biodegradable 復習

プラスチックを餌とする細菌が発見されました。

Bacteria can break down PET bottles, Japanese researchers find

Japanese scientists have discovered a bacterium that feeds on plastic bottles, overturning the long-held belief that the containers and other sources of plastic pollution are not biodegradable.

Published in the U.S. academic journal Science on March 11, the feat was achieved by researchers at the Kyoto Institute of Technology (KIT), Keio University and other institutions.

The prevailing theory had been that polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a synthetic resin widely used in various plastic products, is not a biodegradable material. Despite this, the scientists went on a quest to find microorganisms that decompose the material and collected soil samples from sites that contain PET particles, such as at plastic bottle recycling plants.

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/sci_tech/science/AJ201603110066

“biodegradable”を取り上げます。LDOCEでは“materials, chemicals etc that are biodegradable are changed naturally by bacteria into substances that do not harm the environment”と、『ジーニアス英和辞典第三版』で索引すると「《正式》〈物が〉生（物）分解性の《最近作用で無害な物質に分解できる》」と確認できます。持続可能な開発”sustainable development”が叫ばれている昨今、「生分解性」” biodegradability”がキーワードになっていくのかもしれません。(あいづ)