Genetically modified plants grow plastic

Plants have been used for centuries as medicines - now genetically modified plants can produce plastic, skin tissue agents and human blood proteins.

Biotechnologists have created genetically modified (GM) plants that can grow plastic. They managed this by inserting 4 genes from a plastic-producing bacteria into varieties of oilseed rape (Eurasian plant) and cress. Conventional plastics are made from oil and do not degrade easily, but the plant plastic is biodegradable. But it is expensive. Petroleum-derived plastic cost about $1 per kg (2,2 lb) but plant plastic would cost $5 per kg (2,2 lb).

Money doesn't grow on trees but one day, perhaps, credit cards will!

The word plastic comes from the Greek plastikos, meaning "to form" or "to shape."

Genetic engineering
Actually, man has been "genetically modifying" everything from food to dogs for many centuries, but in the past the only tool has been selective breeding. There are a variety of ways that scientists now modify plants and animals with genetic engineering techniques (see How Stuff Works).

The book that tells you how to be Making More Plants

History of credit cards

Nobody knows who invented spectacles