Comments on: Turning plastic waste into bio-gas https://www.openforum.com.au/test/ Open Forum offers an independent platform for Australian debate Tue, 19 Dec 2023 21:24:05 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.25 By: Alan Stevenson https://www.openforum.com.au/test/#comment-4820 Tue, 17 Apr 2018 05:12:24 +0000 http://www.openforum.com.au/?p=13624#comment-4820 Does this technique resemble the new research, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, which began by determining the precise structure of the enzyme produced by the Japanese bug discovered about four years ago? The team used the Diamond Light Source, near Oxford, UK, an intense beam of X-rays that is 10bn times brighter than the sun and can reveal individual atoms.

The structure of the enzyme looked very similar to one evolved by many bacteria to break down cutin, a natural polymer used as a protective coating by plants. But when the team manipulated the enzyme to explore this connection, they accidentally improved its ability to eat PET.

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