Bacteria from a Brazilian copper mine work a striking transformation on an essential metal

Scientists have discovered bacteria that can convert toxic copper ions into a more useful form of pure copper (see the paper).

Researchers will still have to figure out how to use the microbes to mass produce single-atom copper. Nonetheless, Rodrigues and her colleagues wrote, “This study opens a new field of research of environmental micro-organisms that potentially are able to synthesize other monoatomic metals for applications in science, technology, engineering and medicine.”