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From: davison@bnl44.UUCP (Dan Davison)
Newsgroups: net.bio
Subject: Re: Rumor about "germs" used for gold mining.
Message-ID: <1024@bnl44.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 10-Nov-85 23:29:04 EST
Article-I.D.: bnl44.1024
Posted: Sun Nov 10 23:29:04 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 15-Nov-85 06:47:40 EST
References: <168@octopus.UUCP>
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> A friend of mine was trying to explain to me about a new "germ" someone
> has developed thru genetic engineering that is now being applied to gold
> mining.   

An article in a recent Scientific American (last 2-3 years) specifically dis-
cussed using bacteria in mining.  You've got the idea right; they exchange
ions (and in the case discussed in the article) get iron ( I think) out of
what would be otherwise useless ore.  Sorry I can't be more specific:
any library should have the index.

dan davison Dept of Biochemical Sciences, Univ. of Houston