There had been speculation that this did happen in
nature.
There is far too much fine gold in existence in just
that form when the processes considered did not seem appropriate in terms of
the actual distribution observed. There
still needs to be a geological source for the gold but liberating it uniquely
is clearly important as the other material is then largely left behind.
This may also explain why gold appears to be missing
in some mineral suites.
Jesus Diaz
SEXPAND
The gold you see in the
photo above was not found in a river or a mine. It was produced by a bacteria
that, according to researchers at Michigan State University, can survive in
extreme toxic environments and create 24-karat gold nuggets. Pure gold.
Maybe this critter can
save us all from the global economic crisis?
Of course not—but at
least it can make Kazem Kashefi—assistant professor of microbiology and molecular
genetics—and Adam Brown—associate professor of electronic art and intermedia—a
bit rich, if only for the show they have put together.
Kashefi and Brown are the
ones who have created this compact laboratory that uses the bacteria Cupriavidus metallidurans to
turn gold chlroride—a toxic chemical liquid you can find in nature—into 99.9%
pure gold.
Accoding to Kashefi, they
are doing "microbial alchemy" by "something that has no value
into a solid [in fact, it the toxic material they use does cost money. Less
than gold, but still plenty], precious metal that's valuable."
The bacteria is
incredibly resistant to this toxic element. In fact, it's 25 times stronger
than previously thought. The researchers' compact factory—which they
named The Great Work of the Metal
Lover—holds the bacteria as they feed it the gold chloride. In about a
week, the bacteria does its job, processing all
that junk into the precious metal—a process they believe happens regularly
in nature.
So yes, basically,
Cupriavidus metallidurans can eat toxins and poop out gold nuggets.
It seems that medieval
alchemists were looking for the Philosopher's Stone—the magic element that
could turn lead to gold—in the wrong place. It's not a mineral. It's a
bug.
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