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Download eating mealworms2/2/2024 ![]() ![]() Respiration uses the oxygen to break down chemical compounds for energy.Īdditional work showed that gut bacteria in the mealworms performed much of the plastic’s breakdown. Carbon dioxide is a byproduct of respiration by species that breathe oxygen. Most of the rest was converted to carbon dioxide. After 16 days, about half of the carbon from the polystyrene came out of the mealworms as waste. Chemical tests showed that the plastic-eaters used the polystyrene as they would any food - for energy to fuel their life activities. The mealworms that ate plastic were generally every bit as healthy as the controls - those eating normal food. For one month, the researchers fed only polystyrene foam products to a test group of these yellow, wormlike larvae. ![]() Mealworms are the immature, or larval, form of Tenebrio molitor beetles. They published their new findings in Environmental Science & Technology on September 21. Wu led the team doing this research along with environmental engineer Jun Yang at Beihang University in Beijing, China. Feed polystyrene foam to common mealworms, and in just one day their gut bacteria can break down almost half of the foam they ate. However, a new study finds, hungry young insects can speed the plastic’s breakdown. The food that polystyrene protects, in contrast, can decompose in as little as a month. “People thought this compound could take a hundred years to be broken down,” Wu says. The chemical structure of those units makes it very stable and long lasting. It is made of a long chain of repeating groups of atoms. ![]() He’s an environmental engineer at Stanford University in California. And some types of plastic, including polystyrene, can resist breakdown for a long, long time, notes Wei-Min Wu. This and other types of plastic currently present big problems. And that could point to a new way to get rid of this long-lived plastic. It also makes a great snack for mealworms. It holds drinks, yogurt and other tasty foods. It cushions electronics for safe shipping. Polystyrene foam, best known under the brand name Styrofoam, is a plastic with lots of uses. ![]()
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