Since ancient times, China has always attached importance to the harmonious and symbiotic relationship between man and nature, whether it is ancient Chinese philosophical thought; Or Tao Yuanming's affection for the countryside, happily wrote "picking chrysanthemums under the east fence, leisurely seeing Nanshan"...... All of them tell about the harmony between man and nature - so, in today's field of science and technology, how to express the proposition of protecting the ecology?

On October 28, 2022, the children of Class 205 of Hengqin Primary School and their parents went to Zhuhai Maidefa Biotechnology Co., Ltd. to experience a unique research trip with the theme of "Protecting Marine Ecology and Building a Green Home".

1. Contaminated blood vessels of the earth

At the beginning of this research trip, Mr. Zhong first threw out two important questions to the students: first: what plastic products are in life? Second: Where do these plastic products go?

The thoughtful students soon discovered the problem - the mineral water bottles, candy wrappers, disposable lunch boxes and so on we use every day are made of plastic, and these plastic products will be thrown into the trash after use, and even thrown away on the side of the road, in the river and in the sea. In particular, plastic pollution in the oceans is alarming.

If the earth is compared to a person's body, then the rivers, lakes and seas are like blood vessels flowing in the human body, and the blood vessels are polluted and blocked, and the harm brought is naturally dangerous and deadly.

It is urgent to protect the ecology and protect the ocean!

Second, the traditional governance idea has a long way to go and is extremely difficult.

More important than asking questions is: how do you solve the problem?

In response to how to tackle plastic pollution, the astute students thought of reducing the use of used plastic products and recycling them. However, although the wish is good, it is difficult to land - traditional plastic products have spread all aspects of our production and life, pervasive; Moreover, the recycling rate of plastic products is low, and the recycling cost is high. It's not an easy road.

Once again, the children were lost in deep thought......

Finally, some students proposed to replace plastic products with other materials. "If there's a material that can be discarded like ice cubes and then melt away quickly, it can replace plastic!"

3. What is a degradable "PHA"? Why does it solve the problem of plastic pollution?

The new material we need should melt away like ice cubes when it is discarded, but where can we find it? In 1925, a French scientist discovered a completely new substance for the first time in microorganisms, and named it PHA (polyhydroxyfatty acid lipids), which is characterized by complete degradation under various conditions such as soil, fresh water, seawater, and home compost!

It takes 200 years for a plastic straw to fully degrade in seawater, while a straw made with PHA only takes as little as 58 days to fully degrade. At the same time, PHA is completely from the living and into the living thing. After microorganisms use the starch produced by plants to produce PHA, after processing, use, and disposal, the degradation products are carbon dioxide and water, and can be used by plants for photosynthesis. It can be said that every link is interlocking and closely related!

At present, the use of biodegradable materials in the context of global plastic restrictions is the trend of effectively alleviating "marine pollution".

4. What is "microorganisms make all things"?

If microbes can produce such amazing products, what should they look like? Under the guidance of Mr. Tian, the students finally saw the true face of microorganisms under the microscope and carefully observed their structure and morphology.

The eye-opening children also learned that synthetic biology with "microorganisms making all things" is essentially to let cells produce the desired substances for human work, and this technology breaks through the limitations of natural evolution, with "artificial design and editing of the genome" as the core, and can design and build the basic components required from the engineering perspective for specific needs, which is the "third biotechnology revolution", and the application field is quite broad.

The good times always pass in a hurry, but they will always remain in the memory. In this study and research activity, the students not only understood the importance of protecting the marine environment in an all-round way, realized that the extraction of PHA substances from microorganisms is a way to alleviate white pollution, but also had a deeper understanding of the scientific meaning of "microorganisms make all things".

Zhuhai Maidefa Biotechnology Co., Ltd. is committed to building environmental research projects into a platform for children's education and practice. Just as one cloud gently pushes another cloud, one soul touches another, today we have planted a seed of environmental protection, tomorrow we will be able to harvest the whole garden, facing the sea, spring flowers.