Scientists discover bacteria that lock toxic uranium into a stable form
Deep underground, bacteria may be capable of doing something remarkable: trapping toxic uranium before it spreads. When researchers fed microbes in uranium-contaminated mine water with glycerol, about 95% of the dissolved uranium disappeared within 130 days. The bacteria helped convert it into an unusually stable uranium compound that had rarely been observed before.
Researchers have discovered that certain bacteria can transform dissolved uranium in water into a stable chemical compound when provided with glycerol as a food source. This process effectively locks the toxic metal into a form that is less likely to move through the environment, potentially aiding in cleaning up uranium-contaminated areas.
The study, conducted by scientists from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), Wismut GmbH, and the University of Granada, published in Nature Communications, could pave the way for future research into using bacteria for environmental cleanup.
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