Nowadays, when we learn so much about plastic covering seas and oceans and their effect on the
environment, the issue of plastic pollution has not left anyone indifferent.
TED blog reports about two students Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao who have identified
new bacteria that breaks down compounds called phthalates, common to flexible plastics.
After visiting a plastic-filled waste transfer station they learned that much of the plastic in
trash may not degrade for 5,000 years. The two young scientists tried to solve the problem
discovering strains of bacteria that have the potential to naturally degrade phthalates. Their work has
earned a huge coverage in media and scientific world since.
