The Align Foundation is hosting a tournament to design better versions of PETase, an enzyme that breaks down Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), a type of plastic. Bijoy Desai, a program manager from the foundation, talked about the tournament and answered questions. There are two funding ...
The Align Foundation is holding a tournament this year (2025-26) to create an improved PETase. Improved PETases could help address problems in recycling PET plastics. PETase is an enzyme from that breaks down polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic. PET is often found in pop bottles and packaging. The source of PETase was Ideonella sakaiensis, a bacterium found near a Japanese recycling site for PET bottles ( Wikipedia). Students, faculty, startups, and scientists are welcome to participate, either as individuals or in teams. Registration is open until October 17th. You can download the flyer ...
