New Process Uses Microbes to Create Valuable Materials from Urine
Researchers from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), UC Irvine, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), have used biology to convert human urine into a valuable product. The team genetically modified yeast to take the elements present in urine and create hydroxyapatite – a calcium and phosphorus-based mineral naturally produced by humans and other animals to build bones and teeth. Commercially manufactured hydroxyapatite is used in surgery and dentistry to