'Pac-Man' enzyme breaks down bioplastics and penicillin in laboratory tests

In the ocean, plastic waste collects to form large garbage patches that endanger marine life. This is partly because the synthetic plastic polymers used today can only be broken down biologically—that is, by microorganisms—at a very slow rate. Instead, the physical fragmentation of these materials leads to the formation of microplastics and nanoplastics. However, microorganisms do colonize plastic waste in the environment, forming biofilms and creating a unique microbial habitat that researchers refer to as the "plastisphere."