2018 is the year of plastic-consuming consciousness, and who can blame us? Plastics can take up to 1,000 years to decompose; an especially-worrying prospect considering only 14% of plastic bottles are recycled and that many plastics remain non-recyclable. When our waste has filled the land, plastics can then are disposed into the oceans. These inevitably end up on our beaches (the best-case scenario; the worst being the carcass of an animal washed ashore, killed by simply mistaking a foreign plastic object as a food source). For those who don’t feel as passionately about reducing plastic waste, it is worth finding out about how our plastic consumption is affecting the planet, and perhaps then you may think a little differently…
A lot of measures have been implemented recently to reduce plastic consumption; hooray! But what about all the existing plastic that has not yet degraded? And although we can reduce our usage, we aren’t cutting it out completely, so what can we do about that?
In a new breakthrough, microbiology may have the answer. Scientists have discovered an enzyme (a protein used in reactions) that can degrade commonly-used plastics. By accident.
This all began in 2016, when scientists found a bacterium on a Japanese landfill with some special properties. Bacteria has a very short generation time. We may have had children by the age of 30, but bacteria could have gone through nine generations in just three hours. As there are more generations within a shorter time, this also means that bacterium can evolve much more quickly to their environments than we ever could. These bacterium, which could only survive off the landfill, consequently evolved the ability to degrade plastic so that it could be used as a food source to survive. Amazing!
The species, Ideonella sakaiensis, was able to break down Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), which is a plastic used extensively in products such as bottles, containers and packaging. Two enzymes hydrolyse (chemical breakdown using water in the reaction) the plastic into monomers (building blocks for growth, such as amino acids, glucose and nucleotides) that can then be used by the bacterium.
Inspired by this breakthrough, scientists investigated the structure of the enzymes involved in degrading the plastic to create a mutant enzyme by making tweaks to see how it evolved. As a result, they made the enzyme BETTER at its job. They beat the bacteria to it!
The research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, looked at the structure of the enzyme by using the Diamond Light Source (Oxford, UK), an intense beam of X-rays that can reveal individual atoms. The structure was revealed to be very similar to that of a commonly-found enzyme in bacteria that breaks down cutin, another polymer found on the protective layer of plants.
Professor John McGeehan, who led the research at the University of Portsmouth, said; “What we are hoping to do is use this enzyme to turn this plastic back into its original components, so we can literally recycle it back to plastic”. He added that “it means we won’t need to dig up any more oil and, fundamentally, it should reduce the amount of plastic in the environment”.
The enzyme takes a couple of days to start breaking down the plastic, but this is nothing compared the hundreds of years it naturally takes. Scientists are also optimistic that they can further improve the enzyme so that the plastic can be broken down even more quickly.
Although recycling plastic should always be encouraged, most of the products can only be turned into opaque fibres for clothing or carpets. This new enzyme may also offer the opportunity to not only degrade clear plastic bottles, but also allow them to be turned back into new plastic bottles, hence reducing the requirement to produce new plastic. There is an attraction to continue to produce more PET products as they require oil for its production, which is cheap, but now there is now pressure to reduce production and increase recycling. The new enzyme may be the solution to this.
What are the next steps? One possible improvement is to transplant the mutant enzyme into bacteria that can withstand extreme heat, and then expose the bacteria to plastic that is being melted in the hope that the plastic will be degraded more quickly. Although it has been shown that some fungi have the same properties, bacteria are much easier to use in industry. Whilst enzymes can be produced in large amounts by bacteria, there is still a long way to go before there would be enough to substantially reduce plastic waste.
For now, don’t just rely on the scientists to reduce plastic waste; try to have that drink without a plastic straw!
FDA continues recent trend of approval with new 2nd generation lung cancer treatment – Scienmag: Latest Science and Health News
DENVER – The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) is once again gratified to see the approval of a new second-generation lung cancer treatment that can help many patients in their battle against the disease. Lung cancer patients got another round of hope with the FDA's rapid progression of lung cancer drug approvals – this time for alectinib (Alecensa, Roche/Genenetech) for patients with advanced (metastatic) ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) if their disease deteriorated after treatment with another therapy called crizotinib (Xalkori, Pfizer). Patients who could not tolerate treatment with crizotinib also qualify for use of alectinib.
"It is so fulfilling to see the FDA respond to the rapid pace of developments in lung cancer treatments. It is also a recognition of the dedication scientists and health professionals show every day as they work to find new ways to move us forward, but first and foremost; this gives hope for many lung cancer patients who need it," Dr. Hirsch said.
Credit: Swansea University Carbon nanotubes bound for electronics not only need to be as clean as possible to…
Perhaps it was the discerning acquisitions of its board, or the close relationship the company held in whisky blender and agent Robertson & Baxter that led to Highland Distillers’ success. During its time Highland Distillers bought and operated several Scotch distilleries and brands, including Highland Park, Tamdhu, Bunnahabhain, Glenturret, Glenrothes, Glenglassaugh, Macallan, and the Black Bottle and The Famous Grouse blends.
It became part of The Edrington Group in 1999, which was established by the descendants of one of Robertson & Baxter’s founders.
For the best part of its operation, Highland Distillers was focused squarely on the purchase and operation of distilleries to supply the blended whisky brands owned by its close trade partner Robertson & Baxter.
It was established in 1887 with the amalgamation of the Islay Distillery Company – the owner of the newly built Bunnahabhain distillery – and Glenrothes distillery. Robertson & Baxter, the Glasgow whisky merchant and blender, was involved in its set-up, and was the sole selling agent for Highland Distilleries for many years. It even assisted in the purchase of distilleries for the group – in 1892 R&B bought Glenglassaugh near Portsoy and promptly flipped it to Highland Distillers, with a £5,000 mark-up of course.
In 1897 a group of blenders that included William Grant – who was a director of Highland Distillers at the time – built Tamdhu distillery at Knockando, and sold it onto Highland Distillers two years later.
The 20th century brought Highland Distillers ample opportunities to acquire new distilleries, though it was choosy about its purchases. In 1937 it purchased Highland Park on Orkney, though just a year earlier it declined an offer to buy The Glenlivet from George & JG Smith.
Come 1948, following the death of Alexander Robertson, Highland Distillers finally acquired its own shares in Robertson & Baxter, which incestuously maintained its own shares in the former. The two companies worked almost hand-in-hand – Highland Distillers’ malts were used extensively in R&B’s blends, and the companies even had offices in the same building.
The company’s first foray into blended whisky came in 1970 with the acquisition of Matthew Gloag & Son, the Perth whisky merchant and owner of The Famous Grouse blend following the untimely death of Freddie Gloag. It didn’t acquire Glenturret distillery, now the home of The Famous Grouse in Scotland, for another 20 years.
In the years that followed, Highland Distillers added the disused Parkmore distillery buildings, the Black Bottle blend and Macallan distillery to its portfolio.
By 1999 it had grown to become one of the largest distillery operators and blenders in the country. That year Highland Distillers joined The Edrington Group, which had been established in 1961 by the three daughters of James Robertson using the family’s company interests.
Edrington formed the 1887 Company to manage the assets joining its portfolio, which included Highland Park, Tamdhu, Bunnahabhain, Glenturret, Glenrothes, Glenglassaugh, Macallan, Parkmore, and the Black Bottle and Famous Grouse brands. Many have since been sold on, and only Highland Park, Glenturret, Glenrothes, Macallan, Parkmore and Famous Grouse remain with Edrington to this day.
If waffles make you happy and rosé all day seems appropriate to you, then please join us for a morning of good food, good drinks and good fun-for a cause-on the hippest lawn and terrace in all of Scottsdale.
Mark your calendars, grab your friends, and pick out your favorite big hat to wear to this annual fundraising event.
Hello my fellow crafty peeps!! Today I am sharing with you all my take on this months STB’s November mood board. To See what the other amazing girls have created just click here to be redirected to the blog.
I have to apologise in being a little late in uploading this. It has been a rough week with Myself and both my boys sick. Today I am sharing my Scrap The Boys DT layout for this month’s sketch challenge and what an awesome sketch it is!!!
I decided to flip the sketch 90 degrees for my layout and I think it worked out pretty well. So here is my layout of Charlie enjoying his first ever play at a water park.
Thanks for dropping by and if you want to check out what the other amazing girls have created you can visit the blog by clicking here. We would love to see you join us this month!!!
Today I am sharing a mixed media canvas I created and am using a beautiful flair from the Woodgrain Notes range. Click here for the link to the store.
Hello and yes I have another design team share for you all, this time for Funky Flair Studio. Today I have used a flair from my favourite boys range Jotz Stationery and I think this flair suits my photo of Charlie showing me his best Zoolander pose Blue Steele. lol
Gift photos in a new way by making this DIY Wooden Polaroid set. Ashley at Paper and Cloth used wooden Polaroid type frames she found at Michael’s Stores to create a lovely gift box. Click here to get all the instructions.
28/07/2018 ** NEW FEATURE ** Stick-man animations can now be included in your own projects! See https://scratch.mit.edu/studios/5265726/
I needed to write a tool to create stick-man animations for a new project I have in mind and thought it might be of interest to other Scratchers.
I've included some animations to show how it works. Choose an animation using the forward/backward buttons at the bottom of the screen. View the animation using the play button at the top of the screen.
Each button has a tool-tip if you hover the mouse over it. More detailed instructions can be found by pressing the 'i' button at the top right of the screen.
Have fun and post the save codes for any good animations you make so that I can add them to the list of demo animations.
Veteran TV and comic book writer Marc Guggenheim has a big task to take on as screenwriter on The Flash movie for DC Entertainment. To no surprise, The Flash is the next main DC character to get their own solo film after Green Lantern debuts next summer and after we get to see a new Superman and the return of Batman in 2012.
While under (very) strict rule to not reveal details about the project, Guggenheim recently was interviewed about his work on The Flash where he does talk about what he would like to do with the film and it's place in the DC movie universe.
Guggenheim sat down with the folks at Newsarama and was able to answer a few questions about the direction he and the other writers (Greg Berlanti and Michael Green) are taking the film.
The point was raised to Marc that the idea of The Flash movie is being compared to the television series CSI, but for superheroes.
"We're being true to the whole Barry Allen science police... We're being true to those origins and updating them for the 21st century. I feel like in many ways the movie is three movies in one. It's part thriller, that forensic, cool, Seven, Silence of the Lambs; Part superhero movie and part sports movie because there's an athleticism to this character that other superheroes don't have... And you get to see how all three of those elements inform each other and make the whole movie even better. It's sort of like the way in Green Lantern we took a superhero movie and combined it with a space opera, here we're combining the superhero movie with these other two genres and it's just a blast."
"We're drawing I think a lot from a lot of different eras... Certainly Geoff Johns' work has been an influence. Mark Waid's run, particularly the stuff he wrote with the philosophy of speed and the philosophy of running has been a big influence. We've also tried to take our inspiration from the old Silver Age Barry Allen stories and imbue it with that sense of fun and wonder while still keeping that cool, slightly darker tone."
As for the question everyone is wondering: what about cameos and cross-overs with the other DC films?
"I would say in terms of the collaboration between me, Greg and Michael, I'm the one who always going like, 'we can do this cameo, we can do this little Easter egg' and I'm a huge proponent of it. I'm a big believer in it. Obviously there's a lot of those types of decisions get made way above my pay grade but I'm certainly always scheming. And with The Flash I have very particular ideas as to how I would accomplish it [laughs]... all sorts of other people need to weigh in on that sort of thing before it becomes a reality. I am on record saying I love it when movies do that. I'm a total sucker for that."
Fans and moviegoers alike will undoubtedly be excited for the potential of seeing other characters like Ryan Reynolds' Hal Jordan make an appearance as well. While no one wants to see any of the solo character films from DCE and Warner Bros. suffer from forcefully crossing over with each other, cameo appearances will certainly help market all of the DC superhero films and will help set the foundation for the the eventual Justice League movie, should we ever see that come to fruition years down the line.
For now, the script for The Flash is still being worked on and is due in this holiday season along with the screenplay for Green Lantern 2. Both films will likely see release dates set in 2013.
Current rumors for casting the lead point toward Bradley Cooper (The Hangover, The A-Team) although he denies it. Other rumors through the grapevine hint at Chris Pine as a sought-after lead.
Mam says she’s too many ideas for posts to know where to start – she’s talking about everything from Chanel’s New Moon to Elfquest’s Cutter’s New Moon and just about everything in between – so she handed me the computer and sat down with a glass of Jameson to watch Stargate. It must be taxing waving a camera in my face all the time – but it sometimes comes in handy. Like this evening when a duck came quacking just around the time that she was transfering photos from her camera to the pc. Whoops!
But she just pulled out her phone-cam, y’know, the one with an Instagram app and started clicking. The duck actually took a step inside! But dad didn’t allow me to go say hi, and then Mam told the duck that Mr.Mallard wasn’t here, so she fluttered her wings and flew off. It’s on her Instagram, though, so you’ll have to check it out over there.
In other news, I’ve got a review of my own coming up soon. I just have to write it. Once more Mam came in handy with her cam as she helped me photograph the item that was sent for my consideration, but it takes time typing using only your paws. The keyboard on Mam’s computer’s not exactly paw-friendly. And Godmother Luna came to visit. I promised yous a photo of us, and here we are.
She’s so cool. Like, I want to play whenever she comes by, but Godfather doesn’t allow for her to play indoors, but she does anyways. And she can be totally careface and relaxed in the face of a treat even when Mam’s holding it up while taking pictures. And she’s great craic to pull with. We’ve run together more than once, and she’s so focused sometimes. It’s contagious! I can run for longer along the tracks when she’s pulling with me.
And the best part is, she sometimes lets me take the lead, even though she outranks me. We do fight sometimes, though, but that never lasts, and one is always sent into the cage when we do, so it’s not much fun.
We very much agree that Mam can take taking pictures too far. Why can’t she just snap a shot and hand us the treats?
Mam and Dad says I was originally named for her, because of my colouring, but seeing as Godfather and Dad shares a name, and Mam and Dad didn’t want for any more confusion, and they wanted to name me for a character from Stargate Atlantis they changed my name to Teyla. I don’t mind, though. Although I fiind it strange that Dad and Godfather can’t have a Luna each, but it’s okay for me and Godmother to have a Dad each. Humans can be very strange.
Mam also says that she babysat Godmother a couple of times while Godfather was away, and that it was because of that she figured huskies weren’t as “bad” as their reputation, needing more exercise than one busy human could offer. So it’s basically because of Godmother that she considered adopting me. Buuut I am very cute, so she might’ve changed her mind about huskies when she and dad visited the first time anyways.
The acquisition of Ranbaxy Laboratories by Daiichi Sankyo is still on track and cannot legally be derailed, according to the Indian firm's CEO. Malvinder Singh said his counterparts at Daiichi were aware the U.S. FDA had questions about some of Ranbaxy's generic drugs before the agency's investigation became public. Singh addressed a news conference in the wake of speculation the merger of the two giants might be scuttled by FDA's questions. He said there was no doubt the $4.6 billion deal was still alive. Daiichi confirmed the sale is final. (Click here for more - a subscription may be required