Researchers discovered that a cyanobacterium called Synechococcus sp., when grown in diluted municipal wastewater, can effectively clean polluted water by removing 95% of ammonia while simultaneously producing valuable biomass. This dual-purpose approach offers a sustainable solution for wastewater treatment in the Peruvian Amazon, where conventional treatment infrastructure is limited but sunlight and warm temperatures are abundant. The organism produces useful compounds like phycocyanin, which has applications in food coloring, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals, turning a pollution problem into a resource opportunity.