Eating Styrofoam is Good
Don't do this, but read this!
We live in a time where technology seems to be solving a ton of problems. From communication to medicine to energy. But sometimes solutions can be found in other places. In the case of today’s Good Thing the solution is found in the gut of a tiny African worm.
Intrigued? Read on!
In a delightful twist of scientific serendipity, researchers have uncovered a biological marvel that might just revolutionize our approach to plastic waste: the African lesser mealworm.
This unassuming creature represents more than just another scientific curiosity—it's a potential game-changer in our global environmental challenge.
The magic happens in the most unexpected place: the gut of a mealworm. Forget about recycling! Expensive and of questionable use. Instead we may have these tiny larvae who have developed a remarkable ability to interact with polystyrene (aka styrofoam) through a complex microbial process that transforms seemingly indestructible plastic into somewhat useful compounds.
What makes this discovery even better is that the styrofoam-digesting bacteria aren't a permanent resident of the larvae's gut. Instead, they emerge dynamically in the presence of polystyrene — in the words of Dr. Malcolm “Life finds a way.”
There’s a lot in the details from the paper where this is chronicled. For one, the mealworms don't actually digest styrofoam for nutritional purposes. Instead, they extract energy-producing carbon and hydrogen compounds.
Now, looking forward to practical uses I don’t imagine dropping millions of mealworms into garbage dumps is in the future. I anticipate further analysis of the compounds and microbial communities so that they can be isolated and used without the mealworm itself. But let’s not look past the forest here, this intricate biological mechanism represents more than a technical solution—it's a glimpse into nature's extraordinary problem-solving capabilities.
Nature and evolution have been creating unique solutions for millions of years. MILLIONS of years of product development. It’s going to take time and luck to find these products and determine their uses.
Thus, at its core, this discovery embodies a profound concept: solutions to seemingly insurmountable challenges often emerge from the most unexpected places. And our new friend, the African lesser mealworm is the latest testament to the innovative potential inherent in the natural world.
Getting rid of styrofoam is a GREAT thing.
That the solution to how we do it may live beneath our feet and has been just waiting to be discovered (and has been discovered, of course) is today’s Good Thing.
Sometimes I am speechless