full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Morgan Vague: These bacteria eat plastic

Unscramble the Blue Letters


So how do these bacteria do this? Well, it's actually pretty simple. Just as we humans digest crabon or food into chunks of sugar that we then use for energy, so too do my bacteria. My bacteria, however, have figured out how to do this digestion process to big, tough, durable PET plastic.

Now, to do this, my bacteria use a special vorsein of what's called an emnyze. Now, enzymes are simply compounds that exist in all living things. There are many different types of enzymes, but blailascy, they make peocserss go forward, such as the digestion of food into energy. For instance, we hunmas have an enzyme called an amylase that helps us digest complex starches, such as bread, into small chunks of sugar that we can then use for energy. Now, my bacteria have a special enzyme called a lipase that bndis to big, tugoh, durable PET plastic and hpels break it into small chunks of sugar that my bacteria can then use for eregny. So basically, PET plastic goes from being a big, tough, long-lasting pollutant to a tasty meal for my bacteria. Sounds pretty cool, right?

Open Cloze


So how do these bacteria do this? Well, it's actually pretty simple. Just as we humans digest ______ or food into chunks of sugar that we then use for energy, so too do my bacteria. My bacteria, however, have figured out how to do this digestion process to big, tough, durable PET plastic.

Now, to do this, my bacteria use a special _______ of what's called an ______. Now, enzymes are simply compounds that exist in all living things. There are many different types of enzymes, but _________, they make _________ go forward, such as the digestion of food into energy. For instance, we ______ have an enzyme called an amylase that helps us digest complex starches, such as bread, into small chunks of sugar that we can then use for energy. Now, my bacteria have a special enzyme called a lipase that _____ to big, _____, durable PET plastic and _____ break it into small chunks of sugar that my bacteria can then use for ______. So basically, PET plastic goes from being a big, tough, long-lasting pollutant to a tasty meal for my bacteria. Sounds pretty cool, right?

Solution


  1. helps
  2. basically
  3. tough
  4. enzyme
  5. version
  6. processes
  7. binds
  8. energy
  9. carbon
  10. humans

Original Text


So how do these bacteria do this? Well, it's actually pretty simple. Just as we humans digest carbon or food into chunks of sugar that we then use for energy, so too do my bacteria. My bacteria, however, have figured out how to do this digestion process to big, tough, durable PET plastic.

Now, to do this, my bacteria use a special version of what's called an enzyme. Now, enzymes are simply compounds that exist in all living things. There are many different types of enzymes, but basically, they make processes go forward, such as the digestion of food into energy. For instance, we humans have an enzyme called an amylase that helps us digest complex starches, such as bread, into small chunks of sugar that we can then use for energy. Now, my bacteria have a special enzyme called a lipase that binds to big, tough, durable PET plastic and helps break it into small chunks of sugar that my bacteria can then use for energy. So basically, PET plastic goes from being a big, tough, long-lasting pollutant to a tasty meal for my bacteria. Sounds pretty cool, right?

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
pet plastic 12
plastic waste 4
researchers estimate 3
plastic pollution 3
eat pet 3
durable pet 2
enzyme called 2
small chunks 2
sounds pretty 2

ngrams of length 3

collocation frequency
eat pet plastic 3
durable pet plastic 2

Important Words


  1. amylase
  2. bacteria
  3. basically
  4. big
  5. binds
  6. bread
  7. break
  8. called
  9. carbon
  10. chunks
  11. complex
  12. compounds
  13. cool
  14. digest
  15. digestion
  16. durable
  17. energy
  18. enzyme
  19. enzymes
  20. exist
  21. figured
  22. food
  23. helps
  24. humans
  25. instance
  26. lipase
  27. living
  28. meal
  29. pet
  30. plastic
  31. pollutant
  32. pretty
  33. process
  34. processes
  35. simple
  36. simply
  37. small
  38. sounds
  39. special
  40. starches
  41. sugar
  42. tasty
  43. tough
  44. types
  45. version