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Scientists accidentally discovered a mutant enzyme that could help the world eliminate plastic waste

Posted in biological

Researchers in the US and UK examined an existing enzyme which had occurred naturally in landfill sites and was able to slowly digest man-made plastics.

But in the course of testing the enzyme’s origins, the researchers made biological changes to it that turbo-charged its ability to digest plastics, according to Britain’s University of Portsmouth.

According to The Guardian, the enzyme starts breaking down plastic in a matter of days, a process which would take centuries under normal conditions.

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