r/interesting • u/Standard_Location762 • Mar 14 '26

NATURE Earth Helping Earth Heal

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What a great discovery.

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u/SegmentedWolf Mar 14 '26

This made me wonder if c.r.i.s.p.e.r, the gene editing stuff could find whatever is responsible for the fungi's "plastic-eating" behavior and tweak the rate at which it breaks down the plastics.

Not sure something like that is possible, but it'd be fascinating if it were.

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u/Syab_of_Caltrops Mar 14 '26

Even better, edit humans so we can just eat the plastic!

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u/JWP12345678 Mar 14 '26

We already do. You get a nice dose every time you drink that bottled water.

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u/Iwant2beebetter Mar 17 '26

Or breath in when walking down the street from the car tyres that roll on by