The BLT Episode 8: Enzymes, They Are A-Changin'
Welcome to this week’s episode of the BLT, your visually delicious round-up of news and curiosities.
This week’s episode takes us from old English woods to orbiting satellites as we tune in to the natural world’s response to climate change and create ways to reduce pollution and live more sustainably.
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Spring egg laying is happening three weeks earlier
Wytham Woods in Oxfordshire is one of the most studied woodlands in the world and for 75 years has been the site of a study into the woodland’s great tits. So far, the study has encomapassed 40 generations of the woodland birds and revealed something startling.
In some parts of the wood, the great tits are laying their eggs three weeks earlier than they did in 1947. The work of Oxford University ornithologist Dr Ella Cole and her colleagues is showing how these birds and the natural world are responding to climate change.
Enjoying music is linked to caring more about the climate crisis
A study by the University of Glasgow, based on YouGov UK data, has shown there is a link between loving music and being concerned about climate change. Covering 2,184 adults across the UK, the poll revealed that 82% of music fans were concerned about climate change, compared with 72% of non-music fans.
Study lead, Dr Matt Brennan, said, “music culture has a long history of playing a key role in social movements, and the evidence shows this link is still strong in the present day when it comes to the climate emergency”.
Plastic waste is being mapped from space
There is some good news for all those concerned music lovers though, Global Plastic Watch has launched a free public tool that tracks plastic waste using AI and satelite imagery from the European Space Agency. The new tool empowers governments to measure and tackle the problem of plastic waste entering the ocean. Global Plastic Watch has already found hundreds of plastic waste sites.
A new enzyme can eat through plastic
On the subject of plastic, the good news keeps coming. Researchers at the University of Texas have developed a new enzyme variant that can breakdown plastic waste in less than 24 hours. The enzyme, called a hydrolase, is more robust than previous attempts and is able to break down polyethylene terephthalate plastics back into their component parts, ready to be recycled again!
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