Researchers investigate remarkable approach to desalination

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"Researchers at Rice University in Houston, Texas, for example, are computationally investigating ways to rewire one of desalination's most useful tools: Bacteria.

"Bacteria as an environmental cleaning agent is based on the microorganisms' ability to sense its environment, consume pollutants, break them down and excrete different, less-harmful substances than the original contaminant. But bacteria's response mechanisms can do many other things such as provide scientifically discrete information, diagnose levels of toxins in food and water, detect poisonous chemicals, report dangerous compounds in the human body and more.

"That's why Jose Onuchic and Herbert Levine, co-directors of Rice's Center for Theoretical Biological Physics are working to treat bacteria like computers with the intention of reprograming them to perform specific activities."

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More at
http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=132168&WT.mc_id=USNSF_51&WT.mc_ev=click