SeedLabs MicroPET has been named to TIME's "200 Best Inventions of 2023."
The MicroPET is an open source biological platform that employs bacteria engineered to break down single-use PET-plastic monomers (commonly used in food packaging) into a molecule that can be upcycled into high-performance nylon.
The MicroPET began as a collaboration between the Media Lab's Space Exploration Initiative, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Weill Cornell Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and Seed Health. It was launched to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX CRS-26 on November 26th, 2022.