Cambridge scientists have spotted gut bacteria that greedily soak up PFAS “forever chemicals,” then ferry them safely out of the body in animal tests, removing up to three-quarters of the toxins within minutes. Their findings hint at probiotic pills that could shield people from PFAS-linked cancers, fertility issues, and heart disease while lawmakers scramble to rein in 4,700 widespread compounds.
Awesome, nature finds a way. Wonder how common this removal is with other things, also, engineering one for nanoplastic removal would be a huge win!
There has been found a fungus that evolved to consume microplastics already! https://lamycosphere.com/en-int/blogs/the-futur-is-fungi/plastikfressende-pilze-sind-eine-naturliche-losung-fur-die-umweltverschmutzungskrise?srsltid=AfmBOopXsq1C4V3QswKk2bVz1-Y9NNbbDa5VhLclmQyVl-LkNqrijkvl
And a black one that consumes radiation! They’re working on a way to use that as a self healing radiation shielding in space! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiotrophic_fungus
Just keep in mind how close our flesh is to plastic, chemically speaking. Anything that is really good at breaking down hydrocarbons may find us pretty tasty too.
“keep in mind how close our flesh is to plastic”
Well that was never in my mind.
Monkeys, pigs in some way but I need some source or explanation on this
We are comprised of tangled chains of hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, with a sprinkle of various others. Plastic is slightly more complex chains, developed from the dead and entombed carcasses of ancient flora and fauna. That entombment process adjusts, but doesn’t fundamentally alter the chemistry of those chains.
thx 👍