Super Bacteria Create Gold

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Posted by Soulskill on Tuesday October 2, 2012 @10:52AM from the thar-be-gold-in-them-bacteriums dept.

SchrodingerZ writes "With the price of gold skyrocketing in today's market, Michigan State University researchers have discovered a bacterium that can withstand high toxicity levels that are necessary to create natural gold. '"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.' The bacteria is Cupriavidus metallidurans, which is conditioned to be tolerant to heavy, toxic metals and to be 25 times stronger than most bacteria. When put into gold-chloride (a natural forming toxic liquid), the bacteria reproduces and converts the liquid into a gold nugget. The complete process takes about a week to perform. This experiment is currently on tour as an art exhibit called 'The Great Work of the Metal Lover.'"

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throw out the dictionary, you aren't using it. by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-02 10:54 · Score: 5, Informative

This bacteria refines gold compounds.
1. Re:throw out the dictionary, you aren't using it. by ClickOnThis · 2012-10-02 11:40 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Derp. create [kree-eyt] Show IPA verb, created, creating, adjective verb (used with object) 1. to cause to come into being, as something unique that would not naturally evolve or that is not made by ordinary processes. Does gold chloride naturally precipitate into gold?
  The bacterium does not make the gold. It separates it from the gold chloride molecule.
  The only things in the universe that create gold atoms are supernovae. On earth, nuclear transmutation is possible in principle (via particle accelerators, tokamaks, etc.) but I don't think anyone has set up a process to make gold successfully that way.
  
  --
  If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
2. Re:throw out the dictionary, you aren't using it. by Formalin · 2012-10-02 11:47 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  You can turn one of the isotopes of mercury to gold in a reactor, but it is not cost effective, and presumably has some issues (I'd imagine if the mercury was not all the pure isotope, you would get other radioactive products...)
  The bacteria doesn't make gold. correct.
3. Re:throw out the dictionary, you aren't using it. by rubycodez · 2012-10-02 13:22 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  gold from lead was done in the 1950s with particle accelerators, and interestingly the reverse is easier, gold to lead in a fission reactor done by a series of neutron captures followed by beta decays to form the pretty dull grey metal from the ugly shiny yellow one.
Misleading headline by DoofusOfDeath · 2012-10-02 10:59 · Score: 5, Informative

They're not creating the element gold from another element, they're extracting it from a compound.
1. Re:Misleading headline by ceoyoyo · 2012-10-02 11:23 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Gold Chloride is not naturally occurring and expensive to make. If you managed to get hold of some gold chloride and decided for some reason you wanted the gold metal out of it, you could mix it with hydrogen peroxide or pretty much any reducing agent and get gold without having to wait a week. Or you could just heat it up on an ordinary stove (but don't breathe in).
  This is performance art, nothing more.
2. Re:Misleading headline by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-02 12:38 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Gold Chloride is not naturally occurring and expensive to make. If you managed to get hold of some gold chloride and decided for some reason you wanted the gold metal out of it, you could mix it with hydrogen peroxide or pretty much any reducing agent and get gold without having to wait a week. Or you could just heat it up on an ordinary stove (but don't breathe in).
  This is performance art, nothing more.
  You are missing the point. Gold Chloride does form naturally. It is in ocean water at levels between 15-75 ppt. Are you going to boil all of the ocean water to extract the gold? Have you heard of bioremediation?
Re:OOGA BOOG by Sardak · 2012-10-02 11:19 · Score: 5, Informative

Interestingly, bacteria is the plural form of bacterium, so there's nothing really wrong in the sense you imply. I'm more concerned with the fact that they're apparently not actually creating gold.
Not really practical by ortholattice · 2012-10-02 11:20 · Score: 5, Informative

Gold chloride isn't exactly of "no value" - it is more expensive than the gold it contains (about $100 per gram of gold content). And bacteria aren't needed; from the wiki article it appears that simply temperature-cycling it betwen >160C and >420C a few times will remove the chlorine and leave pure gold. In short, the purpose of this project is artistic and/or political, possibly biologically interesting, but not necessarily of practical value.