{"id":4112,"date":"2025-02-06T06:08:41","date_gmt":"2025-02-06T06:08:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thepoetryofscience.peachpuff-wolverine-566518.hostingersite.com\/?p=4112"},"modified":"2025-02-06T06:08:41","modified_gmt":"2025-02-06T06:08:41","slug":"leavings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/thepoetryofscience\/4112\/leavings\/","title":{"rendered":"Leavings"},"content":{"rendered":"

The old bones linger
\nghost-threaded into sediment \u2013
\na seam of what won\u2019t fade.
\nScattered remnants
\nonce bound in heat
\nnow loosened into drift;
\nthrough silt-winds
\nthey split,
\nreshape,
\nerode –
\nnames worn to husks.
\nSomewhere in the dark
\nsmall hungers find them,
\nturn them over,
\npress them deeper \u2013
\na slow unspooling,
\nthe air thick
\nwith what
\nremains.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
PFAS pollution along the shoreline of the Huron River in Michigan (Image Credit: MountainFae, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This poem is inspired by recent research<\/a> into bacteria that can eat forever chemicals.<\/p>\n

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of human-made chemicals used in everything from non-stick cookware to firefighting foams. Their widespread use has led to serious contamination of water, soil, and even human bodies, as these chemicals do not break down easily in the environment. Some PFAS, such as perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), are particularly concerning due to their persistence and potential health risks, including links to cancer and immune system effects. Conventional methods for removing PFAS from contaminated areas are costly and often ineffective, making it crucial to find alternative solutions that can safely break these chemicals down.<\/p>\n

This research explored whether a particular type of bacteria, Labrys portucalensis<\/em> F11, could help degrade three different PFAS compounds. The study found that this bacterium was able to break down PFOS and another PFAS, 5:3 FTCA, significantly over time, producing smaller, less fluorinated by-products. These findings suggest that bacteria could be used to clean up PFAS pollution in the environment, offering a potential biological solution to a problem that has so far proven difficult to manage.<\/p>\n