Homely Scientist

This isn’t something that I thought I would come across on Zane’s blog, but anyway researchers up here in the Great White North (that would be Canada) have found that a little bacteria loves sugar maple sap and the “output” of that love are some cool bio-polymers:

Researchers in Canada have discovered that maple syrup may aid in the production of bioplastic. It turns out that a form of bacteria called alcaligenes latus has a sweet tooth, and behaves particularly ravenously when exposed to maple sap and syrup. Researchers found that the bacteria not only thrive when added to maple syrup, but also transform the sugars in the sap into a family of natural polymers that can be used to make plastic-like materials that are biodegradable – everything from “green” food packaging to drug-delivery films that dissolve harmlessly in the body.
Source: Using Maple Syrup To Make Bioplastics (TreeHugger)

So, no you’re not going to see LEGO made from maple syrup, but there could be lots of other things that you could see.  Man and as if maple syrup wasn’t expensive enough.  Oh well, if it helps to improve the planet.

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