{
  "id": 374941,
  "title": "Scientists discover bacteria that lock toxic uranium into a stable form",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/09/scientists-discover-bacteria-that-lock-toxic-uranium-into-a-stable",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-08-09T11:30:17.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "ScienceDaily",
    "slug": "sciencedaily",
    "url": "https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/08/260807035149.htm"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "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.",
  "summary": "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.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}