way to preserve the planet.

Plastics and their damage

Plastics are continuing to plague and damage Earth’s environment. Single-use plastics are wasteful and environmentally unfriendly. More than 8.3 billion tons of plastics were manufactured since the 1950s, and over 60% have been buried in landfills. Plastic waste ends up in rivers, dumps, and oceans. Plastics harm aquatic life, increase disease spread, and may lie in waste for centuries. Scientifically, there needs to be a method to destroy PET’s (Polyethylene terephthalate). PET’s common uses include water bottles and plastic containers, many of which are consumed once then immediately disposed of. PET’s are not biodegradable.

Source: rsscience.com

The chemical composition of PET allows bacteria to decompose the structure. The bacteria are capable of decomposing the polyester bond. The C, H, and O bonds are capable of being decomposed by the bacteria.

Bacteria: a solution?

In March 2016, there was a breakthrough scientific discovery. Japanese scientists found that bacteria could consume PET plastics. The idea of bacteria eating plastics empowers the thought of opening industry scale to demolish plastics. The plastic-eating bacteria could open doors to many other forms of waste that would end up in landfills. In 2017, the fungus Ideonella Sakaiensis was seen to be able to decompose plastics. In 2020, strains of bacteria were seen as capable of eating polyurethane plastics.

YouTube Preview Image

Implications

Researchers and industry are far from determining measures to implementing bacteria that will safely and quickly decompose plastics. Further research must be done to seek if the measures are truly environmental. There are unknowns of the side effects of bacteria decomposing plastic. There are uncertainties if toxins to the environment will harm the environment in the long run. Moreover, the rate of decomposition of plastics is currently too slow. There needs to be genetic engineering for faster industrial processes.

Source: Beautiful News Daily

The different forms of bacteria decompose different plastics. Bacteria mainly break down Polyurethane, and bacterial enzymes mainly break down Polyethylene. Mealworms are capable of decomposing Polystyrene. These are all plastics that contaminate the planet.

Developments moving forward

Scientists are currently working on implementing the enzymes of bacteria to break down plastics at a rate six times faster than the current rate. Recently, 12000 new enzymes having the capability of breaking down plastics were discovered. 60% of these newly determined enzymes are unclassified. These enzymes have the potential for industrial use to break down environmentally harmful plastics. With the progress of science, there are many adaptable forms of preserving the environment.