Holy crap! Bacteria pooping gold discovered

Now this is one case where the phrase "Holy crap!" can be taken literally. Researchers at Michigan State University have discovered a bacterium that can not just survive toxic environments, it could also create 24-karat gold nuggets. “Microbial alchemy is what we’re doing – transforming gold from something that has no value into a solid, precious metal that’s valuable,” said Kazem Kashefi, assistant professor of microbiology and molecular genetics at the university. Kashefi and Adam Brown, associate professor of electronic art and inter media, discovered the metal-tolerant bacteria Cupriavidus metallidurans can grow on massive concentrations of gold chloride. Gold chloride, or liquid gold, is a toxic chemical compound found in nature. A separate article on Gizmodo put it this way: "So yes, basically, Cupriavidus metallidurans can eat toxins and poop out gold nuggets." A news release from the university quoted the researchers as saying the bacteria are at least 25 times stronger than previously reported among scientists. The researchers' art installation, “The Great Work of the Metal Lover,” uses a combination of biotechnology, art and alchemy to turn liquid gold into 24-karat gold. The artwork contains a portable laboratory made of 24-karat gold-plated hardware, a glass bio-reactor and the bacteria, a combination that produces gold in front of an audience. During the demo, Brown and Kashefi fed the bacteria huge amounts of gold chloride, mimicking the process they believe happens in nature. In about one week, the bacteria transformed the toxins into a gold nugget. The artwork consists of a series of images made with a scanning electron microscope. Brown used ancient gold illumination techniques to apply a 24-karat gold leaf to regions of the prints where a bacterial gold deposit had been identified, so each print contains some of the gold produced in the bio-reactor. “This is neo-alchemy. Every part, every detail of the project is a cross between modern microbiology and alchemy. Science tries to explain the phenomenological world. As an artist, I’m trying to create a phenomenon. Art has the ability to push scientific inquiry," Brown said. However, he said reproducing the experiment on a larger scale would be "cost prohibitive." “The Great Work of the Metal Lover” was selected for exhibition and received an honorable mention at the world-renowned cyber art competition, Prix Ars Electronica, in Austria. It is on display there until Oct. 7. Prix Ars Electronica is one of the most important awards for creativity and pioneering spirit in the field of digital and hybrid media, Brown said. “Art has the ability to probe and question the impact of science in the world, and ‘The Great Work of the Metal Lover’ speaks directly to the scientific preoccupation while trying to shape and bend biology to our will within the postbiological age,” Brown said. — LBG, GMA News