A few weeks ago, we talked about a designer super-enzyme (FAST-PETase) capable of chemically unzipping solid plastic in a matter of hours. In a controlled, heated industrial recycling vat, this technology is revolutionary.

But out in the…

In our last article, we programmed standard E. coli bacteria to act as living sensors, glowing when they detect unseen toxins. But what happens when the environment we need to clean is actively trying to kill the cleanup crew?

Many of our worst environmental disasters—like highly acidic mine drainage (such as…

The Concept: Before we can clean up a massive environmental disaster—like an underground plume of arsenic or a groundwater aquifer contaminated with heavy metals—we have to know exactly where the pollution is.

Historically, this has been a slow, expensive process. Environmental engineers have to drill dozens of test wells, pull physical water samples, ship them to a laboratory, and wait days or weeks for…