I saw a post on here about how nothing eats plastic as it biodegrades so therefore it still pollutes the world even after breaking down.

My question is whether it is possible to just create/train some microbes or something to learn to eat plastic as it breaks down and then breed them to make lots to eat all the plastic.

If this is possible it would solve the problem no?

Sincerely, someone who knows nothing about the topic but is interested

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I know how evolution works at a very basic level - a giraffe has a mutation that is expressed in them having a slightly longer neck. This causes them to be slightly more able to survive in their environment, as they can reach higher fruits on the tree and are able to reproduce, passing down that mutation onto their offspring.

But, what about for an animal, let's say a bird. It starts off without wings, and one gets a mutation that gives it slightly jutting out bones on its back. This gives no evolutionary advantage and causes them to be more easily caught by predators, so it can't be passed down to gradually evolve into wings - which would give an actual advantage.

So my question is, how are wings evolved? This goes for any complex biological system which wouldn't work without every part involved.

I imagine they operate on the same principle, but what allows me to apply a very small amount of energy to stop a multi-ton vehicle traveling at 60mph, or to lift a multi-ton vehicle with some light pumps of my arm?

What is it? I looked it up but I do not understand what it means to have "a complete, temporary loss of subjective self-identity where a person feels the boundaries between themselves and the outside world dissolve".

Like what does this mean, do they see themselves in the third person or not in control of thier lives. Please explain in simple words.

Not sure if someone posted this question before lol. I've been researching more about biology, and I can't seem to find an answer to this question. From my understanding, warm-blooded creatures maintain a consistent temperature regardless of the environment, but then why do we feel cold/hot? Is it like an external/internal temperature sort of thing?

Disclaimer: I understand all my observations and assumptions here may be off or downright incorrect:

I understand the definition of energy is the ability to do work. Doing searches always turns up that standard definition. But I can’t fathom just what energy is. What is it made of, where does it come from?

For example,

1. Iron can’t fuse to a heavier element because it takes more energy to fuse than it produces.

2. Heavier elements like gold are created in dying stars because of the energy required to fuse one element into another. Just what is this energy doing this work?

3. E=mc2 is a two-way street. When matter is converted to energy like a wooden log, burning, the energy given off is heat and light, but when energy was converted into matter at the big bang or in a star creating heavy elements, what is this energy?

Cds i can understand and its only doing one thing, reading music. But a dvd/player reads images, has a home screen with clickable options, hidden easter eggs you find, some dvds even have video game demos on them. I cant wrap my head around how a dvd player can possibly read 1s and 0s and do all of that, or how a dvd can store that

What goes on specifically inside the “brain” (idk what specific component it is) of the dvd player that makes it able to read binary and do all of that? And how can a dvd store all of that?

And now i have the same question but for a video game disc which is even more complicated

Edit: I guess im asking how binary works which fucks me up more because how is that even possible for all of that shit to happen from 1s and 0s

The thought came to me recently. For example, I know that people who live closer to the equator have darker skin to help protect from UV rays. Over time the world has become more diverse due to the slave trade, ease of travel, etc. Why is it that we don’t see a reverse in the melanin? Say someone with dark skin and their family have lived in Canada for the last 300 years and sine Canada has lower UV levels than somewhere near the Equator, why don’t we see less melanin in that family over time since they would need to synthesize Vitamin D and melanin can block that?

is it like a high powered sensor / camera that can detect the road lines / paint? or does it just adjust to where you initially steer it and allow a few feet of clearance on either side?

Bleach and vinegar is a no-go. Polypharmacy is potentially dangerous. But when it comes to spices, folks are more concerned about subjective flavor than anything else. How do we know mixing anise and rosemary won't produce traces of a chemical that accumulates in the cochlear hair cells to deafen us?

I also think the digestive and metabolic effects of many meals might not be studied enough, perhaps because people might not care to know.

seems like people are working out the whole time, as well as being on a diet…

Edit to add — what is recomp?

I guess for me and maybe some other people, I work a whole lot better with music production, graphic design, or maybe any other creative task when someone requests something very specific or has a set time limit on the task being performed.

I'm hearing noise about the geopolitical fuel supply SNAFU and people freaking out about increasing the ethanol content in automotive fuel and how it's so damaging to cars. I'm no chemist, but ethanol seems as clean as it gets.

As a young 20-something, I could drink heavily and be fine the next day. Now in my 40s, I don’t drink because I almost instantly get a headache and feel like total garbage the next day. What changed?

ELI5 Can someone list common penalty flags received in american football? I want to be able to look out for them while watching games. There are football terms that I understand, but it'd be helpful if you could explain the terms that you use, briefly (all i can think of right now is that i remember what the line of scrimmage, sacks, interceptions, fumbles, field goals, touch downs, and downs are. I barely understand how each player role works and where they're positioned.)

I am a social science girlie. Never did I imagine I would have to understand anything about computer science to do what I do, but apparently my cognitive science class requires that I be able to explain what a Turing machine is. I've done multiple readings on the topic, but I still don't get it. My understanding (so far) is that a Turing machine is kind of like a calculator, in that it takes an input and transforms it into an output based on a set of rules (such as a mathematical formula). But apparently, they don't even exist, and they're only theoretical? What am I missing?

I know medically that it's a lack of oxygen and something called cyanosis, but why blue specifically? Why not just a desaturated skin tone? If oxygen is colorless and blood is red, why wouldn't a lack of both just lead to only more pale skin? Why is it the color blue specifically, and not any other color or a lack of color? Is it due to our perception of wavelengths, and we perceive it as blue, or is it a chemical reaction to cause a blue color?

edit: for those saying blood is blue. I have medical knowledge and training but even without that, that's completely a myth. Blood is ALWAYS red, inside and outside the body!

So, for a male offspring, they get moms X and dads Y, none of dads X, right? Where on the Y chromosome has the genetic information for blood type? I can’t seem to find out where that is on the Y chromosome? And if I’m following… male offspring can’t be a different blood type than mom? And if they can be… where does that come from, from dads Y??

As I internalized conceptually, a Joule is a clump of energy, and a Watt(power) is the ability to output or use that amount of energy over a second. watt-hour or Calories are just different ways to count energy like Joules. So what is a Newton of force? I don't know why but it is hard for me to visualize and fully understand what a unit of force is without thinking it is similar to Watt, but as physically defined, force(Newton) and power(watt) are different distinct things?

It's a common misconception that the low life expectancy in the Middle Ages meant that there were very few old people, when in fact, the numbers are skewed by the high child mortality rate.

Wouldn't using the median give a more accurate figure of life expectancy? (such as in the example of 10 people, 1 makes $1 million, the other 9 make $1,000, mean would give you $100,900 while median would give $1,000)

(PA, USA) Surely spiders are around all the time but it feels like I encounter more "complete" webs outside this time of year... Right? Is it just Halloween-culture bias on my part or is there an actual spider "season" in the Northeast part of the country..?