These bacteria eat plastic | Morgan Vague

Transcriber: Ivana Korom Reviewer: Joanna Pietrulewicz

譯者: Zoe Chang 審譯者: Helen Chang

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

塑膠製品：你很清楚 這個東西，可能不是很愛，

but chances are you use them every single day.

可是你每天的生活卻少不了它。

By 2050, researchers estimate

研究人員估計，到 2050 年

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

海洋中的塑膠數量 將遠遠超過魚量。

Despite our best efforts,

儘管已經盡了最大努力，

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

我們使用過的塑膠只有 9% 真的有被回收。

And even worse,

更糟的是，

plastic is incredibly tough and durable

塑膠是如比的堅固耐用，

and researchers estimate

研究人員表示

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

它需要五百至五千年的時間

to fully break down.

才能被完全分解。

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

塑膠釋放出有害的化學物質， 汙染我們的海洋、土地、

our food, our water, and into us.

我們的食物、飲用水， 進入我們的體內。

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

我們怎麼會累積了 如此多的塑膠垃圾？

Well, it's simple.

答案其實很簡單。

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

因為塑膠便宜耐用， 可塑性強，所以到處都是。

But the good news is

還好，好消息是

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

還有一個東西也一樣便宜耐用， 可塑性強，也無處不在。

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

我的研究顯示它或許能幫我們

with our plastic pollution problem.

終結塑膠污染的問題。

I'm talking about bacteria.

這個東西是細菌。

Bacteria are microscopic living beings invisible to the naked eye

細菌是肉眼看不見的微生物，

that live everywhere,

它無處不在，

in all sorts of diverse and extreme environments,

各式各樣極端的環境中都有。

from the human gut, to soil, to skin,

從人體的腸道到土壤，及皮膚表面，

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

甚至是海底的裂縫 高達華氏 700 度的地方。

Bacteria live everywhere,

到處都有細菌，

in all sorts of diverse and extreme environments.

它能存活於各式各樣極端的環境中。

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

因此，它們找尋食物來源的 能力也極具巧思。

There's also a lot of them.

細菌的數量也很龐大。

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

研究人員估計細菌總數 大約有 500 萬兆兆之多，

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

5 後面加上 30 個 0 就是 地球上所有的細菌總數。

Now, considering that we humans produce

想一想，我們人類每年製造

300 million tons of new plastic each year,

3 億噸的新塑膠，

I'd say that our plastic numbers

我敢說我們的塑膠產量的數目

are looking pretty comparable to bacteria's.

跟細菌總數不相上下。

So, after noticing this

所以，在注意到這點後，

and after learning about all of the creative ways

以及得知細菌尋找食物來源

that bacteria find food,

充滿創意的方式後，

I started to think:

我開始思考：

could bacteria in plastic-polluted environments

細菌是否已經在塑膠污染的環境中

have figured out how to use plastic for food?

找到食用塑膠維生的方法了？

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

這是幾年前我決定開始研究時的問題。

Now, fortunately for me,

幸運的是，

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

我來自於美國汙染最嚴重的城市之一，

Houston, Texas.

德州的休士頓。

(Laughs)

（笑聲）

In my hometown alone,

光我自己的家鄉，

there are seven EPA-designated Superfund sites.

就有七個美國環境保護署 審定的一級污染地點。

These are sites that are so polluted,

它們的汙染程度嚴重到

that the government has deemed their cleanup a national priority.

政府決定將它們列為 全國優先清理之處。

So I decided to trek around to these sites

因此我決定造訪那些地方

and collect soil samples teeming with bacteria.

蒐集一些充滿細菌的土壤樣本。

I started toying with a protocol,

我開始玩一個科學實驗，

which is fancy science talk for a recipe.

有點類似食譜，冠以一個科學的說法。

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

我想煮的是一道零碳的培養介質，

or a food-free environment.

或者說一個沒有食物的環境。

An environment without the usual carbons, or food,

一個缺少尋常可見的 碳及食物的環境，

that bacteria, like us humans, need to live.

讓那些細菌像我們人類一樣 在其中想辦法生存。

Now, in this environment,

在這個環境中，

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

細菌只有單一的碳（食物）來源。

I would feed my bacteria polyethylene terephthalate,

我餵它們的東西是 聚乙烯對苯二甲酸酯，

or PET plastic.

俗稱 PET 塑膠。

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

PET 塑膠是全世界 最廣泛生產的塑膠。

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

被用來做食物及飲料的包材，

with the most notorious example being plastic water bottles,

其中最惡名昭彰的是塑膠瓶裝水，

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

人類平均每分鐘消耗一百萬瓶。

So, what I would be doing,

所以，我所做的

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

基本上就是強迫我的細菌 吃 PET 塑膠瓶，

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

看它們能不能生存下來， 甚至蓬勃茁壯。

See, this type of experiment would act as a screen

這類型的實驗也可 作為一種篩選方式，

for bacteria that had adapted to their plastic-polluted environment

找出能適應塑膠污染環境的細菌，

and evolved the incredibly cool ability to eat PET plastic.

以及能演變出以 PET 塑膠為食的細菌。

And using this screen,

利用這樣的篩選方式，

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

我找到了那些具有 這些特性的細菌種類。

These bacteria had figured out how to eat PET plastic.

它們找到了吞噬 PET 塑膠的方法。

So how do these bacteria do this?

所以它們是怎麼辦到的？

Well, it's actually pretty simple.

其實很簡單。

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

類似人類把碳或食物 消化成小塊的醣類，

that we then use for energy,

那之後再轉化成能量，

so too do my bacteria.

我的細菌們所做的正是如此。

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

它們找到如何用這個消化程序，

to big, tough, durable PET plastic.

去化解又大又硬 又堅固的 PET 塑膠。

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

要做到這點，它們運用了

of what's called an enzyme.

一種特殊的酶。

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

酶是一種存在於生物體中的化合物。

There are many different types of enzymes,

它的種類眾多，

but basically, they make processes go forward,

基本的功能就是推動過程的進展，

such as the digestion of food into energy.

例如將食物轉成能量的消化過程。

For instance, we humans have an enzyme called an amylase

比方說，人體中有一種澱粉酶，

that helps us digest complex starches, such as bread,

幫助消化麵包之類的 複合澱粉類的食物，

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

將它分解為小塊的醣類， 人體能夠轉變成可用的能量。

Now, my bacteria have a special enzyme called a lipase

我的細菌們擁有一個 特殊的酶叫做脂肪酶，

that binds to big, tough, durable PET plastic

它們可以附著纏繞在那些 又大又硬又堅固的 PET 塑膠上，

and helps break it into small chunks of sugar

將之分解成小塊的醣，

that my bacteria can then use for energy.

再轉成它們所需的能量。

So basically,

所以基本上，

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

又大又硬又堅固的 PET 塑膠

to a tasty meal for my bacteria.

變成我的細菌們的可口大餐。

Sounds pretty cool, right?

聽起來很酷吧？

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

以目前塑膠汙染的規模來說，

I think it sounds pretty useful.

我覺得這個方法相當實用。

The statistics I shared with you

我所分享的這些數據

on just how much plastic waste has accumulated on our planet

顯示出我們的地球上 目前累積的塑膠垃圾

are daunting.

有多麼驚人。

They're scary.

這些是很可怕的數據。

And I think they highlight

我覺得它們除了凸顯出

that while reducing, reusing and recycling are important,

減量、再利用、及回收的重要性外，

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

也顯示出光靠這三個方法 無法解決問題。

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

因此我覺得細菌或可派上用場。

But I do understand why the concept of bacterial help

但是我也理解為什麼 借助細菌來幫忙的理論

might make some people a little nervous.

會讓某些人有一點點不安。

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

畢竟，塑膠到處都有， 一旦這些以塑膠為食的細菌，

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

流到外在環境中， 是不是會形成一種風險，

and wreaking havoc?

造成更大的破壞？

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

最簡短的回答是不會， 我告訴你們為什麼。

These bacteria are already in the environment.

這些細菌原本就已經 存在於我們的環境中。

The bacteria in my research are not genetically modified frankenbugs.

我研究中使用的細菌並非基改， 科學怪人之類的細菌。

These are naturally occurring bacteria

它們都是天然存在的細菌，

that have simply adapted to their plastic-polluted environment

僅只是適應了塑膠污染的環境，

and evolved the incredibly gnarly ability to eat PET plastic.

同時進化出驚人的 消化 PET 塑膠的能力。

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

所以其實這個細菌吃塑膠的 過程是完全天然的。

But it's an incredibly slow process.

但是這是一個極度緩慢的過程。

And there remains a lot of work to be done

也尚有很多未完的工作，

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

例如怎樣把過程速度 加快到有用的速度。

My research is currently looking at ways of doing this

我目前正在實驗

through a series of UV, or ultraviolet, pretreatments,

用一系列的 UV 紫外線 做前置處理，

which basically means we blast PET plastic with sunlight.

基本上就是用太陽光 曝曬摧毀 PET 塑膠。

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

這麼做是因為陽光像是 煎牛排用的嫩化劑，

turning the big, tough, durable bonds in PET plastic

將 PET 塑膠中的又大又硬 又堅固的聚合物軟化，

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

更容易讓我的細菌們咀嚼。

Ultimately, what my research hopes to do

最終，我希望能將我的實驗

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

發展成一個工業規模的零碳系統，

similar to a compost heap,

類似有機堆肥堆的作法，

where these bacteria can thrive in a contained system,

讓細菌可以在一個 控制的系統中成長茁壯，

where their sole food source is PET plastic waste.

而唯一的食物來源就是 PET 塑膠垃圾。

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

想像有一天能夠將你的塑膠垃圾

in a bin at the curb

丟入路邊的垃圾桶，

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

知道它會被送去使用 細菌分解塑膠的處理設施。

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

我覺得再多努力一下， 這目標應可達成。

Plastic-eating bacteria is not a cure-all.

吃塑膠的細菌不是萬靈丹。

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

可是以現有數據來看，

顯然人類可以借助 細菌的幫忙來解決此一問題。

we could use a little help with this problem.

Because people,

因為我們人類

we possess a pressing problem of plastic pollution.

所面臨的塑膠汙染情勢緊迫。

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

而細菌可能是解決方案中 那個很重要的角色。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）