Freak new enzyme offer a ray of hope in war on plastics

Scientists have accidentally developed a plastic eating enzyme that may be used to combat one of the world's worst pollution problems, a media report said.

The discovery could result in a recycling solution for millions of tonnes of plastic bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate. 

Researchers from Britain's University of Portsmouth and the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) made the discovery while examining the structure of a natural enzyme found in a waste recycling centre a few years ago in Japan.

They said the enzyme, Ideonella sakaiensis 201-F6, is able to "eat"polyethylene terephtha1 ate, PET, which was patented as a plastic in the 1940s and is used in millions of tonnes of plastic bottles. Their aim was to study its structure, but they accidentally engineered an enzyme which was even better at breaking down PET plastics.

"We hoped to determine its,
structure to aid in protein engineering, but we ended up going a step further and accidentally engineered an enzyme with
improved performance at breaking down these plastics, " said NREL's lead researcher Gregg Beckham.

The discovery could result in a recycling solution for millions  of tonnes of plastic bottles made  ofPET, which currently persists  for hundreds of years in the environmental, the University of Portsmouth said on its website. "Serendipity often plays a significant role in fundamental scientific research and our discovery here is no exception,"said  Professor McGeehan, director of
the Institute of Biological and
Biomedical Sciences in the School of Biological Sciences at Portsmouth . The enzyme can also degrade polyethylene furandicarboxyl ate, or PEF, a bio-based substitute for PET plastics that is being hailed as a replacement for glass
beer bottles.


Facts about plastic bottles :-

1. Approximately 60 million plastic water bottles are used every day in the US,

2.  Nearly 18,756,100,000 end up in the landfill each year.

3.  Each bottle can take up to 700 years to decompose.

4. 80% of plastic bottles are not recycled

5. Land occupied but each plastic bottle or cover goes unused forever and there will be no more plant growth in that particular areas

6. Burning plastic bottles generates toxic fumes that causes health hazards

Source : Internet  HT Times
Image and Video Editor :- Mr Aman Kashyap 

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A Supermoon Trilogy

A supermoon is a full moon or a new moon that approximately coincides with the closest distance that the Moon reaches to Earth in its elliptic orbit, resulting in a larger-than-usual apparent size of the lunar disk as seen from Earth.The technical name is the perigee syzygy of the Earth–Moon–Sun system.The term supermoon is not astronomical, but originated in modern astrology.

The opposite phenomenon, an apogee syzygy, has been called a micromoon, though this term is not as widespread as supermoon.

Moon's Orbit 

 The most recent supermoon occurrence was on December 3, 2017, and the next one will be on January 2, 2018. The one on November 14, 2016 was the closest supermoon since January 26, 1948, and will not be surpassed until November 25, 2034. The closest supermoon of the century will occur on December 6, 2052.

It’s hard for our eyes to distinguish these small changes in size when the Moon is high amidst the vastness of the night sky. But any time you catch a full Moon as it rises or sets, while it’s suspended low on the horizon beaming through the silhouettes of trees or buildings, its apparent size might make you do a double-take. You almost feel as though you could reach out, grab the glowing orb, and drop it into your coffee cup. Even more so if it’s a supermoon.

If you can only catch one episode of the supermoon trilogy, catch the third one. It will be extra special.

First of all, the January 31^st supermoon will feature a total lunar eclipse, with totality viewable from western North America across the pacific to Eastern Asia. The Moon’s orbit around our planet is tilted so it usually falls above or below the shadow of the Earth. About twice each year, a full Moon lines up perfectly with the Earth and Sun such that Earth’s shadow totally blocks the Sun’s light, which would normally reflect off the Moon.

 Supermoon in January 2018

The Wolf Moon on the night between January 1 and January 2, 2018 is a Supermoon. Since the Moon’s orbit is elliptical, one side (apogee) is about 30,000 miles (50,000 km) farther from Earth than the other (perigee).  Nearby perigee full Moons appear about 14% bigger and 30% brighter than full Moons that occur near apogee in the Moon's orbit.

Terminology

The name supermoon was coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979, arbitrarily defined as:

... a new or full moon which occurs with the Moon at or near (within 90% of) its closest approach to Earth in a given orbit (perigee). In short, Earth, Moon and Sun are all in a line, with Moon in its nearest approach to Earth.

Nolle also claimed that the moon causes "geophysical stress" during the time of a supermoon. Nolle never outlined why he chose 90%.

The term perigee-syzygy or perigee full/new moon is preferred in the scientific community. Perigee is the point at which the Moon is closest in its orbit to the Earth, and syzygy is when the Earth, the Moon and the Sun are aligned, which happens at every full or new moon. Hence, a supermoon can be regarded as a combination of the two, although they do not perfectly coincide each time.

How To Click Supermoon

Supermoon

Bill Ingalls, NASA's senior photographer, sharing the tips to capture the moon, said, "Don't make the mistake of photographing the moon by itself with no reference to anything." He recommends personalizing the experience by using people in the shot. "There are lots of great photos of people appearing to be holding the moon in their hand and that kind of thing. You can get really creative with it," he said.

To get the right light balance of the moon on newer iPhones and other smartphones, he advises, "Tap the screen and hold your finger on the object (in this case, the moon) to lock the focus. Then slide your finger up or down to darken or lighten the exposure."

For digital SLR photography, he advises, "Keep in mind that the moon is a moving object. It's a balancing act between trying to get the right exposure and realizing that the shutter speed typically needs to be a lot faster."

Best Time To Enjoy Supermoon

 The best time to enjoy a supermoon is after moonrise when the moon is just above the horizon. At this position, a supermoon will look bigger and brighter.

Clicked From:- Canon 80D

Source:- Nasa,Wiki,Books
Video and Images Editor:- Mr.Aman Kashyap
Text Editor:- Sara,
Special Thanks To:- Mr. Bhharat Sarkar, Members of Nasa, Geek Members 

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