Guest guest Posted April 23, 2003 Report Share Posted April 23, 2003 http://www.asahi.com/english/politics/K2003042200354.html Biologists find use for Panda dung The Asahi Shimbun Question: What eats shoots and leaves, mates once in a blue moon and produces dung that can dissolve household garbage better than anything the experts have ever come up with? Answer: the humble panda. A research team at Kitasato University has discovered a strain of bacteria in panda droppings that can break down organic garbage more efficiently than any commercially produced garbage decomposer. Similar to that found in natto, the bacteria can even digest the more unpalatable items, such as wheat bran, which are generally recycled or added to animal feed. Led by professor emeritus Fumiaki Taguchi, the university microbiologists began researching panda dung when they received a bucketful from Ueno Zoo nearly five years ago. The team detected 270 kinds of microbes, which were divided into 40 categories, according to their ability to decompose fat, protein and sugar. The team singled out five strains able to survive 70-degree plus temperatures. After adding the selected bacteria to a commercial garbage decomposer, the researchers set it to work on 70 to 100 kilograms of vegetable waste and sat back to wait. Seventeen weeks later, only 3 kilograms of the original waste remained. The rest had broken down into water and carbon dioxide. By contrast, commercial products have around an 80 percent success rate.(IHT/Asahi: April 22,2003) The New Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo http://search. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.