News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Scientists identify microbe that could help degrade polyu... by imtringued on Friday March 27, 2020 @12:29PM (#22704297)
Bacteria fail to eat our organic wooden houses.
Re:Scientists identify microbe that could help degrade polyu... by sgc on Friday March 27, 2020 @12:55PM (#22704539)
Sure they do, it's a major repair bill for many people. If we wind up with critical infrastructure that was previously stable randomly rotting, it will likely disrupt our current uptime rates, require expensive preventative measures and repairs, and in the end limit access to services due to the added costs. The dangers of hidden rot to electrical lines in buildings is one of the scariest possibilities.
Re:Scientists identify microbe that could help degrade polyu... by tryptophan on Friday March 27, 2020 @01:09PM (#22704665)
Thats because the wood is treated with lots of chemicals. We would need to start treating plastics with these chemicals, creating potentially toxic plastics, which is not a good thing because it is very hard to test chemicals for toxicity and much of our food is stored in plastics.
Re:Scientists identify microbe that could help degrade polyu... by xyzzyz on Friday March 27, 2020 @01:16PM (#22704753)
Most of the wood used in house construction is not treated with anything. Only the stuff that touches soil, foundations, or is exposed to elements is. Unless you use real wood siding, that’ll be less than 5% of all lumber used. It doesnt decay, because it’s kept dry, and microorganisms arent very good at decomposing dry wood.
Re:Scientists identify microbe that could help degrade polyu... by MaxBarraclough on Friday March 27, 2020 @12:35PM (#22704349)
What's your point? We're talking about a hypothetical.