Usually, when you mention bacteria in connection with water,
it’s a bad thing. But one Texas A&M engineering researcher believes the
right bacteria are a natural weapon for fighting an emerging water contaminant:
estrogen.
Increasingly sensitive methods of screening water for
polluting substances allow environmental scientists to monitor traces of
previously undetected contaminants in otherwise clean water: trace amounts of
pharmaceutical and personal care products ranging from antibiotics to
anesthetics and, especially, estrogens.