Martin Luther University

Gum disease is a very common condition, and it's usually caused by bacteria. Although orally-administered antibiotics are typically used to treat severe cases, a new treatment could be much more effective – with fewer side effects.

If the goose that laid the golden egg had a real-life counterpart, it would be C. metallidurans. This bacterium consumes toxic metals and excretes tiny gold nuggets, but how and why has never been fully understood. Now researchers have peered inside the microorganism and figured out that mechanism.