The discovery that a one-celled alga can detoxify deadly arsenic has been made by a team led by researchers now at Florida International University's brand new College of Medicine.
It means the rice fields of the future could be arsenic free and toxic sites could be cleansed.
The findings mark the first research feather in the cap of the new school at FIU's University Park campus, which is waiting to hear from the Florida Legislature if it will receive $11 million to open its doors in August.
Barry Rosen, the medical school's new associate dean for research, helped determine that the alga called Cyanidioschyzon thrives in high concentrations of arsenic and can even process the arsenic safely into a gas.
Read the complete story at miamiherald.com