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View Full Version : Gold Mining Bacteria



JazzRemington
16th July 2006, 22:56
Anonymous 49'er writes "Nature is reporting that bacteria found in Australian gold mines are capable of extruding tiny invisible 'secondary grains' from soil and alluvial systems.

From the article: "Potential applications -- from sensing the bacteria as a way to look for gold mines, to using them to help make industrially useful particles of gold -- may be some way off. But Southam is keen to exploit the bacteria's natural trick. 'I want to make a gold nugget one day,' he says. 'Gold nuggets grow in nature, so why shouldn't I be able to make one?'"

http://science.slashdot.org/science/06/07/16/0614241.shtml

Janus
16th July 2006, 23:29
Yes, as humans we are very good at manipulating our environment and organisms to help us in our endeavors. We have used bacteria to help filter water systems, absorb poisons, etc. They are quite useful.