Bacteria may be a key in containing radioactive contamination and other environmental pollutants. A naturally occurring bacteria found in soil called Geobacter has been known to be useful in contaminated soil cleanup, but the process by which it prevents the spread of pollutants has not been known until the work of Gemma Reguera and her team of researchers at Michigan State University identified how the the bacteria concentrates contaminants.

The bacteria have nanowire structures called pili, which are like fine hair on the exterior of the bacterial cells. In a toxic waste site contaminated with uranium, these nanowires essentially become electroplated by the uranium. This process contains it and renders it insoluble, so that it cannot be dissolved and taken up by groundwater.

“This tiny microorganism can play a major role in cleaning up polluted sites around the world,” Reguera says. “Uranium contamination can occur at any step in the cycle of production of nuclear fuel – from mining, processing and enrichment to accidental spills from the nuclear plant. Contamination can spread fast and stay in the environment for many, many years. However, you can stimulate the natural Geobacter community of the soil and groundwater, or feed the improved strains in the environment. The bacteria will oxidize and precipitate the uranium.”

The pili also serve to protect the bacteria from the uranium, which is toxic, by keeping it outside the cell. The researchers are now working to develop strains of Geobacter with increased pili production to make it more effective for this type of remediation work.

via: MSU News

Last year, we heard that New York City was considering a huge bike sharing program and now it's becoming a reality. New details have been released about the program and it's just as big as had been hoped. There will be about 600 stations with 10,000 bikes and the program could be up and running by next summer.

The stations will be widespread, covering the Upper East and West sides all the way down to the tip of Manhattan and then across the East River into Brooklyn as far as Greenpoint and Crown Heights.

The city has chosen Alta Bike Share to install and operate the system. Alta operates bike share programs in Washington, D.C., Boston and Portland, but the New York system will dwarf those systems by a few thousand bikes, making it the largest in the country. Above is a video featuring the Capital Bikeshare program in D.C.

The program will allow for 24-hour, multi-day or annual subscriptions as well as shorter rentals charged by the half-hour. Monthly subscriptions will be cheaper than a monthly MetroCard.

Bike share programs have had varying degrees of success around the world, but we hope that this ambitious system in a city that loves alternative forms of transportation will catch on quickly.

via New York Observer