59. Microscopic eco-warriors

Discovery Matters

Plastic and pollution are two issues that impact our planet. It would be easy to despair but once again biology has come to save us. The Alper Lab at University of Texas at Austin has engineered a plastic-eating enzyme which can shorten plastic degradation from hundreds of years to 48 hours.

We speak to Dr Hal Alper, Professor in Chemical Engineering at UT at Austin, who engineered this heroic enzyme.

We also speak to Marco Poletto, director and co-founder of EcoLogic studio, which is a design innovation company specializing in biotechnology for the built environment. He explains his use of microalgae to create streetlights, playgrounds, and biofilms on the outside of buildings which can capture 20 large trees worth of CO2 every day.

Show notes

Timelapse of the plastic degradation, courtesy of University of Texas at Austin.

Transcript Keywords: enzyme, plastic, protein, biology, ecologic, engineering, machine learning, organism, planet, algae, biomass, degrade, microorganisms, eco warrior, microscopic.