Plastic Eating Fungi

<p>Some fungi eat plastic. Could this be a solution to plastic waste?  While plastic-eating fungi offer a compelling approach to plastic pollution, there is more to the story.  On today’s show, we are addressing a long awaited topic on the interaction between fungi and plastic materials. From mycoremediation and degradation, microplastics, polymer science and ecological observations.</p><p>We welcome not just one, but four PhD students from Bayreuth University’s Research Center for Microplastics. Among them are:<br/><br/><a href='https://www.sfb-mikroplastik.uni-bayreuth.de/de/beteiligte-wissenschaftler_innen/Doktorand_innen/Yuanhu-Zhang/index.php'>Yuanhu Zhang</a>,  who has a background in Polymer Science and Engineering and is currently at the department of Macromolecular Chemistry at the University of Bayreuth.</p><p><a href='https://www.bayceer.uni-bayreuth.de/toek1/en/mitarbeiter/mit/mitarbeiter_detail.php?id_obj=145601'>Julia Möller</a>, from the Department of Animal Ecology (Supervisor Prof. Christian Laforsch), University of Bayreuth. Julia has a background in environmental engineering and microplastics. <br/><br/><a href='https://www.sfb-mikroplastik.uni-bayreuth.de/de/beteiligte-wissenschaftler_innen/Doktorand_innen/Stephan-Rohrbach/index.php'>Stephan Rohrbach</a>, an environmental microbiologist at the Leibniz University Hanover and is currently working on his PhD within the CRC 1357 Microplastic.</p><p><a href='https://www.sfb-mikroplastik.uni-bayreuth.de/de/beteiligte-wissenschaftler_innen/Doktorand_innen/Makis-Gkoutselis/index.php'>Gerasismos Gkoutselis</a>, a molecular ecologist  currently pursuing his PhD at the Chair of the renowned mycologist Professor Dr Gerhard Rambold. Gerasismos is at the Department of Mycology at Bayreuth. <br/><em><br/></em>Join us and this dream team to get up to speed with how fungi and plastic interact in the environment.<br/><b><br/>Topics Covered:</b></p><ul><li>History of plastics and microplastic</li><li>Defining bioplastics and alternatives to plastic materials</li