Bacteria Makes Gold; Bacteria Turns Toxins Into Pure Gold

The quest for gold is never-ending and a strange new source of the metal may lead to a bonanza.

Modern science has discovered a means to create gold using bacteria, according to Gizmodo.

The bacteria are known as Cupriavidus metallidurans and its talent is turning natural toxic chemicals into pure gold as its waste.

In other words, the bacteria poop gold.

The process for the bacteria to make gold takes around a week in which small spheres of gold appear. The bacteria colony is fed naturally occurring dangerous compounds and is able to metabolize it into the precious metal, producing the gold chloride that is 99.9 percent pure. 

This defies all previous attempts made famous by alchemists in the Middle Ages to find the fabled "Philosopher's Stone," which was said to turn any base metal into gold.

This may be a dream come true for anyone hoping to get rich. However, the entire process is cost-prohibitive when working on a large scale.

Both the modern and historic quests for gold are being intermingled as an exhibit called "The Great Work of the Metal Lover" displays the bacteria as a part of an alchemical experiment. The exhibit was created by Kazem Kashefi, an assistant professor of microbiology and molecular genetics, and Adam Brown, an associate professor of electronic art and intermedia, both from the University of Michigan.

Gold has hit record prices all over the world. On Thursday, the market price for gold hit a new high for this year as it raised to $1,794 an ounce. 

For now the bacteria can't be put to work as a money maker, but it can be used as an exhibit of art created by modern science.