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CNN 10
Researchers Say They May Have Discovered A New Planet; Famous Mountain Continues An Ongoing Streak; Company Hopes To Use Seaweed To Replace Plastic. Aired 4-4:10a ET
Aired October 29, 2021 - 04:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: You`ve made it to Friday. Awesome. Welcome to CNN 10. My name is Carl Azuz. Happy to be wrapping up the week and month with
you. Today`s show starts with science and what might be the discovery of a new planet. Since 1999, NASA has had a telescope in orbit called the
Chandra Spacecraft.
They put it 10`s of thousands of miles above our heads because it`s an x- ray telescope. This technology enables it to observe really hot parts of the universe like exploded stars. But because Earth`s atmosphere naturally
absorbs x-rays, scientists needed to place the $3 billion telescope into space. The Chandra Telescope recently helped them detect something in
another galaxy. Signs of a planet transiting a star.
This doesn`t mean scientists actually saw the planet, or that the telescope actually photographed it. It means that something caused the light from the
star to dim a little bit, and that something could be a planet passing between the star and the telescope. Astronomers have seen this before.
They`ve detected thousands of exoplanets orbiting stars outside of our own sun, but this one would be in a galaxy far, far away known as the World
Pool Galaxy. It would take 28 million years for light to travel from here to there, and if what they`ve noticed is indeed a planet. It would be the
first one ever detected outside of our own Milky Way Galaxy. You keep hearing me say words like detected, might and could.
That`s because scientists don`t know for sure if they`ve identified an extragalactic exoplanet. They believe that if they have, it won`t transit
or cross in front of its star again for another 70 years.
That means it could take decades before they`re able to confirm their theory, if they happen to be looking for this at just the right time. So a
lot of uncertainty about the discovery, but researchers plan to keep tabs on it and keep looking for signs of other planets in other galaxies.
10 Second Trivia. Which of these mountains is also known as Mongibello? Vesuvius, Denali, Kilimanjaro or Etna. Mongibello is the Sicilian name for
Mt. Etna which is located on the island of Sicily.
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AZUZ: One of the many side effects of the COVID pandemic is that it dramatically raised the demand for plastic. Masks, gloves, food containers,
packaging for goods shipped around the world, calls for all this stuff skyrocketed, and while plastic can be recycled. It became much cheaper last
year to buy new plastic than the recycled kind.
More than 80 percent cheaper according to an analysis sited by the Reuters News Agency. Plastic is inexpensive, it`s durable and tons of it winds up
in landfills where it sits without decomposing for a very long time. There are alternatives being developed, like you`re about to see, but they don`t
always work as intended.
The original plan for an alternative packaging called Ooho was to replace water bottles. But a technology news site BGR reports, the small liquid
pods didn`t hold nearly as much fluid as bottles. They`re not as durable as containers you could throw into a gym bag and they don`t last as long on a
store shelf, for instance, to compete with plastics that can sit for months. But the company that makes Ooho is finding other ways to move
forward with its mission.
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PIERRE PASLIER, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO OF NOTPLA: The problem with plastic is that its indestructible. It`s a material that will stay around for hundreds
of years. So it`s really, really performance but we use it for the wrong reasons. We use it in places where we throw away something after just five
minutes of use, and that`s really this problem we`re trying to solve.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: According to the UN, every year, 300 million tons of plastic waste is generated. Half of that plastic is designed to be used
only once. That`s why Pierre Paslier set out to find a material that eliminates our reliance on plastic for single use packaging, taking his
inspiration from nature.
PASLIER: We chose seaweed because it has a lot of sustainable credentials. First of all, it grows very fast. Some of the seaweed that we`ve tried in
the lab grows up to one meter per day. It doesn`t use freshwater or fertilizer to grow. It just grows on its own in the sea without human
intervention, and on top of that, when it grows it sequesters carbon. So it really is something that has a lot more potential in helping us getting out
of this problem than a lot of other dynamics.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: NOTPLA has used this (inaudible) material to produce its flagship product, Ooho. The packaging, made out of seaweed, can hold
drinks and sauces and is able to biodegrade in a matter of weeks.
PASLIER: It`s really in line with these fruits and vegetables. So NOTPLA packaging can break down in a home compressed (ph) extremely fast, just
like an apple or just like an orange.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The entire bubble can even be swallowed whole. Manufacturing begins NOTPLA`s East London warehouse, where chemists mix
different seaweed and plant extracts to create a solution. This solution is used to create a thin membrane, which has properties suitable for
packaging. Ready to be filled with anything from ketchup to cocktails. The concept works for any liquid.
PASLIER: We partnered for the London Marathon with Lucas Aid (ph). They were using plastic bottles and caps and they were really keen to reduce the
amount of waste that is created at the event. And actually, at the end of the event, it was brilliant that the trucks that clean the streets and
usually have to stop at each station to pick up all of the plastic, they just drove by our station. There was nothing to pick up. So it was really
incredible, the feeling that we had (inaudible) hydration without the plastic.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And beyond liquids, NOTPLA is looking to revolutionize the take-out food industry, with British delivery companies
JustEatTakeAway.com seeking to replace the plastic that typically lines food delivery boxes with seaweed.
ROBIN CLARK, SENIOR DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS: What we wanted to find was not just a card box, because that would leak and so what the guys as
NOTPLA have done so cleverly is add a lining to that card that gives the heat-proof, waterproof, greaseproof properties of plastic. But disappears
in the ground in a couple of weeks.
PASLIER: Nature has all of the solutions. We just have to continue getting our inspiration from it. We can plant different trees, different
vegetables. This is what the future looks like. We need to use more of other natural materials and I think through this diversity we can really
solve this problem, and I`m really hopeful that we will.
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AZUZ: Rolling pumpkins, smashing pumpkins, sledding on pumpkins, 10 out of 10. This is how some students at an Ohio high school celebrate the
Halloween season. It`s a tradition dating back to the 1960s`. They have a whole mess of pumpkins dumped on a steep hill.
They smash some of said pumpkins on said steep hill, and then they slide down the slimy pumpkins inards on sleds, boxes, plastic pools, whatever
they can find really. Money is raised in advance to pay for the clean-up and any police tickets that might be issued.
It`s impossible for "pumpkin rolls" to "stem" from what`s discreet. When you`re having a "gourd" time and "sliming up and down" the street. You
could eat some seeds or bake some bread, but where`s the fun in that. When you can "bust some pumpkin heads" and "sled" is part of a master "plant."
It`s "vine" time. A "slick schtick" of fruit they`ll never want to drop. And you "pumpcan" easily see they "glee" they "leave" in the "creme of the
crop." All right. Pumpkin puns. They`ll "grow" on you.
I`m Carl Azuz. Before we leave today, we want to make a stop in Four Oaks, North Carolina to shout out the students of South Johnston High School. We
hope you and everyone else watching has a wonderful weekend.
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