Every year, around 400 million tons of plastics are produced worldwide, a number that increases by around 4% annually. The emissions resulting from their manufacture are one of the elements contributing to climate change, and their ubiquitous presence in ecosystems leads to serious ecological problems.
Where did it state in the science that this synthetic man made protein is somehow going to escape its purpose and gain a foothold globally?
I think you’re confusing plastic eating bacteria with this, they are two very different things.
Ah, fair enough. I was imagining something more like plastic eating bacteria and the like.
How would they synthesise this protein then?
I would have thought they’d insert the DNA for it into a bacterium to produce it at scale, even if the protein is extracted and applied to the plastic separately. They could add an artificial environmental dependency to stop it replicating outside, but I’m not sure that’s foolproof.
I don’t think it’s a likely outcome, but without details on usage it’s hard to know. (Also not being a biologist doesn’t help)