Jungle fungus eats plastic, beats cancer

"Researchers have found the first endophytic fungus that eats plastic, and can use it as its sole food source even in an oxygen-free environment. [1]

Pestalotiopsis microspora presents a massive bioremediation opportunity for landfills, where buried and surface plastics can be degraded naturally.

More likely, though, the enzyme responsible for degrading polyurethane (PUR) will be tweaked, patented and commercialized.  There will be no mad escape into urban centers where the mold will eat all our plastics, like medical scientist Kit Pedler envisioned in his sci-fi classic, Mutant 59: The Plastic Eaters."

One hopes, anyway

Activist Post: Jungle fungus eats plastic, beats cancer

Monday, February 6, 2012  -  Jungle fungus eats plastic, beats cancer

Pestalotiopsis microspora by Yale University -  Rady Ananda