Strides in Alchemy

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Strides in Alchemy

Postby The Madame X » Thu Oct 18, 2012 11:13 am

Bacteria eat toxic liquid and excrete pure gold for art
By Ian Steadman

Full article at: http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/201 ... -into-gold

Alchemy in the traditional sense might be impossible, but it is possible to turn some boring and relatively worthless materials into valuable gold if you feed it to the right kind of bacteria.

That's according to two researchers (microbiologist Kazem Kashefi and electronic artist Adam Brown from Michigan State University), who discovered that a particular bacteria -- Cupriavidus metallidurans -- can feed on gold(III) chloride, a particularly nasty and toxic liquid, and effectively excrete pure 24-carat gold into nuggets. It's believed that the bacteria plays a vital role in creating the gold nuggets that are found in nature, with the two researchers finding it's approximately 25 times more resilient than other bacteria at surviving the task. So, of course, they've turned their research into a piece of art.

"The Great Work of the Metal Lover" features a "bioreactor" where a colony of the bacteria are fed a huge amount of gold(III) chloride, far more than would ever be found in nature. As the audience watches, over the course of a week, a gold nugget is slowly laid down. There are also pictures taken with an electron microscope which detail, up close, some of the bacteria's handiwork.

The Michigan State University release points out that this process is far too expensive to be used on a large scale to manufacture gold, but it does constitute a working, portable laboratory for making gold -- what Brown calls "neo-alchemy". So, if you're wanting to impress your friends, maybe invest in some microbes and corrosive, toxic liquid.

The piece is currently on display at the Prix Ars Electronica in Linz, Austria, until 7 October.
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Re: Strides in Alchemy

Postby Von_Spookiness » Fri Oct 19, 2012 3:40 pm

hahaha
This is awesome...
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