http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2001802658_superbug28.html The Seattle Times Friday, November 28, 2003
Coming attraction: a bug that'll devour toxic waste By Robert S. Boyd Knight Ridder Newspapers WASHINGTON - Scientists are working to perfect a "superbug" that they think can help clean up toxic wastes at thousands of radioactive nuclear sites around the world. The mighty microbe - nicknamed "Conan the Bacterium" - combines the genes of two bacteria to perform a job neither could do on its own. The composite creature "can live quite happily in an environment with 1 million times the radiation a human cell could tolerate," Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said at a news conference this month. Conan works because the radiation-resistant bacterium (Deinococcus radiodurans) shelters the twosome from lethal rays, while its partner (Pseudomonas putida) uses its native ability to render poisons in soil or water harmless. "Our scientists have shown that it is possible to combine Conan's radiation-resistance properties with the capabilities of other microbes," Abraham said. "We are ready to turn it to our own uses." The Energy Department estimates there are about 3,000 sites contaminated with 40 million cubic yards of toxic wastes - many of them radioactive - left over from the Cold War. "Some of these waste sites are really hot - they're cookin'!" said Michael Daly, a biologist at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md. Daly and genome-wizard Craig Venter, founder of The Institute for Genomic Research in Rockville, Md., determined the complete sequence of the Deinococcus genome in 1999. Daly continues to work on practical applications of the modified microbe in his laboratory. One application under development might help cancer patients resist the unpleasant side effects of radiation therapy. "It's very exciting," Daly said. "There are more things to come that I can't talk about yet." Conan can break down the chemical structure of toluene - an ingredient in explosives such as TNT that contaminate many Energy Department waste sites - leaving only carbon dioxide and water. "You can't get less toxic than that," Daly said. Copyright © 2003 The Seattle Times Company ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark Printer at MyInks.com. Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada. http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511 http://us.click.yahoo.com/mOAaAA/3exGAA/qnsNAA/FGYolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://archive.nnytech.net/index.php?list=biofuel Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
