When it comes to 3D printing, the sky is the limit. As 3D printing technology continues to advance, applications can be as far reaching as airplane and automobile parts to medical devices and even anatomically correct, biocompatible models. Although 3D printing technology is developing at a rapid pace, the technology itself is not new. It emerged in the 1980s as a means of creating rapid prototypes. In recent years the applications for 3D printed models have evolved with the available hardware, software, and printable materials. Evolving technology, paired with the creative and innovative minds of scientists, engineers, and physicians, has been the launching pad for developments within 3D printing technology specific to healthcare. One way 3D printing technology is poised to create better patient outcomes is in creating an anatomically and patient-specific models to aid in surgery and medical procedures. With the capability to 3D ...
Step into any given preschool or kindergarten classroom in America and you are likely to find Eric Carle’s classic picture book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, sitting on a bookshelf. The popular book, first published in 1969, was likely read to you as a child. Perhaps you have even read it to your own children.
What if we were to come across a real world version of The Very Hungry Caterpillar? It can be argued that every caterpillar is very hungry, as they eat their way through life, barreling toward metamorphosis. But there appears to be one caterpillar in particular that seems to be hungrier than most.
According to an article by Helen Briggs of the BBC, researchers at Cambridge University have discovered the wax worm caterpillar, which is known to digest beeswax, is also able to break down the chemical bonds found in plastic in a similar way.
The Cambridge research team has discovered this special, very hungry caterpillar is capable of eating holes in plastic polyethylene, the same plastic used to make grocery bags and food packaging, in under an hour. Eating a few holes in a grocery bag in under an hour may not sound like these caterpillars are moving very fast. But when you consider it takes hundreds of years for this type of plastic to biodegrade naturally, then it becomes clear the caterpillar’s digestion is able to dramatically speed up the process.
One of the biochemists on the research team, Dr. Paolo Bombelli, said they “need to understand the details under which this process operates.” His hope, and that of his fellow scientists, is to find a way to use what they learn about the wax worm caterpillars and apply that to the many plastics that are thrown away every day.
Each year, approximately 80 million tons of polyethylene plastics are produced worldwide. In considering how much of this plastic ends up in our garbage bins, the appetites of these little larvae could make a huge difference.
Fox News recently reported on an island in the Pacific Ocean that is home to 38 million pieces of trash. Oddly enough, that island is home to zero human beings.
Jennifer Lavers, a research scientist at the University of Tasmania, was part of the team that studied this intriguing phenomenon. She explained that Henderson Island sits at the edge of what is known as the South Pacific gyre, a sort of vortex of strong ocean currents. Because of this, a toy soldier that is lost in the ocean could float along for years, following the currents, eventually washing up on the white sand beaches of the tiny island.
Lavers’ team estimates that roughly 13,000 pieces of garbage come ashore daily. What sort of impact could the hungry wax worm caterpillars at Cambridge University have on the millions of pieces of plastic found on Henderson Island? Or on the plastic in our landfills? Dr. Bombelli and his research team want to discover a way to speed up the natural degradation of plastics. Maybe their very hungry caterpillars are the key to unlocking that very process.
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