The larvae of a common species of beetle are able to survive on a diet comprised entirely of polystyrene thanks to bacterial enzymes found in their gut, a new study finds. “Superworms are like mini ...

Scientists assessed changes in the gut microbiome of superworms (Zophobas morio) in a new study. The University of Queensland Researchers in Australia have identified enzymes in the gut of certain ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Superworms gobbling their way through a cube of polystyrene (Hung Vu/University of Queensland) (the_independent_577) Larvae of the ...

The magnitude of our plastic waste problem has scientists searching far and wide for answers, and for a team at Australia's University of Queensland (UQ) this search has led them to hungry little ...

A species of worm with an appetite for polystyrene could be the key to plastic recycling on a mass scale. Researchers at the University of Queensland have discovered the common Zophobas morio ...

Plastic is choking our environment. About 400 million tons of plastic waste is thrown out every year with between 75 to 199 million tons floating in oceans and endangering aquatic ecosystems, ...

The common Zophobas morio ‘superworm,’ seen here chowing down on some delicious polystyrene (The University of Queensland) (CN) — What if the key to solving one of our thorniest environmental dilemmas ...

An international group of researchers have discovered that “superworms,” a species of worms that can be at least five times the size of mealworms and wax worms, are pretty damn good at digesting ...

Recycling seems like a simple cure for our plastic addiction: just take the plastic we have and make it into new items. But problems abound. Current technology mostly creates plastic of a lower ...

Enzymes produced by gut bacteria in larvae of the beetle Zophobas morio can digest polystyrene. The enzymes could be adapted to degrade plastic in recycling plants. A previous study had found that ...

Polystyrene is perhaps the most notorious of all the polymers that together we call “plastics.” They are used in packing peanuts and styrofoam containers, in bottles and disposal cutlery and jewel ...