Leavings – The Poetry of Science

The old bones linger
ghost-threaded into sediment –
a seam of what won’t fade.
Scattered remnants
once bound in heat
now loosened into drift;
through silt-winds
they split,
reshape,
erode –
names worn to husks.
Somewhere in the dark
small hungers find them,
turn them over,
press them deeper –
a slow unspooling,
the air thick
with what
remains.

This poem is inspired by recent research into bacteria that can eat forever chemicals.

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.

This research explored whether a particular type of bacteria, Labrys portucalensis 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.