Scientists have found a tiny microbe that lives in the most dangerous and toxic places on Earth, and it creates real gold! The microbe is called Cupriavidus metallidurans, and it survives in soil that is full of heavy metals like copper and gold, where most life cannot survive.

This strange little organism does something amazing: “It eats them up and excretes tiny nuggets of 24-karat gold.” In simple words, the microbe takes in toxic gold and copper, breaks them down inside its body, and then pushes out real, solid gold from its surface.

The scientists from Australia and Germany studied this microbe closely. They found out how it uses its natural defence system to protect itself from poisonous metals. “It triggers a chemical that results in solid gold forming on its surface. Thus, turning what should kill it into pure, shining metal.”

This microbe is like a natural gold factory. “Like the gem of an alchemist of nature, a gold factory in its physiological form.” It has special abilities in its genes that allow it to live in toxic environments. When it comes in contact with deadly gold ions, it produces enzymes called CopA and CupA. These enzymes are part of a system that removes metal from inside the cell. “These enzymes help pump and neutralise the toxic compound by reducing them to their inert form.” The gold is changed into harmless particles and pushed outside the cell as gold dust.

So, what can we do with this discovery?

“The gold-conjuring ability of the Cupriavidus metallidurans could inspire a revolutionary leap in biomimetic mining.” This means scientists could copy the way this microbe works and build machines or grow similar microbes that can extract gold from e-waste, old mines, or low-quality ores. This will be safer and better for the environment than traditional gold mining, which uses harmful chemicals and a lot of energy. “Where microscopic organisms literally convert waste into wealth in a sustainable manner.”

This tiny gold-making microbe could lead to a big change in how we find and make gold in the future.

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