ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao - Science fair winners
Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao have identified a new bacteria that breaks down nasty compounds called phthalates, common to flexible plastics and linked to health problems. And they’re still teenagers.

Why you should listen

After a visit to a plastic-filled waste transfer station last year, students Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao learned that much of the plastic in trash may not degrade for 5,000 years. Synthesized into plastics are phthalates, compounds that make shower curtain liners, food wraps and other products bendable but may also adversely impact human reproductive development and health.  As plastics slowly break down, these phthalates would leach into the surrounding environment.

So, the two young scientists tackled the problem and ultimately discovered strains of bacteria that have the potential to naturally degrade phthalates. Their work earned a regional first place in British Columbia for the 2012 Sanofi BioGENEius Challenge Canada, as well as a special award for the most commercial potential at the contest’s finals.

More profile about the speaker
Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao | Speaker | TED.com
TED2013

Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao: Two young scientists break down plastics with bacteria

兩位少年科學家用細菌分解了塑料

Filmed:
1,377,776 views

塑料一旦被生產,將(幾乎)永遠不會消失。12 年級時的米蘭達‧王和吉尼‧姚開始了一項研究,試圖找到一種可以分解塑料的新細菌——特別是分解鄰苯二甲酸酯這種有害的塑化劑,她們意外地在家附近找到了答案。
- Science fair winners
Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao have identified a new bacteria that breaks down nasty compounds called phthalates, common to flexible plastics and linked to health problems. And they’re still teenagers. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
Miranda米蘭達 Wang: We're here to talk about accidents事故.
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米蘭達.王:我們今天要來聊聊意外。
00:15
How do you feel about accidents事故?
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大家對意外有些什麼看法呢
00:17
When we think about accidents事故,
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每當談起意外
00:19
we usually平時 consider考慮 them to be harmful有害,
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通常人們都認為是負面的
00:21
unfortunate不幸的 or even dangerous危險, and they certainly當然 can be.
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不幸的,甚至是危險的
當然這確實有可能
00:25
But are they always that bad?
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但意外一定都是不好的嗎
00:28
The discovery發現 that had led to penicillin青黴素, for example,
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例如青黴素的發現
00:30
is one of the most fortunate幸運 accidents事故 of all time.
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就是史上最幸運的意外之一
00:34
Without沒有 biologist生物學家 Alexander亞歷山大 Fleming's弗萊明 moldy發霉的 accident事故,
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如果沒有生物學家亞歷山大.弗萊明
00:37
caused造成 by a neglected被忽視的 workstation工作站,
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因為不小心遺忘了實驗
而造成黴菌意外產生
00:39
we wouldn't不會 be able能夠 to fight鬥爭 off so many許多 bacterial細菌 infections感染.
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我們就無法治癒這麼多的細菌感染
00:44
JeannyJeanny Yao姚明: Miranda米蘭達 and I are here today今天
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吉尼.姚:米蘭達和我今天來到這裡
00:46
because we'd星期三 like to share分享 how our accidents事故
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想要和大家分享我們的意外
00:48
have led to discoveries發現.
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和它所引發的新發現
00:50
In 2011, we visited參觀 the Vancouver溫哥華 Waste浪費 Transfer轉讓 Station
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2011年,我們造訪了溫哥華廢料轉運站
00:54
and saw an enormous巨大 pit of plastic塑料 waste浪費.
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看到了一個龐大的塑料廢品坑
00:57
We realized實現 that when plastics塑料 get to the dump傾倒,
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我們發現當塑料被丟棄時
01:00
it's difficult to sort分類 them because they have similar類似 densities密度,
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因為密度相近因而很難分類
01:03
and when they're mixed with organic有機 matter
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特別當被和有機物跟建築廢料混在一起時
01:05
and construction施工 debris廢墟, it's truly impossible不可能
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想要分類跟做環保處理
幾乎是不可能的事情
01:07
to pick them out and environmentally環保 eliminate消除 them.
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想要分類跟做環保處理
幾乎是不可能的事情
01:10
MWMW: However然而, plastics塑料 are useful有用
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米蘭達:但是,塑料的用處很多
01:13
because they're durable耐用, flexible靈活,
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因為它們耐用、而且可塑性高
01:15
and can be easily容易 molded成型 into so many許多 useful有用 shapes形狀.
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輕易就能依需要做成不同形狀
01:18
The downside缺點 of this convenience方便
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這種便利也有負面影響
01:20
is that there's a high cost成本 to this.
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就是它背後所要付上的龐大成本
01:23
Plastics塑料 cause原因 serious嚴重 problems問題, such這樣 as
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塑料會帶來嚴重的問題
01:25
the destruction毀壞 of ecosystems生態系統,
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例如,對生態環境的破壞
01:27
the pollution污染 of natural自然 resources資源,
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對自然資源的污染
01:29
and the reduction減少 of available可得到 land土地 space空間.
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以及土地資源的減少
01:31
This picture圖片 you see here is the Great Pacific和平的 Gyre環流.
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這張照片是太平洋環流帶
01:34
When you think about plastic塑料 pollution污染
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當談到塑料污染和海洋環境時
01:36
and the marine海洋 environment環境,
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當談到塑料污染和海洋環境時
01:38
we think about the Great Pacific和平的 Gyre環流,
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我們就會想到太平洋環流帶
01:39
which哪一個 is supposed應該 to be a floating漂浮的 island of plastic塑料 waste浪費.
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就是一個由塑料廢品形成的漂浮小島
01:43
But that's no longer an accurate準確 depiction描寫
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但講到海洋生態裡的塑料污染
01:45
of plastic塑料 pollution污染 in the marine海洋 environment環境.
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這個描述已經不再準確
01:48
Right now, the ocean海洋 is actually其實 a soup of plastic塑料 debris廢墟,
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如今,海洋充斥著塑料廢棄物
01:52
and there's nowhere無處 you can go in the ocean海洋
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不論在海洋的什麽位置
01:54
where you wouldn't不會 be able能夠 to find plastic塑料 particles粒子.
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你都能發現塑料碎片
01:57
JYJY: In a plastic-dependent塑料依賴性 society社會,
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吉尼:在這個對塑料極其依賴的社會
02:00
cutting切割 down production生產 is a good goal目標, but it's not enough足夠.
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降低生產是個可行的目標,只是還不夠
02:03
And what about the waste浪費 that's already已經 been produced生成?
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還有那些已經產生的垃圾怎麼辦呢
02:06
Plastics塑料 take hundreds數以百計 to thousands數千 of years年份 to biodegrade生物降解.
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塑料需要好幾千年才能分解
02:10
So we thought, you know what?
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所以我們想到
02:11
Instead代替 of waiting等候 for that garbage垃圾 to sit there and pile up,
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與其等著看垃圾堆積成山
02:15
let's find a way to break打破 them down
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倒不如利用細菌把它們分解掉
02:17
with bacteria.
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倒不如利用細菌把它們分解掉
02:19
Sounds聲音 cool, right?
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聽起來很棒,對吧
02:21
Audience聽眾: Yeah. JYJY: Thank you.
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觀眾:沒錯
吉尼:謝謝
02:22
But we had a problem問題.
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但我們遇到了一個問題
02:24
You see, plastics塑料 have very complex複雜 structures結構
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大家知道,塑料的結構複雜
02:27
and are difficult to biodegrade生物降解.
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很難進行生物分解
02:30
Anyhow無論如何, we were curious好奇 and hopeful有希望
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不過我們既好奇又滿懷期待
02:32
and still wanted to give it a go.
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還是想要嘗試一下
02:33
MWMW: With this idea理念 in mind心神, JeannyJeanny and I read through通過
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米蘭達:於是吉尼和我到網路上
02:36
some hundreds數以百計 of scientific科學 articles用品 on the Internet互聯網,
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查閱了上百篇科學文獻
02:38
and we drafted起草 a research研究 proposal提案
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在剛升上12年級的時候
02:40
in the beginning開始 of our grade年級 12 year.
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我們擬了一份調查意見書
02:43
We aimed針對 to find bacteria from our local本地 Fraser弗雷澤 River
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我們的目標是在當地的
菲莎河(Fraser River)裡找到細菌
02:46
that can degrade降級 a harmful有害 plasticizer增塑劑 called phthalates鄰苯二甲酸鹽.
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來分解有毒的塑化劑 - 鄰苯二甲酸酯
02:50
Phthalates鄰苯二甲酸鹽 are additives添加劑 used in everyday每天 plastic塑料 products製品
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鄰苯二甲酸酯是製作日常塑料製品的添加劑
02:52
to increase增加 their flexibility靈活性, durability耐久力 and transparency透明度.
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以增強可塑性、耐用性和透明度
02:57
Although雖然 they're part部分 of the plastic塑料,
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儘管它不是塑料的一部份
02:59
they're not covalently共價 bonded保稅 to the plastic塑料 backbone骨幹.
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它和塑料基礎成份沒有共價鍵
03:01
As a result結果, they easily容易 escape逃逸 into our environment環境.
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也因此鄰苯二甲酸酯
很容易就滲入生態環境
03:04
Not only do phthalates鄰苯二甲酸鹽 pollute污染 our environment環境,
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鄰苯二甲酸酯不僅會污染環境
03:07
but they also pollute污染 our bodies身體.
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也會傷害我們的身體
03:09
To make the matter worse更差, phthalates鄰苯二甲酸鹽 are found發現 in products製品
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更糟糕的是,鄰苯二甲酸酯運用廣泛
03:12
to which哪一個 we have a high exposure曝光, such這樣 as babies'嬰兒 toys玩具,
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人們接觸頻繁,例如嬰兒玩具
03:16
beverage飲料 containers集裝箱, cosmetics化妝品, and even food餐飲 wraps包裝.
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飲料容器,化妝品,甚至是食物包裝
03:20
Phthalates鄰苯二甲酸鹽 are horrible可怕 because
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鄰苯二甲酸酯很可怕
03:22
they're so easily容易 taken採取 into our bodies身體.
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因為它們很容易被人體吸收
03:24
They can be absorbed吸收 by skin皮膚 contact聯繫, ingested攝入, and inhaled吸入.
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可以被皮膚吸收
透過嘴巴吃下肚及吸入
03:29
JYJY: Every一切 year, at least最小 470 million百萬 pounds英鎊 of phthalates鄰苯二甲酸鹽
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吉尼:每年至少有4億7千萬磅的鄰苯二甲酸酯
03:32
contaminate污染 our air空氣, water and soil.
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污染了我們的空氣、水源和土壤
03:36
The Environmental環境的 Protection保護 Agency機構
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環境保護單位
03:37
even classified分類 this group as a top-priority當務之急 pollutant污染物
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甚至將其列為主要污染源
03:40
because it's been shown顯示 to cause原因 cancer癌症 and birth分娩 defects缺陷
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因為它會擾亂荷爾蒙
03:44
by acting演戲 as a hormone激素 disruptor破壞者.
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進而致癌及造成胎兒畸形
03:46
We read that each year, the Vancouver溫哥華 municipal市政 government政府
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我們聽說,溫哥華市政府每年
都會監測河流的鄰苯二甲酸酯濃度
03:49
monitors顯示器 phthalate鄰苯二甲酸酯 concentration濃度 levels水平 in rivers河流
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我們聽說,溫哥華市政府每年
都會監測河流的鄰苯二甲酸酯濃度
03:51
to assess評估 their safety安全.
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以評估安全性
03:53
So we figured想通, if there are places地方 along沿 our Fraser弗雷澤 River
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於是我們想,如果菲莎河附近
03:56
that are contaminated污染 with phthalates鄰苯二甲酸鹽,
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有鄰苯二甲酸酯污染
03:58
and if there are bacteria that are able能夠 to live生活 in these areas,
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而這些地區又同時有細菌存在
04:01
then perhaps也許, perhaps也許 these bacteria could have evolved進化
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那麼可能、也許這些細菌能夠進化
04:05
to break打破 down phthalates鄰苯二甲酸鹽.
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來分解鄰苯二甲酸酯
04:07
MWMW: So we presented呈現 this good idea理念
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米蘭達:於是我們把這個想法
04:10
to Dr博士. Lindsay林賽 EltisEltis at the University大學 of British英國的 Columbia哥倫比亞,
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告訴了加拿大英屬哥倫比亞大學
林賽.奧爾蒂斯博士
04:13
and surprisingly出奇, he actually其實 took us into his lab實驗室
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意外的是,他居然帶我們到他的實驗室
04:16
and asked his graduate畢業 students學生們 Adam亞當 and James詹姆士 to help us.
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並讓他的學生亞當和詹姆斯幫助我們
04:20
Little did we know at that time
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我們當時完全不知道
04:22
that a trip to the dump傾倒 and some research研究 on the Internet互聯網
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那次廢料站之旅和上網研究
04:25
and plucking拔毛 up the courage勇氣 to act法案 upon inspiration靈感
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到後來鼓足勇氣實現想法
04:28
would take us on a life-changing改變生活 journey旅程
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會把我們帶向這個
完全改變人生的意外及發現之旅
04:30
of accidents事故 and discoveries發現.
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會把我們帶向這個
完全改變人生的意外及發現之旅
04:33
JYJY: The first step in our project項目
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吉尼:我們計畫的第一步
04:35
was to collect蒐集 soil samples樣本 from three different不同 sites網站
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是沿著菲莎河的三個點隨機採樣
04:37
along沿 the Fraser弗雷澤 River.
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是沿著菲莎河的三個點隨機採樣
04:39
Out of thousands數千 of bacteria, we wanted to find ones那些
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在上千種細菌中,我們想要找到
04:42
that could break打破 down phthalates鄰苯二甲酸鹽,
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可以分解鄰苯二甲酸酯的細菌
04:43
so we enriched豐富 our cultures文化 with phthalates鄰苯二甲酸鹽
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於是我們濃縮了鄰苯二甲酸酯的培養
04:45
as the only carbon source資源.
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用它作為唯一的碳元素源
04:47
This implied默示 that, if anything grew成長 in our cultures文化,
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這意味著,如果有
任何東西能在培育中生長
04:49
then they must必須 be able能夠 to live生活 off of phthalates鄰苯二甲酸鹽.
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它們一定是依賴鄰苯二甲酸酯而生的
04:52
Everything went well from there,
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之後一切都進行地順利
04:54
and we became成為 amazing驚人 scientists科學家們. (Laughter笑聲)
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我們成為了偉大的科學家(笑聲)
04:57
MWMW: Um ... uh, JeannyJeanny. JYJY: I'm just joking開玩笑.
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米蘭達:嗯……呃,吉尼
吉尼:我開個玩笑罷了
05:00
MWMW: Okay. Well, it was partially部分 my fault故障.
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米蘭達:好吧,我也應該負一部份責任
05:02
You see, I accidentally偶然 cracked破解 the flask燒瓶
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你們瞧,我不小心弄裂了實驗燒瓶
05:05
that had contained our third第三 enrichment豐富 culture文化,
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裏面裝著第三批濃縮培養
05:07
and as a result結果, we had to wipe擦拭 down the incubator恆溫箱 room房間
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結果我們不得不用漂白劑和乙醇洗了兩遍
05:10
with bleach漂白 and ethanol乙醇 twice兩次.
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才把培養皿室裡的地板清理乾淨
05:12
And this is only one of the examples例子 of the many許多 accidents事故
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這只是我們實驗過程中
05:15
that happened發生 during our experimentation實驗.
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所發生的眾多意外事件之一
05:17
But this mistake錯誤 turned轉身 out to be rather serendipitous偶然.
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但這次失誤卻造就了一次意外發現
05:20
We noticed注意到 that the unharmed安然無恙 cultures文化
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我們發現未經污染的培養
05:23
came來了 from places地方 of opposite對面 contamination污染 levels水平,
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是從相對的污染程度區域取得的
05:26
so this mistake錯誤 actually其實 led us to think that
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因此這個錯誤讓我們想到
05:28
perhaps也許 we can compare比較
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也許我們可以
05:30
the different不同 degradative降解 potentials潛力 of bacteria
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從不同污染程度的區域採樣細菌
05:33
from sites網站 of opposite對面 contamination污染 levels水平.
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來比較他們不同的分解能力
05:37
JYJY: Now that we grew成長 the bacteria,
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吉尼:既然我們培養了細菌
05:39
we wanted to isolate隔離 strains by streaking裸奔 onto mediate調解 plates,
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我們想藉由把細菌
分離到中介容器來隔離菌株
05:42
because we thought that would be
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因為我們認為這樣做
05:44
less accident-prone事故多發, but we were wrong錯誤 again.
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可以減少意外發生
但我們又錯了
05:47
We poked holes in our agar洋菜 while streaking裸奔
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我們在分離時戳破了瓊脂
(瓊脂: 細菌培養基)
05:51
and contaminated污染 some samples樣本 and funghifunghi.
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就污染了一些樣本和真菌
05:53
As a result結果, we had to streak條紋 and restreakrestreak several一些 times.
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結果不得不重新分離了好幾次
05:56
Then we monitored監控 phthalate鄰苯二甲酸酯 utilization採用
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然後我們監測了
鄰苯二甲酸酯的使用情形
05:59
and bacterial細菌 growth發展,
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以及細菌生長情況
06:01
and found發現 that they shared共享 an inverse correlation相關,
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發現了它們有一種成反比的關聯
06:03
so as bacterial細菌 populations人群 increased增加,
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就是當細菌數增加了
06:06
phthalate鄰苯二甲酸酯 concentrations濃度 decreased下降.
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鄰苯二甲酸酯濃度就會降低
06:08
This means手段 that our bacteria were actually其實 living活的 off of phthalates鄰苯二甲酸鹽.
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也就是說我們的細菌
其實是依賴鄰苯二甲酸酯而生的
06:12
MWMW: So now that we found發現 bacteria that could break打破 down phthalates鄰苯二甲酸鹽,
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米蘭達:我們已經發現了
可以分解鄰苯二甲酸酯的細菌
06:15
we wondered想知道 what these bacteria were.
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我們想知道這些是什麽細菌
06:17
So JeannyJeanny and I took three of our most efficient高效 strains
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於是吉尼和我用三株最強的菌株
06:20
and then performed執行 gene基因 amplification放大 sequencing測序 on them
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進行了基因擴增排序
06:23
and matched匹配 our data數據 with an online線上 comprehensive全面 database數據庫.
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得到的數據和一個線上綜合資料庫吻合
06:26
We were happy快樂 to see that,
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為此我們很高興
06:27
although雖然 our three strains had been previously先前 identified確定 bacteria,
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儘管這三株菌株之前被認為是細菌
06:31
two of them were not previously先前 associated相關
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其中兩株之前並沒有
被認為與鄰苯二甲酸酯有關
06:34
with phthalate鄰苯二甲酸酯 degradation降解, so this was actually其實 a novel小說 discovery發現.
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因此這算是一個新發現
06:38
JYJY: To better understand理解 how this biodegradation生物降解 works作品,
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吉尼:爲了能更瞭解這個生物分解的發生原理
06:42
we wanted to verify校驗 the catabolic分解代謝 pathways途徑 of our three strains.
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我們想要檢驗三株菌株的分解代謝途徑
06:46
To do this, we extracted提取 enzymes from our bacteria
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於是我們從細菌內萃取出酶
06:49
and reacted反應 with an intermediate中間 of phthalic鄰苯二甲酸 acid.
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用鄰苯二甲酸作為媒介進行反應
06:52
MWMW: We monitored監控 this experiment實驗 with spectrophotometry分光光度法
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米蘭達:我們用分光光度測定法監測了實驗
06:55
and obtained獲得 this beautiful美麗 graph圖形.
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得到了這幅美麗的圖譜
06:58
This graph圖形 shows節目 that our bacteria really do have
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圖譜顯示我們的細菌確實具有
07:00
a genetic遺傳 pathway to biodegrade生物降解 phthalates鄰苯二甲酸鹽.
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降解鄰苯二甲酸酯的基因途徑
07:03
Our bacteria can transform轉變 phthalates鄰苯二甲酸鹽, which哪一個 is a harmful有害 toxin毒素,
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我們的細菌可以改變
鄰苯二甲酸酯這種有害毒素
07:06
into end結束 products製品 such這樣 as carbon dioxide二氧化碳, water
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最後變成二氧化碳,水
07:09
and alcohol.
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或者酒精
07:10
I know some of you in the crowd人群 are thinking思維,
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我知道你們有些人在想
07:11
well, carbon dioxide二氧化碳 is horrible可怕, it's a greenhouse溫室 gas加油站.
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二氧化碳也不好,它是溫室氣體
07:15
But if our bacteria did not evolve發展 to break打破 down phthalates鄰苯二甲酸鹽,
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但如果我們的細菌
沒有分解鄰苯二甲酸酯
07:18
they would have used some other kind of carbon source資源,
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它們會用到其他種類的碳資源
07:21
and aerobic有氧 respiration呼吸 would have led it
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此外有氧呼吸也會導致
07:23
to have end結束 products製品 such這樣 as carbon dioxide二氧化碳 anyway無論如何.
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二氧化碳的產生
07:26
We were also interested有興趣 to see that,
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我們也很高興地發現
07:28
although雖然 we've我們已經 obtained獲得 greater更大 diversity多樣
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儘管我們從鳥類棲息地
07:31
of bacteria biodegradersbiodegraders from the bird habitat棲息地 site現場,
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獲得了更多具有降解能力的細菌
07:33
we obtained獲得 the most efficient高效 degraders降解菌 from the landfill垃圾填埋場 site現場.
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最小的降解源
其實源自於垃圾掩埋場
07:37
So this fully充分 shows節目 that nature性質 evolves演變
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這充分地證明了
07:39
through通過 natural自然 selection選擇.
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大自然的進化
是隨著自然界的選擇而發生
07:42
JYJY: So Miranda米蘭達 and I shared共享 this research研究
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吉尼:米蘭達和我把這項研究帶到了
07:44
at the Sanofi賽諾菲 BioGENEiusBioGENEius Challenge挑戰 competition競爭 and were recognized認可
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賽諾菲加拿大生物科技研究競賽上
07:47
with the greatest最大 commercialization商業化 potential潛在.
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並獲得了最具商業化潛力研究獎
07:50
Although雖然 we're not the first ones那些 to find bacteria
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雖然我們不是第一個發現
細菌可以分解鄰苯二甲酸酯的人
07:53
that can break打破 down phthalates鄰苯二甲酸鹽,
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雖然我們不是第一個發現
細菌可以分解鄰苯二甲酸酯的人
07:54
we were the first ones那些 to look into our local本地 river
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但我們是第一個研究當地河流
07:56
and find a possible可能 solution to a local本地 problem問題.
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並找到解決當地問題方法的人
08:00
We have not only shown顯示 that bacteria
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我們不僅發現了細菌
08:03
can be the solution to plastic塑料 pollution污染, but also that
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能夠解決塑料污染,而且還證明了
08:06
being存在 open打開 to uncertain不確定 outcomes結果 and taking服用 risks風險
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對意外結果保持開放態度以及願意冒險
08:09
create創建 opportunities機會 for unexpected意外 discoveries發現.
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可以創造出意外的發現
08:13
Throughout始終 this journey旅程, we have also discovered發現 our passion for science科學,
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在此過程中,我們也發現了自己對科學的熱情
08:16
and are currently目前 continuing繼續 research研究
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我們目前在大學繼續研究
08:18
on other fossil化石 fuel汽油 chemicals化學製品 in university大學.
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其他礦物化學燃料
08:21
We hope希望 that in the near future未來,
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我們希望在不久的將來
08:23
we'll be able能夠 to create創建 model模型 organisms生物
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我們可以創造出生物物種
08:25
that can break打破 down not only phthalates鄰苯二甲酸鹽
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不僅用於分解鄰苯二甲酸酯
08:27
but a wide variety品種 of different不同 contaminants污染物.
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還可以分解其他各種污染物
08:31
We can apply應用 this to wastewater廢水 treatment治療 plants植物
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我們可以將此運用到廢水處理場
08:34
to clean清潔 up our rivers河流
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來清潔我們的河流
08:35
and other natural自然 resources資源.
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和其他自然資源
08:37
And perhaps也許 one day we'll be able能夠 to tackle滑車
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也許將來某一天我們可以解決
08:40
the problem問題 of solid固體 plastic塑料 waste浪費.
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固體塑料污染問題
08:44
MWMW: I think our journey旅程 has truly transformed改造
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米蘭達:我認為我們的經歷真正地改變了
08:46
our view視圖 of microorganisms微生物,
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我們對微生物的認識
08:48
and JeannyJeanny and I have shown顯示 that
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吉尼和我證明了
08:50
even mistakes錯誤 can lead to discoveries發現.
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錯誤也能引發新發現
08:52
Einstein愛因斯坦 once一旦 said,
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愛因斯坦曾經說過
08:53
"You can't solve解決 problems問題 by using運用 the same相同 kind
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要想解決問題
08:56
of thinking思維 you used when you created創建 them."
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必須跳脫造成那個問題的思考方式
08:59
If we're making製造 plastic塑料 synthetically合成地, then we think
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如果我們是以合成方式製成塑料
09:02
the solution would be to break打破 them down biochemically生化.
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那我們認為解決問題的方法就是
以生化降解的方式分解它們
09:06
Thank you. JYJY: Thank you.
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謝謝
吉尼:謝謝
09:08
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
Translated by Julia Xu
Reviewed by Ada Wang

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao - Science fair winners
Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao have identified a new bacteria that breaks down nasty compounds called phthalates, common to flexible plastics and linked to health problems. And they’re still teenagers.

Why you should listen

After a visit to a plastic-filled waste transfer station last year, students Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao learned that much of the plastic in trash may not degrade for 5,000 years. Synthesized into plastics are phthalates, compounds that make shower curtain liners, food wraps and other products bendable but may also adversely impact human reproductive development and health.  As plastics slowly break down, these phthalates would leach into the surrounding environment.

So, the two young scientists tackled the problem and ultimately discovered strains of bacteria that have the potential to naturally degrade phthalates. Their work earned a regional first place in British Columbia for the 2012 Sanofi BioGENEius Challenge Canada, as well as a special award for the most commercial potential at the contest’s finals.

More profile about the speaker
Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao | Speaker | TED.com