Free Republic

PRESS RELEASE- Australian scientists have found that the bacterium Cupriavidus metallidurans catalyses the biomineralisation of gold by transforming toxic gold compounds to their metallic form using active cellular mechanism. > This is the first direct evidence that bacteria are actively involved in the cycling of rare and precious metals, such as gold. These results open the doors to the production of biosensors: “The discovery of an Au-specific operon means that we can now start to develop gold-specific biosensors, which will help mineral explorers to find new gold deposits. To achieve this we need to further characterize the gold-specific operon on...

Indian policeman stand gaurd outside of the Durgiana Temple in Amritsar. Indian police shot dead an Islamic militant suspected of links to a triple bombing that killed 23 people in Hinduism's holy city of Varanasi and sparked a nationwide alert.(AFP/Marinder Nanu)

It's Cold. It's far from any of the country’s so-called media or entertainment centers. Did we mention it's cold? So why on earth is Minnesota home of the nation's "funnest" city? The makers of the boardgame "Cranium" came up with the study, conducted with the help of Bert Sperling, creator of Money Magazine's "Best Places to Live" rankings. And the number one "funnest" city, according to their rankings, is Minneapolis-St. Paul, known as the "Twin Cities." Sperling said the reasons the Twin Cities area is the most fun are myriad: four professional sports teams; the largest shopping mall in the...