How to clean up the mercury in the environment is a major issue for the Department of Energy. Moreover, bioaccumulation of methylmercury is of global concern. Researchers at the Spallation Neutron Source and the Environmental Sciences Division are studying the internal dynamics of a remarkable family of bacteria that eats its way into mercury in nature, transforming it into less toxic forms, without itself being killed in the process. They use the Neutron Spin Echo instrument at SNS to look at the special dynamics inside a protein regulator on the bacteria that allows the bacteria to detect mercury. This regulator initiates the production of the molecular defense machinery that enables it to break down the contaminant.
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