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South China Morning Post
14-07-2025
- Health
- South China Morning Post
Scientists use bacteria to turn plastic waste into medicine
Scientists have discovered a way to turn plastic waste into painkillers using bacteria. One of the most widely used medicines worldwide is paracetamol. It is made from fossil fuel by-products, often through cheap and polluting methods. A team of British researchers wanted to reduce plastic waste and climate change. They looked at the bacteria which is usually known for making people sick if they eat contaminated food. First, the chemists used a molecule derived from PET plastic – which is used in bottles and many other plastic products – to spark a chemical reaction in a strain of This created a new molecule, according to the study in Nature Chemistry. The chemists were able to transform their molecule into paracetamol. This work shows that PET plastic can be transformed into valuable new products, the study's lead, Stephen Wallace, said.
Reuters
04-07-2025
- Health
- Reuters
Health Rounds: Widely used pain drug can be made from plastic waste
July 4 (Reuters) - (This is an excerpt of the Health Rounds newsletter, where we present latest medical studies on Tuesdays and Thursdays. To receive the full newsletter in your inbox for free sign up here.) Common bacteria can turn plastic waste into the over-the-counter painkiller acetaminophen, researchers have discovered. Acetaminophen, the main ingredient in Tylenol and also known as paracetamol in some countries, is usually made from fossil fuels. The new method, developed with support from AstraZeneca (AZN.L), opens new tab, transforms a molecule from a widely used plastic known as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) into Tylenol's active ingredient, leaving virtually no carbon emissions, according to a report in Nature Chemistry, opens new tab. The plastic is converted to the drug at room temperature in less than 24 hours, using a fermentation process similar to what is used in brewing beer, the researchers said. PET, a strong, lightweight plastic used for water bottles and food packaging, accounts for more than 350 million tons of waste annually. 'This work demonstrates that PET plastic isn't just waste or a material destined to become more plastic. It can be transformed by microorganisms into valuable new products, including those with potential for treating disease,' study leader Stephen Wallace of the University of Edinburgh said in a statement. More work is needed before PET can be used to produce acetaminophen at commercial levels, the researchers said. The majority of men and women have microplastics in their reproductive fluids, according to the results of a small study, opens new tab reported at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, opens new tab meeting in Paris. The presence of the microplastics raises important questions about their potential risks to fertility and reproductive health, researchers said. The tiny contaminants – plastic particles under 5 millimeters in size – were present in the follicular fluid that encases developing eggs in the ovaries in 20 of 29 women, or 69%. Microplastics were found in seminal fluid in 12 of 22 men, or 55%. Both types of fluid play critical roles in natural conception and assisted reproduction, the researchers said. In both groups, the microplastic polymers included polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon), polystyrene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyamide, polypropylene and polyurethane. In animals, microplastics can induce inflammation, damage to tissues and to DNA, and hormonal disruptions, study leader Emilio Gomez-Sanchez of Next Fertility Murcia in Spain said in a statement. In a separate presentation, opens new tab at the meeting, Manel Boussabeh of Fattouma Bourguiba Hospital in Monastir, Tunisia, and colleagues reported that sperm exposed to microplastics in test tubes had impaired motility and damage to DNA. Other researchers have previously found, opens new tab significant amounts of microplastics in the testicles of dogs and humans, and the canine data suggested the particles may contribute to impaired fertility. Researchers can turn off chronic inflammation while leaving intact the ability of cells to respond to short-term injuries and illnesses by targeting a newly identified protein, according to a report in Nature, opens new tab. Chronic inflammation occurs when the immune system is stuck in overdrive, as with persistent conditions such as arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease or obesity. Acute inflammation – with pain, fever, swelling, and redness, for example – resolves relatively quickly. Researchers found that a protein responsible for controlling inflammatory genes becomes degraded and is lost from cells during chronic inflammation. In test tube experiments, restoring the protein called WSTF blocked chronic inflammation in human cells without interfering with acute inflammation, allowing appropriate immune responses to short-term threats. The researchers then designed a medicine that protects WSTF from degradation and suppresses chronic inflammation by blocking the WSTF interaction with another protein in the cell nucleus. The researchers have successfully tested the drug to treat mice with fatty liver disease or arthritis and to reduce inflammation in chronically inflamed knee cells obtained from patients undergoing joint replacement surgery. Studying human tissue samples, the researchers found that WSTF is lost in the livers of patients with fatty liver disease but not in the livers of healthy people. 'Chronic inflammatory diseases cause a great deal of suffering and death, but we still have much to learn about what drives chronic inflammation and how to treat it,' study leader Zhixun Dou of Massachusetts General Hospital said in a statement. 'Our findings help us separate chronic and acute inflammation, as well as identify a new target for stopping chronic inflammation that results from aging and disease.' (To receive the full newsletter in your inbox for free sign up here)
Malay Mail
29-06-2025
- Health
- Malay Mail
Plastic to paracetamol: Scientists engineer E. coli to turn waste into painkillers, but doubts remain
LONDON, June 29 — Scientists have found a way to use the bacteria to convert plastic waste into a popular painkiller, a study said Monday, though outside experts doubted the technique would make a dent in the fight against plastic pollution. Paracetamol, which is one of the most commonly used drugs worldwide, is made from the derivatives of fossil fuels, often by Asia-based subcontractors using cheap, polluting methods that contribute to climate change. The world is also facing an escalating crisis of plastic pollution, with countries set for another bruising round of negotiations in August in the hope of sealing an international treaty to reduce plastic waste. The British team of researchers behind the new study sought to find a solution to the two problems by roping in a third — which is normally known for making people sick when they eat contaminated food. First the chemists used a molecule derived from PET plastic, which is used in bottles and many other plastic products the world over, to spark a chemical reaction in a strain of This created a molecule they called PABA, according to the Nature Chemistry study, which was partly funded by drug firm AstraZeneca. By genetically modifying the bacteria, the chemists were able to transform their molecule into acetaminophen, also known as paracetamol. 'This work demonstrates that PET plastic isn't just waste or a material destined to become more plastic — it can be transformed by microorganisms into valuable new products, including those with potential for treating disease,' lead study Stephen Wallace said in a statement. Singaporean researchers not involved in the study praised how it combined synthetic and biological chemistry. But 'several practical considerations remain' to take this idea beyond the proof-of-concept stage, they wrote in a linked commentary in the journal Nature Chemistry. The chemical reaction produces only a limited amount of PABA molecules, which 'may be insufficient for industrial applications', they wrote. Melissa Valliant, communications director of the Beyond Plastics project of Bennington College in the United States, expressed scepticism. 'A new 'plastic-eating bacteria' pops up in the news every few months and has been doing so for years,' she told AFP. 'These discoveries never scale up to anything significant enough to tackle the massive plastic pollution problem.' This 'crisis needs to be stopped at the source,' she added, which means 'companies and policymakers must reduce the amount of plastic being produced and used in the first place'. — ETX Studio
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bacteria can turn plastic waste into a painkiller
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Tylenol could potentially be made greener and cheaper with the help of bacteria. Scientists were able to use a bacterial chemical reaction to convert a plastic water bottle into paracetamol with no environmental strain. This development could alter the way drugs are produced and provide a much-needed solution to the plastic pollution problem. The bacteria Escherichia coli or common in the gut microbiome, can be used to break down plastic into paracetamol, according to a study published in the journal Nature Chemistry. Paracetamol, or acetaminophen, is the main active ingredient in the painkiller Tylenol. It is generally produced using fossil fuels, namely crude oil, which has been known to worsen climate change. But "by merging chemistry and biology in this way for the first time, we can make paracetamol more sustainably and clean up plastic waste from the environment at the same time," said Stephen Wallace, a professor at the University of Edinburgh and the lead author of the study, to The Guardian. The researchers triggered a chemical reaction in known as the Lossen rearrangement that "until now had only been observed in test tubes," said Spanish newspaper El País. The was genetically modified to be able to break down polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a plastic used in food packaging and bottles, and ultimately produce paracetamol. This process can occur at room temperature and produces no carbon emissions. "It enables, for the first time, a pathway from plastic waste to paracetamol, which is not possible using biology alone, and it's not possible using chemistry alone," Wallace said to Science News. While it will take time before the painkiller can be widely produced using this method, "this could mark part of a broader shift toward more sustainable, biology-based manufacturing practices, both in the pharmaceutical industry and in plastic recycling," El País said. Plastic waste has been known to harm the environment and can pollute waterways and leach chemicals into the ecosystem. Microplastics have also been found almost everywhere on Earth and in our bodies. "I genuinely think this is quite an exciting sort of starting point for plastic waste upcycling," Wallace said. PET plastic "creates more than 350 million tons of waste annually," said a news release about the study. While PET recycling is possible, "existing processes create products that continue to contribute to plastic pollution worldwide." This research could be the solution to the pollution. The study's findings indicate that "PET plastic isn't just waste or a material destined to become more plastic," Wallace said in the release. "It can be transformed by microorganisms into valuable new products, including those with potential for treating disease." This is not the first time bacteria have been used to break down plastic, and it likely will not be the last. However, the ability to create medicine from plastic introduces a fresh area of research. "Based on what we've seen, it's highly likely that many — or even most — bacteria can perform these kinds of transmutations," Wallace said. "This opens up a whole new way of thinking about how we might use microbes as tiny chemical factories."
Japan Today
26-06-2025
- Health
- Japan Today
E.coli can turn plastic into painkillers, chemists discover
Paracetamol can be made by combining the bacteria and plastic waste, scientists have discovered Scientists have found a way to use the bacteria to convert plastic waste into a popular painkiller, a study said, though outside experts doubted the technique would make a dent in the fight against plastic pollution. Paracetamol, which is one of the most commonly used drugs worldwide, is made from the derivatives of fossil fuels, often by Asia-based subcontractors using cheap, polluting methods that contribute to climate change. The world is also facing an escalating crisis of plastic pollution, with countries set for another bruising round of negotiations in August in the hope of sealing an international treaty to reduce plastic waste. The British team of researchers behind the new study sought to find a solution to the two problems by roping in a third -- which is normally known for making people sick when they eat contaminated food. First the chemists used a molecule derived from PET plastic, which is used in bottles and many other plastic products the world over, to spark a chemical reaction in a strain of This created a molecule they called PABA, according to the Nature Chemistry study, which was partly funded by drug firm AstraZeneca. By genetically modifying the bacteria, the chemists were able to transform their molecule into acetaminophen, also known as paracetamol. "This work demonstrates that PET plastic isn't just waste or a material destined to become more plastic -- it can be transformed by microorganisms into valuable new products, including those with potential for treating disease," lead study Stephen Wallace said in a statement. Singaporean researchers not involved in the study praised how it combined synthetic and biological chemistry. But "several practical considerations remain" to take this idea beyond the proof-of-concept stage, they wrote in a linked commentary in the journal Nature Chemistry. The chemical reaction produces only a limited amount of PABA molecules, which "may be insufficient for industrial applications", they wrote. Melissa Valliant, communications director of the Beyond Plastics project of Bennington College in the United States, expressed skepticism. "A new 'plastic-eating bacteria' pops up in the news every few months and has been doing so for years," she told AFP. "These discoveries never scale up to anything significant enough to tackle the massive plastic pollution problem." This "crisis needs to be stopped at the source," she added, which means "companies and policymakers must reduce the amount of plastic being produced and used in the first place". © 2025 AFP
