Common Fern Might Be Useful in Cleaning Up Arsenic Pollution

A common fern known as the brake fern or Pteris vittata has been found to soak up extraordinary amounts of arsenic without any ill effects, potentially offering a natural way of cleaning up polluted soil and water. It is the first plant known to accumulate arsenic in extremely high concentrations--as much as 8,000 parts per million--and still flourish, researchers from the University of Florida report in today’s Nature.

The fern could potentially be cultivated in water and act as a natural arsenic filter. And its arsenic-loving genes could potentially be spliced into other plants, researchers said.

--Compiled by Times medical writer Thomas H. Maugh II