These bacteria eat plastic | Morgan Vague

Transcriber: Ivana Korom Reviewer: Joanna Pietrulewicz

Prevodilac: Ivana Krivokuća Lektor: Kristina Radosavljević

Plastics: you know about them, you may not love them,

Plastika - znate za nju, možda je ne volite,

but chances are you use them every single day.

ali verovatno je koristite svakog dana.

By 2050, researchers estimate

Istraživači procenjuju da će do 2050. godine

that there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish.

u okeanu biti više plastike nego ribe.

Despite our best efforts,

Uprkos našim naporima,

only nine percent of all plastic we use winds up being recycled.

samo devet odsto plastike koju koristimo bude reciklirano.

And even worse,

Što je još gore,

plastic is incredibly tough and durable

plastika je neverovatno čvrsta i izdržljiva

and researchers estimate

i istraživači procenjuju

that it can take anywhere from 500 to 5,000 years

da može potrajati od 500 do 5000 godina

to fully break down.

da se u potpunosti razloži.

It leaches harmful chemical contaminants into our oceans, our soil,

Izlučuje štetne hemijske zagađivače u naše okeane, zemljište,

our food, our water, and into us.

našu hranu, vodu i u nas.

So how did we wind up with so much plastic waste?

Kako smo završili sa toliko plastičnog otpada?

Well, it's simple.

Pa, prosto je.

Plastic is cheap, durable, adaptable, and it's everywhere.

Plastika je jeftina, izdržljiva, prilagodljiva i ima je svuda.

But the good news is

Ali dobra vest je da postoji još nešto

there's something else that's cheap, durable, adaptable and everywhere.

što je jeftino, izdržljivo, prilagodljivo i čega ima svuda.

And my research shows it may even be able to help us

Moje istraživanje pokazuje da nam to nešto čak može pomoći

with our plastic pollution problem.

sa našim problemom zagađenja plastikom.

I'm talking about bacteria.

Govorim o bakterijama.

Bacteria are microscopic living beings invisible to the naked eye

Bakterije su mikroskopska stvorenja koja su nevidljiva golim okom

that live everywhere,

i koja žive svuda,

in all sorts of diverse and extreme environments,

u svim vrstama raznovrsnih i ekstremnih sredina,

from the human gut, to soil, to skin,

od ljudske utrobe, zemlje i kože,

to vents in the ocean floor, reaching temperatures of 700 degrees Fahrenheit.

do izvora na dnu okeana, na temperaturama od 370 stepeni Celzijusa.

Bacteria live everywhere,

Bakterije žive svuda,

in all sorts of diverse and extreme environments.

u svim vrstama raznovrsnih i ekstremnih sredina.

And as such, they have to get pretty creative with their food sources.

Kao takve, moraju biti prilično kreativne u pogledu svojih izvora hrane.

There's also a lot of them.

Takođe ih je mnogo.

Researchers estimate that there are roughly five million trillion trillion --

Istraživači procenjuju da ima oko pet miliona biliona biliona -

that's a five with 30 zeros after it -- bacteria on the planet.

to je petica iza koje je 30 nula - bakterija na planeti.

Now, considering that we humans produce

S obzirom na to da mi ljudi proizvodimo

300 million tons of new plastic each year,

300 miliona tona nove plastike svake godine,

I'd say that our plastic numbers

rekla bih da naše brojke vezane za plastiku

are looking pretty comparable to bacteria's.

izgledaju prilično uporedivo sa bakterijama.

So, after noticing this

Pa, nakon što sam ovo primetila

and after learning about all of the creative ways

i nakon što sam saznala za sve te kreativne načine

that bacteria find food,

na koje bakterije pronalaze hranu,

I started to think:

počela sam da razmišljam:

could bacteria in plastic-polluted environments

da li bi bakterije u sredinama zagađenim plastikom mogle

have figured out how to use plastic for food?

da otkriju kako da koriste plastiku u ishrani?

Well, this is the question that I decided to pursue a couple of years ago.

Pa, to je pitanje kojim sam rešila da se bavim pre par godina.

Now, fortunately for me,

Srećom po mene,

I'm from one of the most polluted cities in America,

ja sam iz jednog od najzagađenijih gradova u Americi,

Houston, Texas.

iz Hjustona u Teksasu.

(Laughs)

(Smeh)

In my hometown alone,

Samo u mom rodnom gradu, postoji sedam lokacija

there are seven EPA-designated Superfund sites.

koje je Agencija za zaštitu životne sredine odredila za čiščenje.

These are sites that are so polluted,

To su lokacije koje su toliko zagađene

that the government has deemed their cleanup a national priority.

da vlada smatra njihovo čišćenje nacionalnim prioritetom.

So I decided to trek around to these sites

Tako da sam odlučila da odem na ove lokacije

and collect soil samples teeming with bacteria.

i prikupim uzorke zemljišta koji su prepuni bakterija.

I started toying with a protocol,

Počela sam da se igram sa protokolom,

which is fancy science talk for a recipe.

što je pompezni naučni naziv za recept.

And what I was trying to cook up was a carbon-free media,

A pokušavala sam da napravim medij bez ugljenika,

or a food-free environment.

ili sredinu bez hrane.

An environment without the usual carbons, or food,

Sredinu bez uobičajenih ugljenika ili hrane

that bacteria, like us humans, need to live.

koja je bakterijama, kao i nama, potrebna da bismo živeli.

Now, in this environment,

U takvoj sredini

I would provide my bacteria with a sole carbon, or food, source.

bih svojim bakterijama obezbedila samo jedan izvor ugljenika, tj. hrane.

I would feed my bacteria polyethylene terephthalate,

Hranila bih bakterije polietilenom teraftalatom,

or PET plastic.

ili plastikom PET.

PET plastic is the most widely produced plastic in the world.

PET je plastika koja se u svetu najviše proizvodi.

It's used in all sorts of food and drink containers,

Koristi se u svim vrstama posuda za hranu i piće,

with the most notorious example being plastic water bottles,

a najpoznatiji primer su plastične flaše za vodu

of which we humans currently go through at a rate of one million per minute.

koje mi ljudi trenutno upotrebljavamo brzinom od milion po minuti.

So, what I would be doing,

Tako bih u svom radu

is essentially putting my bacteria on a forced diet of PET plastic

u suštini svojim bakterijama nametnula ishranu plastikom PET

and seeing which, if any, might survive or, hopefully, thrive.

i videla bih da li bi možda neke od njih preživele ili, nadajmo se, napredovale.

See, this type of experiment would act as a screen

Vidite, ova vrsta eksperimenta bi delovala kao potraga

for bacteria that had adapted to their plastic-polluted environment

za bakterijama koje su se adaptirale na svoju sredinu zagađenu plastikom

and evolved the incredibly cool ability to eat PET plastic.

i razvile neverovatno zanimljivu sposobnost da jedu plastiku PET.

And using this screen,

Pomoću ove provere

I was able to find some bacteria that had done just that.

sam mogla da nađem neke bakterije koje su upravo to uspele.

These bacteria had figured out how to eat PET plastic.

Te bakterije su otkrile kako da jedu plastiku PET.

So how do these bacteria do this?

Kako te bakterije to rade?

Well, it's actually pretty simple.

Pa, zapravo je prilično jednostavno.

Just as we humans digest carbon or food into chunks of sugar

Baš kao što mi ljudi varimo ugljenik ili hranu na komade šećera

that we then use for energy,

koje zatim koristimo za energiju,

so too do my bacteria.

to isto čine i moje bakterije.

My bacteria, however, have figured out how to do this digestion process

Moje bakterije su, međutim, otkrile kako da vrše varenje

to big, tough, durable PET plastic.

velike, čvrste, izdržljive plastike PET.

Now, to do this, my bacteria use a special version

Da bi to radile, moje bakterije koriste posebnu verziju

of what's called an enzyme.

onoga što se zove enzim.

Now, enzymes are simply compounds that exist in all living things.

Enzimi su jednostavno jedinjenja koja postoje u svim živim bićima.

There are many different types of enzymes,

Postoji mnogo različitih vrsta enzima,

but basically, they make processes go forward,

ali u suštini, zahvaljujući njima se odvijaju procesi

such as the digestion of food into energy.

kao što je pretvaranje hrane u energiju.

For instance, we humans have an enzyme called an amylase

Na primer, mi ljudi imamo enzim koji se zove amilaza

that helps us digest complex starches, such as bread,

da nam pomaže varenje složenog skroba kao što je hleb

into small chunks of sugar that we can then use for energy.

u male komade šećera koje zatim možemo koristiti za energiju.

Now, my bacteria have a special enzyme called a lipase

Moje bakterije imaju poseban enzim zvan lipaza

that binds to big, tough, durable PET plastic

koji se vezuje za veliku, čvrstu, izdržljivu plastiku PET

and helps break it into small chunks of sugar

i pomaže da se razloži na manje komade šećera

that my bacteria can then use for energy.

koje moje bakterije potom mogu koristiti radi energije.

So basically,

Tako da, u suštini,

PET plastic goes from being a big, tough, long-lasting pollutant

plastika PET od velikog, čvrstog, dugotrajnog zagađivača

to a tasty meal for my bacteria.

postaje ukusni obrok za moje bakterija.

Sounds pretty cool, right?

Zvuči baš super, zar ne?

And I think, given the current scope of our plastic pollution problem,

Imajući u vidu trenutni obim našeg problema zagađenosti plastikom,

I think it sounds pretty useful.

mislim da to zvuči baš korisno.

The statistics I shared with you

Podaci koje sam podelila sa vama

on just how much plastic waste has accumulated on our planet

o tome koliko se plastičnog otpada nakupilo na našoj planeti

are daunting.

su obeshrabrujući.

They're scary.

Zastrašujući su.

And I think they highlight

I mislim da ističu da,

that while reducing, reusing and recycling are important,

mada je važno smanjiti upotrebu plastike, ponovno je koristiti i reciklirati,

they alone are not going to be enough to solve this problem.

to samo po sebi nije dovoljno da bismo rešili ovaj problem.

And this is where I think bacteria might be able to help us out.

A tu mislim da bi bakterije mogle da nam pomognu.

But I do understand why the concept of bacterial help

Ali razumem zašto koncept pomoći od strane bakterija

might make some people a little nervous.

može da unervozi neke ljude.

After all, if plastic is everywhere and these bacteria eat plastic,

Na kraju krajeva, ako je plastika svuda i te bakterije jedu plastiku,

isn't there a risk of these bacteria getting out in the environment

zar ne postoji rizik da ove bakterije prodru u životnu sredinu

and wreaking havoc?

i opustoše sve pred sobom?

Well, the short answer is no, and I'll tell you why.

Pa, kratak odgovor je ne, i reći ću vam zašto.

These bacteria are already in the environment.

Te bakterije se već nalaze u životnoj sredini.

The bacteria in my research are not genetically modified frankenbugs.

Bakterije u mom istraživanju nisu genetski modifikovane Frankenštajn bube.

These are naturally occurring bacteria

To su bakterije koje se javljaju prirodno

that have simply adapted to their plastic-polluted environment

i koje su se jednostavno prilagodile okolini zagađenoj plastikom

and evolved the incredibly gnarly ability to eat PET plastic.

i razvile neverovatno složenu sposobnost da jedu plastiku PET.

So the process of bacteria eating plastic is actually a natural one.

Dakle, proces da bakterije jedu plastiku je zapravo prirodan.

But it's an incredibly slow process.

Ali to je neverovatno spor proces.

And there remains a lot of work to be done

Ostaje još dosta posla

to figure out how to speed up this process to a useful pace.

da bismo otkrili kako da ubrzamo ovaj proces tako da nam koristi.

Moje istraživanje trenutno razmatra načine da to postignemo

My research is currently looking at ways of doing this

through a series of UV, or ultraviolet, pretreatments,

kroz niz izlaganja UV, tj. ultraljubičastim zracima,

which basically means we blast PET plastic with sunlight.

što u suštini znači da obasipamo plastiku sunčevom svetlošću.

We do this because sunlight acts a bit like tenderizer on a steak,

To radimo zato što sunčeva svetlost deluje donekle kao čekić za meso,

turning the big, tough, durable bonds in PET plastic

tako što velike, čvrste, izdržljive veze u plastici

a bit softer and a bit easier for my bacteria to chew on.

malo omekšava i olakšava mojim bakterijama da je sažvaću.

Ultimately, what my research hopes to do

Nada mog istraživanja je da će se naposletku

is create an industrial-scale contained carbon-free system,

stvoriti kontrolisani sistem bez ugljenika velikih dimenzija,

similar to a compost heap,

slično masi komposta,

where these bacteria can thrive in a contained system,

gde te bakterije mogu da bujaju u zatvorenom sistemu,

where their sole food source is PET plastic waste.

i gde je plastični otpad njihov jedini izvor hrane.

Imagine one day being able to dispose of all of your plastic waste

Zamislite da jednog dana možete da bacite sav svoj plastični otpad

in a bin at the curb

u kanti na ivičnjaku za koju znate da će završiti

that you knew was bound for a dedicated bacteria-powered plastic waste facility.

u namenskom bakterijskom postrojenju za plastični otpad.

I think with some hard work this is an achievable reality.

Mislim da je to ostvarivo, uz izvestan naporni rad.

Plastic-eating bacteria is not a cure-all.

Bakterija koja jede plastiku nije lek za sve.

But given the current statistics, it's clear that we humans,

Ali s obzirom na trenutne podatke, jasno je da bi nama ljudima

we could use a little help with this problem.

koristilo malo pomoći oko ovog problema.

Because people,

Jer ljudi,

we possess a pressing problem of plastic pollution.

mi imamo gorući problem plastičnog zagađenja.

And bacteria might be a really important part of the solution.

A bakterije mogu biti veoma važan deo rešenja.

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)