121–130 of 329 posts
"To confirm it wasn't just the chewing mechanism of the caterpillars degrading the plastic, the team mashed up some of the worms and smeared them on polyethylene bags, with similar results." A disturbing but effective way to test the hypothesis.
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"I, for one, have never understood the problem with landfills. " Says the person who doesn't have to live near a landfill.
Are advanced cities even allowed to have landfills in a residential area?
http://www.mountainview.gov/depts/pw/landfill.asp
I only mean to point out that although it may not be "allowed in the present," these problems last a lot longer than it takes for humans to move in to the area, or write new laws.
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The bigger problem is everything that doesn't make it into the landfill, particularly the plastics that get into the water. The oceans have tons of plastic breaking down into smaller pieces that fish and birds and eat.
But how will these caterpillars help with that issue?
I am skeptical that any sort of bacteria/insect based plastic decomposition project will address the problems with plastic waste. The biggest problem with plastic is not with the products that make it into the landfill, where bacteria could be used. The problem is with what happens when they don't make it into a landfill, and they end up as basically permanent pollutants in the water.
I, for one, have never understood the problem with landfills. There's tons of unused space left, and landfills take up a tiny fraction of that. Who cares if we make a trash hill somewhere and styrofoam sits there for a million years?
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One of the better solutions, but nobody wants a landfill near them. They're disgusting.
Decent number of golf courses got built over landfills. Don't have to be disgusting when we are done filling.
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Ever killed a fly because it annoyed you? This is not much different. In fact, this was done for science.
I try not to kill flies, no. The only exception is for multiple flies that won't go away. Ditto for ants. It's a bit strange that violence toward insects is fine, but violence towards dogs is not. Ever killed a dog because it annoyed you? That said, doing it for science at least has a justification.
It always surprises me how a number of HNers worries about killing insects, even for science - all while supporting the killing of unborn children.
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Well, some insects represent a genuine threat to food supplies and the spread of disease. I don't really follow where you're going with the dog example. What kind of comparison is that supposed to be? Edit to add: Even ants produce antibiotics that they groom on to their bodies to prevent the growth of bacteria and fungus on themselves and inside their nests. So I'm going to continue to swat flies and not lose any sl…
Probably a bad one. I agree that killing insects is fine if there's a reason. But I was reacting to "I kill things because they annoy me." Which is valid, but always frustrating. My parents used to flip out and kill caterpillars, spiders, etc whenever they saw them. More than once I'd notice one and corral them outside while my parents weren't looking. There's just no point in killing something because it simply exis…
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Well, some insects represent a genuine threat to food supplies and the spread of disease. I don't really follow where you're going with the dog example. What kind of comparison is that supposed to be? Edit to add: Even ants produce antibiotics that they groom on to their bodies to prevent the growth of bacteria and fungus on themselves and inside their nests. So I'm going to continue to swat flies and not lose any sl…
Probably a bad one. I agree that killing insects is fine if there's a reason. But I was reacting to "I kill things because they annoy me." Which is valid, but always frustrating. My parents used to flip out and kill caterpillars, spiders, etc whenever they saw them. More than once I'd notice one and corral them outside while my parents weren't looking. There's just no point in killing something because it simply exis…
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The history of science is full of such accidents, the discovery Penicillin being one of the most famous. http://www.kidsdiscover.com/quick-reads/penicillin-found-fun...
I like how LSD was discovered [0]. It's so potent that it can be absorbed just by skin contact, that's why police must use gloves when seizing it. Imagine yourself coming home with your bicycle and having a massive (250 ug) LSD trip only having experienced it once, pretty scary and interesting at the same time [1]. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Hofmann#Discovery_of_LS... [1]: http://www.thegooddrugsguide.…
It would definitely be a surprise though if it was unexpected. A possibly pleasant experience depending on the person though... Definitely the most memorable experiences I've ever had (I agree with Steve Jobs there).
"A chance discovery occurred when one of the scientific team, Federica Bertocchini, an amateur beekeeper, was removing the parasitic pests from the honeycombs in her hives. The worms were temporarily kept in a typical plastic shopping bag that became riddled with holes." What a great accident.
The history of science is full of such accidents, the discovery Penicillin being one of the most famous. http://www.kidsdiscover.com/quick-reads/penicillin-found-fun...
https://books.google.com/books?id=mykDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA80&lpg=P...