Scientists at the University of Texas at Austin have used artificial intelligence to develop a synthetic enzyme that breaks down plastic waste within 24 hours.

This could solve one of the world’s most pressing environmental problems: https://t.co/nGlPhu5xTJ @CockrellSchool

– UT Austin (@UTAustin) 2 May 2022

The researchers studied the native nature of the PETase enzyme and trained the model to generate mutations that work rapidly at low temperatures.

“When considering waste disposal approaches, you need an enzyme that can operate at ambient temperatures in natural conditions,” said Hal Alper, one of the study’s authors.

The algorithm resulted in an element called FAST-PETase, which can break down plastic in 24 hours at temperatures ranging from 30 to 50 degrees Celsius.

According to the scientists, the production and use of the enzyme could be brought to an industrial level by providing an economical way to process plastic waste. They added that the biological approach uses less energy and is more environmentally friendly than existing large-scale polyethylene recycling methods.

“This work truly demonstrates the power of bringing together different disciplines, from synthetic biology to chemical engineering to artificial intelligence,” said Andrew Ellington, professor of synthetic biology at the University of Texas at Austin.

Recall that in January, American scientists announced the start of developing an algorithm that predicts flooding in the Gulf of Mexico.

In October 2021, University of Bristol researchers visited the Chernobyl nuclear power plant to train robots to interact with radioactive waste.

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