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 ...

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 ...

‘Superworms’ acting as mini plastic recycling plants could pave the way for a process scale-up to life-size recycling plants. About 400 million tons of plastic waste is produced each year, globally.

Scientists have discovered a virus that caused a nationwide die-off of superworms, a common food for birds, reptiles, other pets and, more and more so, even for humans as an alternative protein source ...

A species of insect larvae with a taste for plastic could help revolutionise recycling, researchers say. Australian scientists have found the Zophobas morio - commonly known as a superworm - can ...

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 ...

Researchers have found 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 found a species of ...

A growing spotlight on insect welfare as research subjects, fodder for vertebrate animals, and patients for veterinarians highlights the need to establish humane euthanasia methods for these species.

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