Scientists sequenced the complete genetic code of a soil bacterium called Bacillus licheniformis strain KNU11. This bacterium produces powerful enzymes and can break down pollutants, making it useful for cleaning up environmental contamination and promoting plant growth. The genetic blueprint revealed over 4,000 genes that enable these beneficial capabilities.
This research demonstrates how specially designed metal-organic framework materials can effectively remove toxic heavy metals like mercury, lead, and cadmium from water. The most effective material, cobalt-based HHTP, can capture these metals through both chemical reactions and physical binding, making it highly efficient. The researchers also successfully coated these materials onto fabrics, creating wearable water filters that can simultaneously purify water and detect contamination levels.
Scientists discovered a bacterium called Bacillus cereus BC4 that can remove dangerous chromium from contaminated soil very effectively. By sequencing the bacteria’s genes, they found specific proteins that help it break down and transport chromium, converting the toxic form into a less harmful version. This research could help clean up polluted soils and restore damaged ecosystems, offering a natural and sustainable approach to environmental cleanup.
Microalgae can help clean water polluted with toxic heavy metals like cadmium and chromium while also producing useful biomass. The review explains how microalgae absorb and trap heavy metals, and describes ways to make them more effective, including adding certain chemicals, selecting resilient strains, and using genetic modification. Combining heavy metal removal with biomass production could make the process cost-effective for real-world applications.
Heavy metal pollution from industrial activities poses serious health risks including cancer, kidney damage, and neurological problems. This review explores how cellulose-based hydrogels—soft, water-absorbing materials made from natural plant sources—can effectively remove toxic metals from contaminated water. These hydrogels are cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and can be reused multiple times, making them promising alternatives to conventional water treatment methods for industrial and municipal applications.
Aerogels are ultra-light, ultra-porous materials made mostly of air that can effectively remove toxic pollutants from contaminated water. These materials can absorb heavy metals, oil spills, dyes, and pesticides from water, offering a promising solution to global water contamination problems. Scientists are developing new types of aerogels using sustainable methods to make them more practical and affordable for large-scale water treatment applications in communities worldwide.
Microbes like bacteria and fungi can break down pollutants and transform harmful waste into useful products through biological processes called bioremediation. By employing these naturally occurring or genetically modified microorganisms, we can clean up contaminated soil and water while producing valuable products like proteins and biofuels. This approach offers an environmentally friendly and economically sustainable solution to waste management that reduces pollution while creating a circular bioeconomy.
This research examined microorganisms living in abandoned gold and copper mines in the Czech Republic to understand how they survive in toxic, metal-rich environments. Scientists identified bacteria and fungi that can tolerate high concentrations of heavy metals and other contaminants. These microorganisms could potentially be used to clean up polluted mine water naturally, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional treatment methods.
Fungi can help solve several problems in fish farming. They can make plant-based fish feed more nutritious and easier to digest, boost fish immune systems and disease resistance without antibiotics, help fish feed float better in water, and clean up polluted water from fish farms. This makes aquaculture more sustainable and environmentally friendly while reducing costs for farmers.
Heavy metals from industrial activities, mining, and vehicle emissions contaminate agricultural soils and pose health risks to humans through the food chain. This review summarizes different methods to clean contaminated soils, ranging from physical removal to using plants and microorganisms to absorb metals. The most promising approaches combine multiple techniques and use biological methods like planting metal-accumulating plants, which are cheaper and less damaging to soil ecology than traditional chemical or thermal treatments.