Topline<\/p>\n
Researchers at Southern Illinois University have engineered microbes that can break down discarded plastic bottles and crop waste and turn them into protein-rich cookies, a step-by-step biological transformation that could address problems with plastic pollution, a looming global food crisis and help sustain deep-space missions with humans aboard.<\/p>\n
A cookie is made using waste plant materials and plastic. <\/p>\n
SIU Carbondale CommunicationsKey Facts<\/p>\n
Southern Illinois University Carbondale researchers have created what they call \u201c\u00b5Bites<\/a>,\u201d or protein-rich cookies with core ingredients that began as discarded PET plastic, the same material used in soda bottles, water bottles and leftover corn stalks and leaves. <\/p>\n The work, conducted as part of a NASA-led project aimed at creating food for deep-space exploration, uses water and oxygen under extreme heat and pressure to break tough plastic and biomass into bite-sized pieces that can be processed by microbes. <\/p>\n Programmed yeasts then reassemble those fragments into proteins, fats and acids, and a 3D printer extrudes the final mixture into cookie form.<\/p>\n Flavor is added via baker’s yeast engineered to generate vanilla flavoring directly from plant biomass and a separate yeast strain converts ethylene glycol, a molecule found in PET plastic, into beta-carotene, a precursor the body transforms into vitamin A, according to the research team.<\/p>\n Safety testing has cleared \u00b5Bites for consumption, but the team is still awaiting institutional sign-off before conducting formal taste tests. <\/p>\n Smell tests already conducted found most participants said they would eat the cookies in a resource-limited setting, the researchers said.<\/p>\n WHAT TO WATCH FOR<\/p>\n More developments. Researcher Lahiru Jayakody said the team wants to add starch, fiber and sweetener to the cookies, which he said he hopes will be ready for public consumption within a few years.<\/p>\n Key background<\/p>\n Humans have relied on microbes for thousands of years through traditional fermentation to transform raw ingredients into stable foods like bread, cheese and yogurt, but modern biotechnology<\/a> allows for the genetic engineering of micro-organisms to convert inorganic materials or waste into highly nutritious compounds. By upcycling carbon waste directly into nutrient-dense, 3D-printed foods like “\u00b5Bites,” the researchers are offering a sustainable, closed-loop alternative to traditional farming. In theory, the new technology can alleviate severe food shortages during humanitarian crises, supply resource-limited environments like space missions and drastically cut plastic pollution. An estimated 2.1 billion people experience food insecurity worldwide and 645 million face chronic hunger, according to the United Nations,<\/a> and projections indicate global food demand is on track to surge, putting nearly 30% of the world\u2019s population at risk<\/a> of hunger by 2050. <\/p>\n CRUCIAL QUOTE<\/p>\n