WORM TO THE RESCUE

The global plastic crisis could be solved by moth larvæ capable of disintegrating the material at “uniquely high speeds”, a talent discovered accidentally by a beekeeper. Commonly found living in beehives or harvested as fishing bait, the waxworm appears to have enzymes in its saliva or gut that attack plastic’s chemical bonds. The project is to isolate and mass-produce the enzyme responsible – and keep it away from gas mains and electrical wiring! D.Telegraph, D.Mail, 25 April 2017.