A workforce of scientists at Sichuan University in Southwest China created a small fish robot that may “eat” microplastics out of the water.

The fish-shaped, plastic-hoovering bots are gentle to the contact and are solely about 1.3 centimeters lengthy, Reuters reports. The materials was impressed by nacre, also referred to as mother-of-pearl. Nacre is discovered inside some shells and will be versatile and sturdy, so the researchers wished to make an identical materials for the fish’s physique, the Guardian reports. Their creation is propelled by mild and may take up free-floating plastic particles.

But what occurs if the fishbot will get swallowed up by a actual fish? According to the researchers, the little bot is made out of a biocompatible polyurethane that wouldn’t hurt wildlife. Details of the analysis are published in the journal Nano Letters.

This experimental resolution is on the quirkier aspect and doesn’t sound very sensible on a mass scale, however we’re badly in want of how to cut back the plastic clogging our waters (and seemingly all the pieces else). Scientists even discovered plastic in individuals’s blood for the primary time this yr. The full influence of all this plastic on people and wildlife isn’t completely clear, however a 2020 report from the Endocrine Society and the International Pollutants Elimination Network described over 140 chemical substances generally present in plastics as a serious international well being risk.

An much more efficient resolution: Corporations have to cease producing and utilizing a lot plastic, hardly any of which will get recycled. Even so-called bioplastics are majorly problematic. These little fishbots are cute and inventive, however they received’t remedy this disaster.

More: The Lie Behind Plastic Pollution Is That We’re Responsible