A scientific breakthrough could lead to the development of more efficient methods for purifying toxic pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxins. The research, which lasted about 15 years, details how certain organisms can reduce the toxicity of such pollutants.
[Translation by Dr. Nachmani Moshe]
A scientific breakthrough could lead to the development of more efficient methods for purifying toxic pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxins. The research, which lasted about 15 years, details how certain organisms can reduce the toxicity of such pollutants.
Scientists from the University of Manchester hope that a scientific breakthrough they have reached could lead to the development of more effective methods for purifying toxic pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxins. The research, which lasted about 15 years and was published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature, details how certain organisms can reduce the toxicity of such pollutants. The research team, from the Institute of Biotechnology at the University of Manchester, looked at how certain natural organisms can reduce the level of toxicity and shorten the lifespan of notorious pollutants.
Professor David Leys explains the research: "We already know that some of the most toxic pollutants contain halogen atoms and that most biological systems are simply unable to deal with molecules of this kind. At the same time, there are several organisms that are able to remove these halogen atoms with the help of vitamin B-12 (B12). Our research was able to identify that these organisms use this vitamin in a completely different way than we thought before."
The researcher explains: "The detail of the mechanism within which this innovative purification process operates means that we are now at the point where we can look for copies of it. We expect that eventually it will be possible to develop ways to combat some of the most significant toxins in the world more quickly and efficiently."
The research continued for over 15 years, with the greatest difficulty being to accumulate enough natural pollutant-purifying organisms for examination. The research team was eventually able to identify proteins important to this study by introducing changes to organisms that reproduce more rapidly. In the next step, they used X-ray crystallography to examine how the halogen atoms are removed.
The main motivation for this research was the desire to find new ways to combat the dozens of very harmful molecules emitted into the environment. Many of them come directly from pollutants or from burning waste in refineries and factories. As the concentration of these molecules increases over time, their presence in the air poses a growing threat to both the environment and humanity. A number of measures are already being taken to limit the production of some pollutants, for example - the use of polychlorinated biphenyls was banned in the USA already in the 70s and in 2001 in the rest of the world. "Beyond the fight against the toxicity and longevity of pollutants we are also confident that our results will be able to help develop better methods for monitoring the environment and food samples."
