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Let’s Talk Trash! MAR / APR 2019
©2019 The Keenan Group, Inc
Mutant enzyme breaks down
plastic. by Bailey Gower Team Stark
Earth Day is celebrated every year on the 22 of April for the last 47 years. In 1970, a US Senator from Wisconsin, created this national day to create awareness of the environment and how we treat nature. Today this day is celebrated as an international event in 193 countries. All over the world, we have an affect on the environment through all our actions or even by simply living as we do. We use electricity and water, use of transport such as cars, busses and airplanes to go to school or work. Remember that also by eating the food we need for surviving we all affect our environment, as that food is planted and harvested, transported to a store near you by big trucks who also pollute the environment. The waste we produce and the way we dispose of our waste is creating many problems. Even in the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean, the deepest point on earth, scientists recently found plastic bags and beer cans! What a scary finding! So remember: Reduce - Recycle - Reuse - https://www.kids-world-travel-guide.com/earth-day.html
When you look down a highway, what do you see? Trash! - either paper cups, tin cans, and/or plastic bags.Waste is a huge problem in our society. Walking trails have this problem, trash is everywhere. Animals coming in contact with rubbish suffer greatly, such as squirrels, birds, raccoons, and many more that get choked on broken pieces of plastic and/or even getting cut. The most affected environment is the ocean. Roughly 8 million pieces of trash find its way into our oceans every year. It is outrageous and needs to stop. Researchers in Japan discovered a strain of bacteria that naturally evolved to eat away at plastic. After further scientific studies by other countries, and by accident, it was discovered that the structure of an enzyme found in this bacteria was altered into a mutant enzyme that could break down plastic within a few days . These scientists are highly optimistic about this discovery. Think about it for a moment fellow readers, this could be the bacteria that could help lessen trash in landfills and limit animal endangerment
by waste. This finding is a big deal! Currently, scientists are working on ways to shorten how long it takes this enzyme to break down plastic. The best thing about this discovery is that it does not require the use of petroleum. Bacteria is organic matter and with its use for plastic trash elimination, it would help the environment by reducing the danger it brings not only to plants but to animals and people as well. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ scientists-accidentally-create-mutant-enzyme-can- break-down-plastic-180968881/ What are enzymes? Enzymes are special types of proteins. Like all proteins, enzymes are made from strings of amino acids. The function of the enzyme is determined by the sequence of amino acids, types of amino acids, and the shape of the string. What do enzymes do? Enzymes are responsible for a lot of the work that is going on in cells. They act as catalysts in order to help produce and speed up chemical reactions. When a cell needs to get something done, it almost always uses an enzyme to speed things along. https://www.ducksters.com/science/biology/enzymes.php
The trash cans we use are actually recycled. When one gets damaged it’s sent back to the factory to be ground up (after being cleaned of course) and put back into the process of becoming another trash can. Recycling is not always about having someone haul your stuff to a facility, it’s about sound practices and smart choices.
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