Can someone please mark this essay that I wrote: https://drive.google.com/file/d/13_iFiuD80PVkn4-cPzYeSLJ87eJ2O3Ik/view?usp=drive_link
The prompt is:
Understanding the Enzyme PETase
Since it was discovered, the enzyme known as PETase has drawn a great deal of scientific interest for its capacity of digesting PET (polyethylene terephthalate). (Science, 2016)
A polymer used mainly to manufacture drink bottles (but also clothing, carpets, and other products), PET has the drawback of resistance to degradation. Bottles and other objects made of PET take at least 800 years to biodegrade in landfills or the sea. Between 4.8 billion and 12.7 billion kilograms of plastic are dumped in the oceans every year. (National Geographic, 2021)
The millions of tons of plastic that ends up in the sea have created a huge new food source for naturally existing microbes. (Environmental Research, 2020)
Some scientists think microbes eating plastic are already an important reason that the plastics numbers do not add up – the amount of plastic we see in the ocean is much less than the total amount of plastic calculated to have been deposited there. (Nature, 2018)
It’s unclear whether this plastic-eating enzyme, or similar enzymes, are safe to use in the environment. Using microbes engineered to deliver environmentally active enzymes in the sea presents many unassessed hazards. In general, such interventions have a long history of creating other problems, and we would be well-served to take it slow. (Science Policy, 2022)
The bacteria secretes an enzyme (a type of protein that can speed up chemical reactions) known as PETase. This splits certain chemical bonds (esters) in PET, leaving smaller molecules that the bacteria can absorb, using the carbon in them as a food source. (Biochemistry Journal, 2020)
Discussion Points
In your discussion you are to address the following points:
What are plastic eating bacteria and how do they work?
Why might they be problematic?
Make suggestions as to what needs to be done to reduce plastic pollution in our marine environments, by individuals and governments.
