-----Original Message-----
From: Stephen A. Lawrence
Anybody know what this means? :
"/"Shewanella/, of interest in environmental cleanup for its ability
to hasten the weathering of toxic metals into benign ones"
How do you "weather" a toxic metal (like, perhaps, lead, arsenic,
mercury...) into a "benign one" (as in a benign metal, like, aluminum,
copper, iron, ...?) ?
There's clearly something here that I'm not getting.
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Here's a similar article:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/07/13/gold.from.dust.ap/index.html
http://tinyurl.com/kwq92
Thar's gold in them thar microbes
Thursday, July 13, 2006; Posted: 11:32 p.m. EDT (03:32 GMT)
Gold nuggets: Bacteria may contribute to their formation.
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Researchers in Australia have uncovered
evidence that a tiny microbe may have the Midas touch of Greek legend,
capable of turning dust to gold.
Findings reported in the July 14 issue of the U.S.-based magazine
"Science" suggest a bacteria known as Ralstonia metallidurans may play
a key role in creating gold nuggets and grains.
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