Acinetobacter venetianus and Alcanivorax borkumensis are bacterial strains capable of degrading hydrocarbons from oils or natural gases. Plastics are often derived from fossil fuels like crude oil and natural gas, with similar chemical structures and formulas to oil. Both products are commonly disposed of improperly and collected in the natural environment with few means for effective removal. Since A. venetianus and A. borkumensis are known to consume hydrocarbons, the ability to consume microplastic Polyethylene (PE), a type of hydrocarbon, will be explored. The bacteria are expected to consume the microplastic fastest when concentrations are highest. The premise of this experiment was to see if bacteria could consume PE and while there was bacterial growth, PE consumption was not being measured directly. Both strains were given high, medium and low concentrations of PE as the sole nutrient source and growth was measured with optical density. In the second trial, A. borkumensis demonstrated a significant difference between samples with PE and control samples, whereas there was no difference in the other trial. In one trial, through the growth phase and after the stationary phase in all concentrations of PE, A. venetianus had a significantly higher OD600 compared to the control. It appears both strains may be capable of consuming microplastics, however continued research is needed to explore whether microplastics are truly consumed or simply broken down further.

Neurodegenerative diseases have debilitating consequences for the health and longevity of the nervous system. Parkinson’s disease (PD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders with a typical onset between ages 55 and 65 that results from dopamine depletion in the brain. This dopamine loss occurs in the substantia nigra compacta (SNc), which accordingly is the target for many dopamine regeneration techniques. Additionally, several studies have suggested that an accumulation of the large protein, α-synuclein, is responsible for the loss of dopamine in this region. However, the association between α-synuclein and dopamine remains an active area of research. While there is no cure for the disease, pharmacological and surgical treatments have been developed to alleviate PD’s motor and non-motor symptoms. Currently, successful outcomes in experimental models provide hope for the effectiveness of cell therapy in the regeneration of dopamine. However, further investigation is needed to determine its effectiveness in humans. This literature review will highlight current progress in the efforts to restore and prevent the loss of dopamine in the brain as an avenue to treat PD. Among these are dopamine replacement therapy (DRT), Gemfibrozil and carotid body (CB) transplantation.