Bioremediation in Biological News

Patience pays off with methanol for uranium bioremediation

... The uranium is transported through ground water as uranyl (U6+). In one bioremediation strategy, uranium immobilization in contaminated ground water and sediment ... has investigated effectiveness of several electron donors for uranium bioremediation in a study funded by the Department of Energy's Environmental Remediation ...

University of Oklahoma researcher named 2008 AAAS Fellow

... to environmental remediation." GeoChip was successfully tested in a bioremediation field study where it was used to monitor a microbial community as it reduced uranium levels in contaminated groundwater. bioremediation is only one of the many possible applications of GeoChip. It has been ...

Bacteria and nanofilters -- the future of clean water technology

... over time, as the membranes become fouled with contaminants. By using bioremediation the membranes can be cleaned within the closed system, without removing ... of liquids has never been done before at this scale. By using bioremediation and nanofiltration technology combined, the water cleaning process is ...

Scientists track chemical changes in cells as they endure extreme conditions

... that reduce sulfate, plays a critical role in many important geochemical processes such as element and nutrient cycling in soils. It also assists in bioremediation and may someday be used to aid energy production and carbon sequestration efforts. D. vulgaris also intrigues scientists because it is an obligate ...

Plant microbe shares features with drug-resistant pathogen

... shown promise. These include: stimulating plant growth and protecting plants against pathogens; the breakdown of natural and man-made pollutants via bioremediation and phytoremediation; and the production of useful biomolecules such as drugs or industrial enzymes. Based on the results of this study, van der ...

Genes that make bacteria make up their minds

... the University of Dundee explained that it is important to understand how biofilms form as they are often the basis of chronic infections and also of bioremediation processes. More detailed information on how bacteria develop into biofilms will allow scientists to work on alternative strategies to treat biofilm ...

Duckweed genome sequencing has global implications

... biofuel production has intensified. The search for new biomass species has revealed the potential of duckweed species in this regard as well as for bioremediation and environmental carbon capture. ...

Earthworm detectives provide genetic clues for dealing with soil pollution

... the response of an ecologically important organism to contaminants, and opens up the possibility of new and more effective soil monitoring and bioremediation strategies. Dr Kille concluded "The ubiquitous nature of the earthworm makes it an accepted part of our everyday world. People don't ask ...

Between water and rock -- a new science

... and interaction of contaminants are different than what was once predicted. Even noninvasive clean-up is problematic, the review reports. bioremediation of soluble uranium by microorganisms, such as metal-reducing bacteria, is of high interest. But a field study showed a large fraction of unreduced ...

'Hidden-hero' microbes in soil, water may help naturally clean toxic sites

... will be testing a natural method called bioremediation -- the stimulation of naturally occurring ... of potentially deadly radioactive metal. If bioremediation proves successful on the uranium, technetium, ... levels drop when using natural methods such as bioremediation and artificial techniques such as chemical ...

ORNL leading effort to help harness power of Shewanella

... of data being generated about a microbe adept at bioremediation will be more efficiently organized and shared ... for metal contaminants reduction and other bioremediation applications, and develop a system that makes the ... This effort could have a dramatic impact on the bioremediation mission involving approximately 2 trillion ...

Study uncovers bacteria's worst enemy

... a recent Laboratory study may help make bacterial bioremediation a more widespread method for cleaning up sites ... suggests that actinide toxicity will not impede bioremediation using naturally occurring bacteria. "This ... even though we've known for years that bacterial bioremediation can be a preferred method for cleaning up ...

In nature, proteins sweep up nanoparticles

... remains a mystery, but it suggests that proteins could play a key role in bioremediation strategies designed to trap harmful metals such as arsenic, lead, uranium, ... their tracks, as this process does, could become a critical component of a bioremediation strategy, if only scientists understand how it works. To explore this ...

DOE JGI finishes 100th microbial genome

... has been studying to evaluate its potential for bioremediation and as an alternative energy source," said Dr. ... anaerobic, and low-temperature conditions. bioremediation Burkholderia species. Jim Tiedje, Michigan ... nutrient cycles of aquatic sediments and in the bioremediation of organic and metal contaminants in groundwater. ...

Solution to Pollution: New Bacteria Eats Toxic Waste

... sites, but these microbes will provide a natural solution, said Sims. bioremediation cleans up the environment by allowing living organisms to degrade or ... amounts of sediment in the Netherlands, and doing this naturally through bioremediation is the most cost-effective way to treat the contaminated sediments.?/p> ...

Researchers demonstrate way to control tree height

... also appeared to be very strong, which might provide increased stress tolerance and have value where extensive root development is needed, such as in bioremediation of polluted soils or in very windy, limited soil moisture situations. From an environmental viewpoint, the researchers said, dwarfed trees such ...

Researchers develop way to calculate speed of bacterial sex

... is a double-edged sword for the environment. While the genetic exchange among bacteria can lead to positive environmental outcomes, such as improved bioremediation qualities, bacterial adaptation can also create potentially harmful bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics and increase gene flow from ...

Sequencing of the oyster mushroom genome

... a model for studying the CO 2 cycle ?carbon dioxide being one of the principal gases of the greenhouse effect ?and holds great potential for use in bioremediation –biodegradation of contaminants ? reasons why, together with other crops such as the yucca or cotton, it has been chosen for genome sequencing by the ...

Particle size matters to bacteria ability to immobilize heavy metals

... various scientists led by a PNNL team in looking at the fundamental mechanisms of metal reduction by Shewanella and its application in environmental bioremediation of contaminated DOE sites. "It will help build a whole picture of Shewanella ?how it reacts with metal oxides and how the rate of this interaction is ...

Researchers Discover That Microbes Can Produce Miniature Electrical Wires

... and extended by other microbiologists and biophysicists. Geobacter are the subject of intense investigation because they are useful agents in the bioremediation of groundwater contaminated with pollutants such as toxic and radioactive metals or petroleum. They also have the ability to convert human and animal ...

Tiny particles could solve billion-dollar problem

... microorganisms that break the TCE down into less toxic or non-toxic constituents. In general, chemical catalysis offers faster reactions times than bioremediation schemes but also tends to be more expensive. One of the major advantages of using palladium catalysts to break down TCE is that palladium converts ...