WEBVTT - Could a Plastic-Eating Enzyme Help Save the Planet?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works, Hey, brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Vogel bomb here. One of the amazing things about

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<v Speaker 1>our universe is that nothing really goes to waste. For instance,

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<v Speaker 1>you the incredible master work that you are happened to

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<v Speaker 1>be composed of the trash that exploded out of a supernova.

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<v Speaker 1>In every nook and cranny of the cosmos, the universe

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<v Speaker 1>is reorganizing and reusing. It is the great recycler. Our

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<v Speaker 1>planet recycles everything, water, carbon, nutrients of all kinds. So

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<v Speaker 1>it stands to reason that we'd be really good at

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<v Speaker 1>recycling stuff here on Earth. But we humans are only

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<v Speaker 1>so so recyclers. Take plastic. We do a great job

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<v Speaker 1>of digging up ancient deposits of carbon in order to

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<v Speaker 1>make the stuff, which is recycling sort of. But since

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<v Speaker 1>the nineteen forties, we've manufactured mind boggling amounts of a

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<v Speaker 1>material that will likely hang out in the environment for centuries,

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<v Speaker 1>kill wildlife and leaching toxic chemicals. Only about ten percent

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<v Speaker 1>of that is ever recycled. But in a Japanese research

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<v Speaker 1>team discovered bacteria making some inroads into plastics recycling where

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<v Speaker 1>we humans were failing. Poly Ethylene tariff thalate or PET

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<v Speaker 1>plastics are everywhere, most notably in plastic soda and water bottles,

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<v Speaker 1>and the bonds that hold its molecules together are very strong.

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<v Speaker 1>So it was something of a surprise when a colony

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<v Speaker 1>of these bacteria were discovered in a Japanese landfill. But

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<v Speaker 1>what's their secret? In a issue of the journal Proceedings

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<v Speaker 1>of the National Academy of Sciences, and International Group of

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<v Speaker 1>Researchers reported on the PET busting enzyme produced by these bacteria.

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<v Speaker 1>Not only did they map the structure of the enzyme,

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<v Speaker 1>but in the process of studying and tinkering with it,

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<v Speaker 1>they also made it faster. Turns out, it was all

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<v Speaker 1>a bit of an accident. Lead author Greg Beckham, senior

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<v Speaker 1>engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, said in a

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<v Speaker 1>press release. We hoped to determine its structure to aid

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<v Speaker 1>in protein engineering, but we ended up going a step

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<v Speaker 1>further and accidentally engineered an enzyme with improved performance at

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<v Speaker 1>breaking down these plastics. What we've learned is that p

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<v Speaker 1>E T A S is not yet fully optimized to

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<v Speaker 1>degrade PET, and now that we've shown this, it's time

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<v Speaker 1>to apply the tools of protein engineering and evolution to

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<v Speaker 1>continue to improve it. The goal of this research is

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<v Speaker 1>to find a way to create an enzyme that works

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<v Speaker 1>fast enough to break down huge amounts of pet plastic

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<v Speaker 1>into its component parts so it can be turned back

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<v Speaker 1>into plastic bottles. One possible solution is to plant this

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<v Speaker 1>mutant enzyme into bacteria that can withstand insanely high temperatures,

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<v Speaker 1>which might break the plastic down ten to a hundred

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<v Speaker 1>times quicker. Whatever it takes, y'all, we humans buy one

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<v Speaker 1>million plastic bottles every minute. Reduce and recycle your plastic waste.

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<v Speaker 1>But it also can't hurt to keep your fingers crossed

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<v Speaker 1>for these bacteria to work out. Today's episode was written

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<v Speaker 1>by Jesselyn Shields and produced by Tyler Clang. For more

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<v Speaker 1>on this and lots of other environmental topics, visit our

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<v Speaker 1>home planet, how stuff Works dot com.