What if man-made pollutants could biodegrade and leave no trace? How do current materials respond to forest ecosystems? Can we create a world with less pollution and plastic? Biochemist and researcher Aaron Jones joined us for our first researcher-led 'Show and Tell' event to answer these important questions, sharing his exploration into materials with changeable properties.
Aaron's research is based on developing new ways to embed enzymes in plastics like PLA (polylactic acid), in order to degrade them. He specifically focuses on creating plastic tree shelters (protective guards for growing young saplings) that biodegrade fully in the open environment.
During the talk, he showed us a range of objects he uses in the lab day-to-day, including enzyme-containing plastic prototypes and a pungent ‘marmite-y’ smelling growing medium, or ‘broth’, used to grow the bacteria he extracts enzymes from.
