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NewTech

Turkish girl invented BİO-PLASTİC from banana peels

What comes to mind before you discard your banana peel?
Certainly not the consideration of its use to reduce petroleum-
based pollution and create bio-plastic, yet this is exactly what
Elif Bilgin, 18, from Istanbul, Turkey, sought to achieve and
successfully accomplished.
Winner of the 2013 Science in Action award, Google’s third
$50,000 annual competition, she addressed the need for
environmentally friendly alternatives with practical resources
and easy-to-attain banana peels.
A motivated and compassionate scientist, Elif was driven to
find an alternative from petroleum produced plastics to
benefit the environment.

In her journal she mentions disappointment; 10 failed be used to replace some of the
that Thailand discards 200 tons experiments that created petroleum-based plastics in use
of banana peels per day, plastics not strong enough or today for such applications as
therefore the starch and too easily decayed did not slow insulation for electrical cables
cellulose so important for her down, however. Fueled by and for cosmetic prosthesis.
plastic production could be put past scientist’s determination, Hoping to attend medical
to much better use. From her she wrote “Even Thomas school someday, her future
research she discovered that Edison said ‘I have not failed. I holds many bright
potatoes and mango peels are have just found 10,000 ways achievements to be sure.
already commonly used, that won’t work”. Her Brilliant minds of a variety of
therefore in Koc High School, persistence resulted in triumph ages continue to discover
Turkey, she began with her last two trials, both alternative methods for
experimenting. creating plastics that had sustainable energy; the one
features she sought. question is, who will now apply
Her efficient method of using these practical findings?
banana peels was well
documented in her online
science entry and easily shows
how with little equipment,
certain plasticizer ingredients,
and starch from the banana
peels, it’s possible to create a
Over the period of four years, plastic that retains quality and
her trials using banana peels structure long-term. Elif hopes
many times ended with that the use of bio-plastic will

New technologies

During the 20th century technology has made gigantic progresses, starting from inventions, which nowadays may
seem ordinary like the cell phone, to more amazing inventions in the scientific world as well, so technology
development continues to amaze us especially in the field of medicine, but not only.

One of the most recent technological inventions in the scientific field is
the 3D pen, which can fix bones: it allows surgeons to "draw" layers of
cells on damaged bones. The stem cells are inserted during the operation
on the damaged bones and cartilage: so they increase and grow as
nerves, muscles and bones, going to heal the damaged section.

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