Mutant 59
by Kit Pedler · first published 1972
21mentions
4recommended by
17HN commenters
2009–2026first – last mentioned
24% recommend71% neutral6% critical
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Depolymerization was only an incidental side effect in The Andromeda Strain. I'd say Pedler & Davis's near-contemporary publication Mutant 59: The Plastic Eaters would be the seminal work in the field.
on “AI-engineered enzyme eats entire plastic containers” ↗Guess they haven't read some science fiction classics :) Mutant 59 The Plastic Eater Book by Gerry Davis and Kit Pedler
on “Scientists identify microbe that could help degrade polyurethane-based plastics” ↗Cue the obligatory book recommendation, which I myself got from HN: “Mutant 59: The Plastic Eater” by Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis, published in the 1970s. Explores the concept of a plastic-eating bacteria accidentally released in London, leading to a crisis as the bacteria starts…
on “Enzyme breaks down single use plastic PLA quickly” ↗Can't forget this classic work of speculative fiction either: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2368220.Mutant_59 In the Coburg Street control room of the London Underground system, there was a full emergency... In a dozen tunnels, trains ground down to a halt. Hordes of terrified commuters made their way anxiously…
on “Newly discovered bacteria can eat plastic bottles” ↗It’s already written: Mutant 59. Good read.
on “AI-engineered enzyme eats entire plastic containers” ↗Read the Mutant 59 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2368220.Mutant_59
on “Plastic-eating enzyme could eliminate billions of tons of landfill waste” ↗This is how "Mutant 59: The Plastic Eaters" http://www.amazon.com/Mutant-59-Plastic-Eaters-Kit-Pedler/dp... started, a researcher who wants to clean up oil spills and plastic trash has developed a microbe the eats plastic that…
on “Boy discovers microbe that eats plastic” ↗Also, another book from the same era, _Mutant 59: The Plastic Eaters_. Davis and Pedler. Pointed out the ubiquity of plastic with a grey goo scenario.
on “Yale Discovers a Fungus That Eats Plastic ” ↗This topic was rather fully explored in a 1971 book: Mutant 59: The plastic eaters by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kit_Pedler and Gerry Davis (both affiliated with Dr. Who) As a kid that book seemed captivating(scenes of disintegrating airplane, sewage exploding…
on “Yale Discovers a Fungus That Eats Plastic ” ↗It's good news, but reminded me at once Mutant 59: The Plastic Eaters (1971) by Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis, where a bacteria made to utilize plastic went wild and started destroying wire isolation everywhere, causing multiple crashes etc.
on “Scientists create artificial protein that can degrade microplastics in bottles” ↗Doing some looking around online, I think it was Mutant 59: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0670496626 There's not much info about it on the Amazon page nor Goodreads, but there's a good review of it here: https://astrofella.wordpress.com/2018/07/27/mutant-59-the-pl...
on “Widespread distribution of bacteria containing PETases across global oceans” ↗Mutant 59: The Plastic Eaters, a 1971 British sci-fi environmental disaster novel written by medical scientist Kit Pedler and television screenwriter Gerry Davis. No wikipedia page, but goodreads has it here:…
on “Engineered yeast for converting plastic and biomass compounds to food additives” ↗…beneficial until. . . a robot goes amok in a toy department, a lunar capsule falls into space, a computer-control experiment is fouled up, and all hell breaks loose in the underground tubes. Omniverous Mutant 59 (a bacteria) feeds on plastic and just think of those vulnerable possibilities -- eyeglasses, dentures, baggies, etc. -- while London detonates and incinerates in the volatile process.
on “Plastic-Eating Enzyme Could Eliminate Billions of Tons of Landfill Waste” ↗Sounds interesting, is it Mutant 59? If so, I will try find a copy. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2368220.Mutant_59
on “Bugs are evolving to eat plastic, study finds” ↗There's a fun trashy sci-fi novel I read years ago about how potentially devastating it would be if a plastic-eating microbe got loose: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2368220.Mutant_59 It reads like a summer disaster movie, entertaining but mostly forgettable. What was interesting about the book was as a thought experiment about the use of plastics in critical infrastructure and how…
on “Plastic-Eating Mushrooms (2021)” ↗