Humans Can Use Moss To Clean Lead Contaminated Water

[Swordsmyth]

A team of researchers reported that the cell walls in a moss species called Funaria hygrometrica absorb a significant portion of their weight in lead, a heavy and toxic element that can contaminate drinking water.
The plant is a common type of cord moss in North America and, according to the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, it has been noted for flourishing in places that have been contaminated by lead and other toxic metals like copper and zinc.

When the researchers tested the moss’ ability to absorb lead from water, they found that it had picked up almost three-quarters of its weight in the metal, according to the study, published in the journal PLOS One. The cell walls accounted for the majority of that absorption, about 85 percent.
The cell walls continued to absorb lead even when they were removed from the moss.
“This means that there is something special about the cell walls of this species of moss that allows them to thrive in environments that are toxic to other plants,” RIKEN said.
It turned out that something special was polygalacturonic acid, also known as pectic acid.
Although the moss absorbed lead the most out of the heavy metals tested, it also efficiently picked up tin, gold and platinum.

More at: http://www.ibtimes.com/humans-can-us...s-find-2643129

[Intoxiklown]

At first glance the article had my wife and I both shaking our heads as Pectic Acid and Pectin derivatives have been known to work as good ways to absorb lead, with Pectin (normally from apples but also found in most fruits) as a gel given to someone if they have lead poisoning. But then the wife made an important distinction that I did not realize....you can grow this exact compound with the discovery of this moss having the same cellular wall makeups and get more yield per area used than you ever could apple trees, and we're not having to use food anymore.

It's pretty interesting.