Microscope reveals how bacteria breathe toxic metals

Researchers are studying some common soil bacteria that “inhale” toxic metals and “exhale” them in a non-toxic form.

The bacteria might one day be used to clean up toxic chemicals left over from nuclear weapons production decades ago.

Using a unique combination of microscopes, researchers at Ohio State University and their colleagues were able to glimpse how the Shewanella oneidensis bacterium breaks down metal to chemically extract oxygen.

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