Newly evolved "superworms"

[Scott Free]

Heavy Metal-Eating "Superworms" Unearthed in U.K.

Newly evolved "superworms" that feast on toxic waste could help cleanse polluted industrial land, a new study says.

These hardcore heavy metal fans, unearthed at disused mining sites in Britain and Wales, devour lead, zinc, arsenic, and copper.

The earthworms excrete a slightly different version of the metals, making them easier for plants to suck up. Harvesting the plants would leave cleaner soil behind.

"These worms seem to be able to tolerate incredibly high concentrations of heavy metals, and the metals seem to be driving their evolution," said lead researcher Mark Hodson of the University of Reading in England.

"If you took an earthworm from the back of your garden and put it in these soils, it would die," Hodson said.

DNA analysis of lead-tolerant worms living at Cwmystwyth, Wales, show they belong to a newly evolved species that has yet to be named, he said.

Two other superworms, including an arsenic-munching population from southwest England, are also likely new to science, Hodson said.

"It's a good bet they are also different species, but we haven't categorically proved that," he said.
The findings were announced in September at the British Association Festival of Science in Liverpool.

Source

Evolution in action :lol:

 

[Nuggler]

8O.........""Newly evolved "superworms" that feast on toxic waste""

_________

We already have them; called Conservatives.

go figure.

 

[hermanntrude]

Heavy Metal-Eating "Superworms" Unearthed in U.K.

Newly evolved "superworms" that feast on toxic waste could help cleanse polluted industrial land, a new study says.

These hardcore heavy metal fans, unearthed at disused mining sites in Britain and Wales, devour lead, zinc, arsenic, and copper.

The earthworms excrete a slightly different version of the metals, making them easier for plants to suck up. Harvesting the plants would leave cleaner soil behind.

"These worms seem to be able to tolerate incredibly high concentrations of heavy metals, and the metals seem to be driving their evolution," said lead researcher Mark Hodson of the University of Reading in England.

"If you took an earthworm from the back of your garden and put it in these soils, it would die," Hodson said.

DNA analysis of lead-tolerant worms living at Cwmystwyth, Wales, show they belong to a newly evolved species that has yet to be named, he said.

Two other superworms, including an arsenic-munching population from southwest England, are also likely new to science, Hodson said.

"It's a good bet they are also different species, but we haven't categorically proved that," he said.
The findings were announced in September at the British Association Festival of Science in Liverpool.

Source

Evolution in action :lol:

perhaps one will show up that eats polymers, too

 

[Scott Free]

perhaps one will show up that eats polymers, too

Possibly, I know there is one that poops it. But it isn't a product of evolution or at least not directly.

 

[MissAnnika]

let's hear it for evolution yay. at least something has learned to adapt in the industrial world

 

[Nuggler]

let's hear it for evolution yay. at least something has learned to adapt in the industrial world

Yepper, them and cockroaches. Let's hear it!!!:wav:

 

[Praxius]

See.... it's examples like this that makes me question the people who are continually trying to preserve the planet and it's species as they currently are.

They freak about all these species which are about to go extinct, or already have..... they cry and whine about pollution and humans screwing over what they think the world should be like.

But just about every single day that goes by, I see in the news more and more species being discovered, or species that have suddenly changes or show different characteristics.

It's supposed to happen..... the Saber Tooth Tiger, the Dodo, the Mamoth, the Panda, perhaps even us.... we're all not supposed to stay on the planet forever..... and if we are, then we're certainly not supposed to remain exactly as we are today....... in order to survive, one needs to adapt and evolve..... just as these worms have.

The Barrier Reef off of Australia's coast, just last week, they said in the news that they have discovered a crap load of different species of corals they have never seen before..... perhaps they have been around for a long time and nobody noticed them..... or perhaps they are adapting and changing.

You either adapt or you die. These worms have adapted. Polar Bears are adapting by heading more south into remote villages to feed on garbage and food we leave lying around, rather then swimming Km's around in the ocean trying to catch more agile seals.

that's the way she goes.

Humans are a part of nature, whether some want to believe it or not.... we are not seperate from the rest of the planet..... therefore everything we do, everything we create, including all our pollution and modifying of the planet's surface and air..... is all technically Natural and is a part of the earth's life cycle. Our pollution, materials and way of life has all been extracted and created from Earth's resources..... it is Earth's resources going into the waters and the air..... our own existences are created by the Earth's resources...... this is our life, this is our home, and these are the animals and other species which will be sharing it with us.

 

[Tonington]

Maybe people are missing this, but moving the toxins from the soil and into plants isn't actually getting rid of the pollutants. It's just moving them. The heavy metals still need to be dealt with. Constructed wetlands use cat tails to do this allready, and then the plants are harvested and transported to a toxic waste dump. True bioremediation through the use of specialized bacteria is already available. In Canada, we're not allowed to use these specially conditioned bacteria. We can use naturally occuring microbes, but they are terribly inefficient at converting toxins like those discussed here into viable forms of energy.

And Praxius, there is a huge difference between nature selecting a species for extinction, and our actions that lead to that selection. The difference being we know our actions can select organisms for extinction, and we know how to avoid it. We just don't, in most cases. You should be concerned about loss of biodiversity.