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SUFB 716: Squid Teeth Could Replace Microplastics
Imagine a world where your products are not made of microplastics, but some alternative compound derived from squid teeth. Crazy, right? Well, the idea may not be so far fetched.
Melik Demirel, director of Penn State's Center for Research on Advanced Fiber Technologies, has discovered a way to use the proteins from squid ring teeth (the serrated rings along squid tentacles) as a way to create an alternative to microplastics.
The proteins can be grown in a lab via E. coli; therefore, there is no need to harvest already dwindling species of squid to make the products at a larger scale.
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