🔬 German team finds animals can eat bioplastics
Microorganisms naturally create bioplastics called polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) for energy storage. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen, Germany, challenged the idea that only microbes could break them down. Their study, published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, found that animals like marine worms and earthworms possess enzymes to degrade these PHAs. This discovery reveals a new pathway for microbial carbon to enter animal food chains. The findings offer insights into how natural carbon cycles function.