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密歇根州立大学的研究人员发现了一种特殊的真菌，可以生存在极端的有毒环境下，并且可以制造黄金。 微生物学教授卡齐姆和亚当，他们创立了一个专门的实验室，使用这种叫做cupriavidus metallidurans的细菌，把有毒的黄金化合物液体氯化金中的黄金置换出来，变成99.9%的纯金。这种技术被称为“微生物炼金术”。
根据相应的配比，这次试验“微生物炼金”的转换的时间仅为一个星期左右。而且中间不会产生任何污染环境的气体和液体。
t was the alchemical quest that was midwife to the birth of modern science: how to transform common elements into precious gold.
Now researchers have found a bacterium that could fit the bill as a modern day philosophers' stone, by turning a toxic chemical compound found in nature into solid, 24-carat gold.
A team from Michigan State University discovered that the metal-tolerant bacteria Cupriavidus metallidurans can grow on massive concentrations of gold chloride, which is deadly to other creatures.
They found that the tiny bugs can transform the toxic substance to produce gold nuggets.
'Microbial alchemy is what we’re doing – transforming gold from something that has no value into a solid, precious metal that’s valuable,' said Kazem Kashefi, assistant professor of microbiology and molecular genetics.
He and Adam Brown, associate professor of electronic art and intermedia, found that Cupriavidus metallidurans can grow on massive concentrations of gold chloride – a toxic chemical compound found in nature that is often known as liquid gold.
In fact, the professors discovered, the bacteria are at least 25 times stronger than previously reported among scientists.
The pair made their findings with a novel art installation dubbed The Great Work of the Metal Lover, which uses a combination of biotechnology, art and alchemy to turn liquid gold into 24-carat gold.
The artwork contains a portable laboratory made of 24-carat gold-plated hardware, a glass bioreactor containing the bacteria, a combination that produces gold in front of an audience.
Professors Brown and Kashefi fed the bacteria unprecedented amounts of gold chloride, mimicking the process they believe happens in nature. In about a week, the bacteria metabolised the toxins and produced a gold nugget.
The Great Work of the Metal Lover uses a living system as a vehicle for artistic exploration, Professor Brown said.
The artwork also includes a series of images made with a scanning electron microscope. Using ancient gold illumination techniques, Professor Brown applied 24-carat gold leaf to regions of the prints where a bacterial gold deposit was identified so each print contains some of the gold produced in the bioreactor.
'This is neo-alchemy. Every part, every detail of the project is a cross between modern microbiology and alchemy,' he said. 'Science tries to explain the phenomenological world. As an artist, I’m trying to create a phenomenon. Art has the ability to push scientific inquiry.'
It would be cost prohibitive to reproduce their experiment on a larger scale, he said. But the researchers’ success in creating gold raises questions about greed, economy and environmental impact, focusing on the ethics related to science and the engineering of nature.
The Great Work of the Metal Lover was selected for exhibition and received an honorable mention at the world-renowned cyber art competition, Prix Ars Electronica, in Austria, where it’s on display until October 7.
Prix Ars Electronica is one of the most important awards for creativity and pioneering spirit in the field of digital and hybrid media.
'Art has the ability to probe and question the impact of science in the world, and The Great Work of the Metal Lover speaks directly to the scientific preoccupation while trying to shape and bend biology to our will within the postbiological age,' Professor Brown said.
