
21/07/2025
In the heart of the Amazon rainforest, scientists discovered something extraordinary β a fungus that eats plastic.
π§ͺ Pestalotiopsis microspora is not your typical fungus. It can survive entirely on polyurethane, one of the most common (and most persistent) types of plastic β and it does so even in oxygen-free environments, like buried landfills.
This remarkable ability makes it a natural recycler, capable of doing what human-made systems still struggle with: breaking down plastic waste efficiently and sustainably.
πΏ Imagine a world where discarded plastic bottles donβt last centuries β but are decomposed in weeks, thanks to a microscopic ally hidden in the forest floor.
Researchers now hope to harness this species for bioremediation β cleaning up polluted soils, plastic-infested coastlines, and even our oceans.
β»οΈ Nature already holds the solutions. We just have to learn from it.