BBC LEARNING ENGLISH
6 Minute English
?Can jellyfish help us solve our problems
This is not a word-for-word transcript
Neil
Hello This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English I’m Neil
Georgina
And I’m Georgina
Neil
Of all the weird and wonderful creatures living under the sea, perhaps the
strangest are jellyfish – those rubbery, cone-shaped creatures found floating in
the water, their long tentacles trailing behind
Georgina
Some jellyfish species have a bad reputation for scaring away tourists, clogging
up fishing nets, and even blocking power station pipes
Neil
But with more and more plastic rubbish ending up in the sea, these days you’re as
likely to swim into a plastic bag as a jellyfish Now scientific research is
discovering that these rubbery sea creatures might provide an answer - a sticky
solution to the problem of plastic pollution
Georgina
In this programme, we’ll be learning how jellyfish mucus could provide the
answer to plastic waste in the seas And of course we’ll be learning some related
vocabulary along the way
Neil
But first it’s time for my quiz question Georgina, you mentioned jellyfish scaring
away beach goers with their sting, but what is the best way to treat jellyfish
stings? Is it
?a) with ice,
b) with salt?, or,
?c) with vinegar
Georgina
Well, Neil, I have been stung by a jellyfish before and I think the best way to treat
them is, c) with vinegar
Neil
OK, Georgina, we’ll find out later if that’s right Now, as I mentioned, in recent
years tiny pieces of plastic called microplastic have been a significant problem
for the world’s seas and oceans They’ve been found all over the world – in Arctic
ice, at the bottom of the sea and even inside animals, including humans
Georgina
Slovenian scientist, Dr Ana Rotter, heads Go Jelly, a European research team of
jellyfish ecologists looking into the problem Here she is speaking to BBC World
Service programme, People Fixing the World
Dr Ana Rotter
Microplastics, plastics in general, are being an increasing problem – they’re
everywhere When I was a little girl we were more environmentally friendly, not
knowing… so we never used plastic bags to go shopping, we always went with a
cloth bags, we never used plastic to put our vegetable in it, single-use spoons, or
forks, knives… this is for me something unheard-of when I was a little girl
Neil
Dr Rotter says when she was a child, people were more environmentally friendly
- not harmful to the environment or having the least possible impact on it
Georgina
At that time, there were very few single-use plastics – plastic items, like spoons
and forks, designed to be used just once, then thrown away
Neil
Single-use plastic bags, for example, were unheard-of - surprising or shocking
because they were not previously known about or commonly used
Georgina
The situation since then has changed dramatically In fact, there’s been such an
increase in microplastics that today the UN lists plastic pollution as one of the
?world’s top environmental threats But how do jellyfish fit into the story
Neil
Well, it’s the ‘jelly’ part of jellyfish, and specifically their sticky, jelly-like mucus
that is key Here’s Dr Rotter again, explaining more to BBC World Service
programme, People Fixing the World
Dr Ana Rotter
The mucus – this is a like a viscous substance that is being excreted from a
jellyfish, might have they are called absorptive properties… so it means that the
particles - various particles can attach to this mucus… so, could we use jellyfish
?and their mucus as a magnet for the microplastic particles
Georgina
Jellyfish produce a thick, sticky liquid called mucus Dr Rotter has discovered
that this mucus has strong absorptive properties – it can absorb, take in liquids
and other substances and hold them in
Neil
One of the substances jellyfish mucus absorbs are the particles that make up
microplastics By trapping these tiny pieces of floating plastic, the mucus acts
like a magnet – an object that attracts certain materials, like metal, or in this
case, microplastic waste
Georgina
As rising sea temperatures and overfishing of their natural predators have
boosted jellyfish numbers, this novel way of using their mucus couldn’t have
come at a better time
Neil
Dr Rotter’s research is still in the early stages, but it’s hoped that jellyfish mucus
could hold the key to a future free of microplastic polluted oceans
Georgina
Which is a big prize for the cost of few jellyfish stings Speaking of which, Neil,
?what was the correct answer to your quiz question
Neil
Right, I asked you the best way to treat jellyfish stings What did you say,
?Georgina
Georgina
I said it’s c) with vinegar
Neil
Which is… the right answer Well done Vinegar inactivates the sting’s venom, so
remember to pack a bottle of vinegar the next time you head to the beach
Georgina
In this programme, we’ve been hearing how scientists are using jellyfish mucus -
a thick, sticky liquid produced in their bodies, to break down microplastics in the
sea
Neil
Our addiction to single-use plastics – plastic items which are used only once,
then thrown away, and which often get washed out to sea, has created a situation
which is definitely not environmentally friendly – that means having minimal
impact on the environment
Georgina
Until quite recently, the problems of micropollution and single-use plastic were
unheard-of - surprising or shocking because of not having been previously
known about
Neil
Scientists are hoping that the mucus’s absorptive qualities – it’s ability to absorb
liquids and other substances and hold them, will allow it to trap particles of
plastic floating in the sea, making jellyfish mucus a magnet for pollution – an
object that attracts certain materials - usually metals but in this case,
microplastic waste
Georgina
That’s all for this programme, but to hear more about how these amazing sea
creatures could help clean our oceans, why not check out People Fixing the World
from the BBC World Service?
Neil
And to hear more interesting items on trending topics, why not join us again
soon here at 6 Minute English? Bye for now
Georgina
Bye
VOCABULARY
environmentally friendly
not harmful to the environment, or having the least possible impact on it
single-use (plastics)
plastic products made to be used just once, only to be thrown away afterwards
unheard-of
something that is surprising or shocking because it have not previously known
about
mucus
thick, sticky liquid produced in certain parts of the body
absorptive
able to absorb, or take in, liquid and other substances through a surface and hold
them
magnet
objects that attracts certain metal objects or more generally, which attracts
another materialَ
