“Bacillus Subtilis wins microbe of the year” is a headline I never thought would catch my eye. After all, even I am (barely) not nerdy enough to read scientific journals in Microbiology for fun. But it was the name of that random gut bacterium that reminded me of an awesome project I got to be a part of.
Spore-ific Recycling
An old friend of mine and her colleagues at the Technical University Dresden work on this exact microbe. Their team “ReFiBa” is working on solutions to some major issues in the fashion industry – namely, textile waste. They use Bacillus Subtilis spores to break down PET and cotton fibers into reusable monomers like TPA, ethylene glycol, and glucose on an industrial scale.
Didn’t get any of that? Your eyes glazed over once the monomers got involved? Don’t worry, you’re in good company! I had the same reaction. When, as part of the science competition the project was created for, they had the task of making a video explaining and advertising their initiative. That’s when I got approached to do the voice-over.
Tounge Twisting Titles
It was quite an experience, looking at a script filled with scientific names clearly meant to be read, and not necessarily spoken. But safe to say, I never back down from a challenge. If you’d like one as well, try this lovely tongue twister from the Video:
“By genetically engineering Bacillus subtilis spores to carry PETase and cellulase enzymes on their surface, we aim to break down PET and cellulose into reusable monomers like TPA, ethylene glycol, and glucose.”
If you want to see the results of my suffering, you can find the final video here.
And if you’re curious and want to learn more about this awesome sustainability project, you can find out more about it here.