Satirical Guide to Modern Life

Today, tomorrow, learn English naturally. 天天自然学英语

The method requires a pre-treatment step with either UV light, heat, or a chemical reagent, to weaken the waste material so the fungi can attack. This step mimics the environmental conditions necessary for fungi to latch onto and pry open plastics and is designed to make the degradation process more efficient.

Abbas says their method could be scaled up like any fermentation process but adds that his team has not yet optimized the experimental conditions for working at industrial scales. The method is also no substitute for efforts to reduce plastic waste, he says.

One foreseeable limitation common amongst plastic-crunching microbes is that they struggle to degrade more highly crystalline forms of plastic used in commercial products as well as they can other types of plastic waste.

The next steps for the researchers include building a benchtop prototype, testing modifications to speed up the process, and assessing the economic feasibility and environmental impact of using their method on commercial scales.

So often, however, it’s a bumpy road from experimenting on a lab bench to developing a commercial-ready product.

Last we heard in 2015, researchers behind an orb-like prototype device called the Fungi Mutarium – that turns plastic waste into a safe, edible product using two types of fungi – were continuing their work to speed up the decomposition process.

More recently, scientists have been busy finding ways to make useful bioplastics from air, creating recyclable plastics out of super glue instead of crude oil, and transforming plastic polymers back into liquid fuel.

These exciting discoveries will need a lot more work if they are to make an actual dent in the vast amounts of plastic waste that are fast piling up.

注释：

polypropylene: n

表示” 聚丙烯”，means “a polymer of propylene used as a thermoplastic molding material”，如：The most important fiber is polypropylene. 最重要的纤维是聚丙烯纤维。

harness: v

表示”利用；管理；控制”，means “control; use”，如：They will harness the sun’s energy to heat homes. 他们将利用太阳能为住宅供暖。

strain: n; v

表示” 拉紧；紧张”，means “stretch tightly by pulling”，如：Too heavy a load will strain the rope to its breaking point. 负载过重会把绳子拉紧到崩断的地步。The rope finally broke under the strain. 绷紧的绳子终于断了。

Aspergillus terreus： n

表示”[医] 土曲霉”，其中Aspergillus表示 “曲霉菌”

Engyodontium album：n

表示” 白色念球菌”

devour： v

表示”吞食；毁灭”，means “eat quickly and completely”，如：He sat by the fire, devouring beef and onions. 他坐在火炉旁，狼吞虎咽地吃着牛肉和洋葱。

fungi: n

表示” 菌类；霉菌”，means “the taxonomic kingdom including yeast, molds, smuts, mushrooms, and toadstools; distinct from the green plants”，如：The lawn was covered with fungi. 草地上到处都是蘑菇。

munch: v

表示”大声咀嚼”，means “chew noisily”，如：Munching the apple as he was, he had an eye for all her movements. 他虽然啃着苹果，但却很留神地监视着她的每一个动作。

compost: n; v

表示”堆肥; 使成堆肥”，means “a mixture of decaying vegetation and manure; used as a fertilizer;convert to compost”，如：The compost is specially formulated for pot plants.此混合肥料专门用于盆栽植物。They collect vegetable waste and compost it.他们收集不要的蔬菜,把它们制成堆肥。

polyethylene terephthalate： n

表示”聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇酯”， polyethylene表示“ ”means “聚乙烯”，terephthalate表示“ 对酞酸盐”

microorganism: n

表示”微生物”，means “any organism of microscopic size”，如：Microorganisms are the agents that bring about the chemical change. 微生物是引起化学变化的作用者。

substrate: n

表示”承印物；[生化]基质；”，means “the substance that is acted upon by an enzyme or ferment”，如：The substrate is first covered by a mask. 首先在基片上覆盖一个掩膜片。

concoction: n

表示” 混合；调合”，means “an occurrence of an unusual mixture”，如：Do you expect me to drink this vile concoction? 你难道想让我喝这种乌七八糟的东西?

enzyme: n

表示” 酶”，如：Nitrate reductase is a short-lived enzyme. 硝酸还原酶是短寿酶。

subunit: n

表示”亚单位；副族”，means “a monetary unit that is valued at a fraction “，如：Influenza may be prevented by active immunization with a polyvalent killed or subunit vaccine. 可以通过主动免疫接种多价灭活疫苗或亚单位疫苗预防流感。

slosh: v

表示”搅动；在泥中荡”，means “make a splashing sound”，如：To remove bacteria, slosh hot water around your mouth with your cheek muscles.把热水放在口中，用你的两颊的肌肉进行搅动，可除去细菌。

incinerate: v

表示”火化”，means “cause to undergo combustion”，如：The flames of my rage will incinerate you! 我的怒火将把你熔为灰烬!

decompose: v

表示” 分解”，means “break down;”，如：You can apply heat to decompose organic compounds. 你可以加热来分解有机化合物。

granule: n

表示”微粒”，means “a tiny grain”，如：Fast effect granule for children’s cold is very effective. 小儿速效感冒冲剂很有效。

aluminum: n

表示” 铝=aluminium（英）.”，means “a silvery ductile metallic element found primarily in bauxite”，如：She put some noodles in the aluminum saucepan. 她在铝锅里下了些面条。

excrete: v

表示”排泄；分泌”，means “eliminate from the body”，如：The function of the kidneys is to excrete waste products. 肾脏的功能是排泄代谢废物。

riddle: v

表示” 解谜;出谜题”，means “explain a riddle”，如：She loved to riddle out the solution to problems. 她喜欢解答问题。

pockmark; n

表示” 痘疮”，means “a scar or pit on the skin that is left by a pustule of smallpox or acne or other eruptive disease”，如：Moreover, it can adjust the excessive secretion of sebum to restrain acnes, without leaving any pockmark. 长期使用可令肌肤白嫩、细腻,不留粉刺、痘痕。

mimic： n; v

表示”模仿者；模仿”，means “someone who mimics (especially an actor or actress;imitate (a person or manner), especially for satirical effect”，如：One of my brothers is a wonderful mimic. 我的一个兄弟很善于模仿。He could mimic all the teachers’ accents. 他能够模仿每位老师的口音。

pry: v

表示”窥探”，means ” inquire too curiously or rudely about other people’s private affairs”，如：Don’t pry into private life of others.不要窥探别人的私生活。

benchtop: n

表示”台式”，如：Digitally controlled benchtop furnaces feature single set point control. 数控台式马弗炉的特点是单个设定点控制。

prototype: n

表示”原型；”，means ” first or original example of sth”，如：The strange mechanical device is the prototype of modern cars. 这个奇怪的机械装置是现代汽车的原型。

bumpy: adj

表示”颠簸的；崎岖不平的”，means “causing or characterized by jolts and irregular movements”，如：We had a hell of a trip on that bumpy road.在那条崎岖不平的路上我们吃足了苦头。

orb: n

表示” 球；天体”，means “an object with a spherical shape”，如：In the one hand she had a scepter, and in the other the imperial orb.她一只手里握着皇仗，另一只手托着金球。

polymer: n

表示” [化]聚合物”，means “a naturally occurring or synthetic compound consisting of large molecules made up of a linked series of repeated simple monomers”，如：Such polymers are termed addition polymers.这类聚合物称为加聚物

dent: n; v

表示” 凹痕; 形成凹陷”，means “a depression scratched or carved into a surface;make a depression into”，如：The front of the car has a dent in it. 小汽车的前面有一个凹痕。

中文简要说明：

塑料垃圾问题已不可忽视，它们很难降解，科学家一直在寻找自然分解的方式。最近，澳洲悉尼大学的科学家找到2种霉菌可以分解聚丙烯(PP)塑料，在实验室里，只需要短短140天就看得出效果。聚丙烯是一种半结晶的热塑性塑料，用途太广，据统计，世界上近三分之一的塑料垃圾就是PP。

科学警报(Science Alert)报导，能够分解的两种霉菌，分别是土曲霉(Aspergillus terreus)和白色侧齿霉(Engyodontium album)，都是在土壤里常见的霉菌。研究人员报告说，在实验室里，90天就看到25~27% 的样品被腐蚀， 140天可被完全分解。 悉尼大学化学工程师阿巴斯(Ali Abbas)说：「这是目前已知，塑料最快速的降解率。」

迄今为止，科学家已发现超过 400 种微生物可以分解塑料，其中真菌的多功能性，和使用强大的酶混合物，似乎效果比细菌更好。

悉尼大学的微生物学家笛?卡特(Dee Carter)说：「最近的研究发现，一些真菌甚至可以降解一些永久性化学物质，如多氟烷基物质(PFAS)，但这个过程很慢，而且还没有得到很好的研究。

虽然从理论上来说，塑料是可以回收再使用的，问题在于塑料的种类非常多，不同类型的塑料也不能混合再制，这使得回收回来的塑料，只能做成一些塑料丝之类的填充物，或是烧掉。

而塑料丝填充物又会形成微塑料，也是环境的大问题。因此现在的研究方向，主要是研发可被生物降解的新一代塑料，这就需要了解哪些分解酶可以代谢掉塑料。

虽然研究人员还不知道真菌究竟是如何消化塑料的，这将是未来研究的重点。真菌或许用分解酶把塑料腐蚀为更简单的分子，然后它们可以吸收或排出。

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