The 40-year study promises a revolution – it could save the planet Earth



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Researchers at the University of Warwick have discovered that the natural "tree glue", called lignin, can be transformed into easily formable plastics.

Lignin is a by-product of the paper production process. And although lignin is very beneficial for plants reinforced with cellulosic walls, it can quickly weaken and change the quality of the paper, and thus be removed.

Raw lignin is useless, but Professor Tim Bugg of the University of Warwick as the use of genetically modified bacteria to turn these "tree glue" into a useful chemical [19659004Hefoundthatthebacteriacalled Rhodococcus jostii who live in the soil and feed on these glues, can be genetically modified

"I have been working with lignin for 40 years and when I am I started this work, people even said "I'm wasting my time", but now they think the opposite is possible now.Even complicated but possible, "said Professor Tim Bugg.

There are only a few organisms that are able to break down lignin. So prof. The Tim Bugg team uses genetic material from two bacterial strains (the living species of the same species of the same species, an autosomal strain) and thus aims to accelerate the process of lignin degradation

" In general, lignin is broken down into molecules and uses them as a food for growth, "said Tim Bugg." So we try to take care of this process so that the bacteria can grow at the same time, but also bring us some advantages. "Since lignin is a complex substance (a mixed polymer with aromatic and aliphatic components in the automotive industry), fragmentation results in a complex mixture, the researchers hope to successfully implement their unique idea during next five years

A few days ago we talked about the use of bacteria for the production of new solar cells highly effective., the idea of ​​using bacteria for the production of biodegradable plastics looks promising

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