Comparing bioremediation with other treatment techniques, at three levels of complexity

An overview of bioremediation, which can help clean up oil spills, mining waste, and some plastics

The umbrella term refers to a variety of techniques that use organisms to remove harmful substances from an environment or break them down into nontoxic compounds. Because the availability of certain resources can limit the growth of these organisms and impair bioremediation efforts, nutrients such as fertilizers can be deployed to accelerate cleanup.

View a breakdown of bioremediation strategies, divided into onsite and offsite options

Depending on the contamination's complexity, in situ—onsite—options may be preferred and can include supplying oxygen or nutrients into the existing soil to accelerate the microbial breakdown already present in the environment. Ex-situ methods instead displace contamination for treatment away from the environment and may be used for volatile chemicals that require isolation, though this displacement can also spread contaminants if spilled.

The risks of bioremediation, from intermediate products to ecological disruption

A step in the series of complex biochemical reactions involved in the implemented bioremediation process may produce dangerous molecules—sometimes more toxic than the initial pollutants—that require ongoing monitoring to ensure optimal conditions for processing these intermediates toward the eventual, safe outputs. Introducing non-native nutrients or species, including GMOs, may alter existing food webs and gene pools.

Learn about historical uses of bioremediation, the oldest cleanup method on Earth

Biochemical reactions that decompose complex molecules into simpler ones have occurred on Earth for as long as life has existed and have gradually transformed the planet into a celestial body that is increasingly habitable to greater biodiversity. Along the way, modern, human-made bioremediation techniques began to take shape in Santa Maria, California, in the 1960s.

Learn how environmental conditions are optimized to increase bioremediation efficacy

Through biostimulation, Indigenous microbes are provided with moisture, nutrients, or oxygen to prevent their death and ensure optimal progression of their biochemical reactions. Bioaugmentation can introduce new microbial cultures to target specific compounds not natively found in the environment, while landfarming can spread or aerate contaminated soil to improve access to contaminants.

Analyzing brownfield cleanup to explain why bioremediation aligns with environmental justice

This designation applies to sites contaminated by industrial or commercial activity and that are either underutilized or abandoned. Common in economically disadvantaged communities of color, brownfields pose risks to human health and can be costly to restore. Bioremediation can be a more affordable solution that creates in-demand employment pathways in environmental science, regenerative agriculture, and ecological restoration for community members.

Why bacterial bioremediation may help counter the negative effects of past chemical solutions

Molecules such as DDT, a synthetic insecticide, and PFAS—"forever" chemicals used to make products resistant to heat, water, and grease—have historically been used across various industries but are now known to be harmful. Microbes that can convert some of these substances into nontoxic products, such as water and carbon dioxide, have already been identified, with ongoing research to find others.

How the US Department of Energy facilitated bioremediation with emulsified soybean oil

At sites where soil and groundwater were identified as contaminated with volatile organic compounds, scientists and engineers at the Office of Legacy Management used microbes to safely clean them up without more invasive methods, such as pump-and-treat. Treatment zones created at one location by injecting oil to help microbes spread quickly.

The adaptations of metallophiles and how they can be harnessed for bioremediation

These extremophiles have adapted to biomes with very high concentrations of metals and toxic chemicals by developing mechanisms to isolate these substances within cellular compartments and break them down into less harmful forms with specialized proteins. They have the potential to support the decontamination of metal-rich wastewater and soil, as well as the extraction of rare-earth metals.

Why the bioremediation of plastic and other synthetic materials is challenging

Ideonella sakaiensis, a bacterium found in recycling plant sludge in 2016, was the first organism seen to possess enzymes that could break down PET, a type of plastic. Researchers continue to search for microbes to expand bioremediation efforts to other types of plastic, but weakening the chemical bonds in many of these materials requires temperatures lethal to most microbes.

Examining the potential of the emerging field of insect-based bioremediation

Also known as entomoremediation, the novel approach uses larvae and adult insects, including their gut microbiomes and associated enzymes, to extract or degrade pollutants. As of 2025, research has shown that black soldier flies can degrade a wide range of antibiotics, highlighting their potential for bioremediating antibiotic-contaminated organic waste.

Watch students comically portray how plants can detoxify the environment

Through a series of processes that collectively make up phytoremediation, plants can take up pollutants from soil and water through their roots, then break them down, release them as less harmful gases, or store them within their cells. Any plants that sequester heavy metals or other toxins must be removed and managed after the environment is decontaminated.

Most biodegradable plastics don’t break down in everyday conditions

Despite their eco-friendly name, biodegradable plastics often require industrial composting, which most areas lack, to decompose the uncommon compounds found in them. This means they may linger in landfills or contaminate conventional plastics in recycling bins.

Modern landfills use layered liners, leachate systems, and gas monitors to safely contain waste

Today, landfill engineering is far more complex than a hole in the ground, which was largely the system cities used less than a century ago. This video explains how it actually works.

Greenhouse gas removal consists of a series of techniques to capture and store GHGs

These include turning biomass into charcoal for storage in soil before it decays and releases carbon dioxide, crushing CO₂-absorbing rocks—increasing exposed surface area—and spreading them across land to accelerate GHG uptake, and restoring degraded peatlands, which can store twice the amount of carbon as the average forest.

The use of fungi to detoxify land and water—a process known as mycoremediation—has been used to clean up natural resources affected by the 2025 California wildfires.

The most effective method of managing invasive species is prevention education

Controlling a spread after a species has become established in an area is much more costly and time-consuming than early detection and rapid response. Control methods include the purposeful introduction of predators, the use of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides, and physical collection and removal.

Explaining deep-sea mining, including its economic benefits and potential biomedical risks

Extraction via machines sweeping the ocean floor would reduce child labor and human rights violations currently occurring in land-based operations that collect the minerals needed for modern-day electronics. However, these sweeps may kill undiscovered organisms that possess biologies from which antibiotics could be derived and destabilize deep-sea ecosystems.

A basement of mechanical systems—collectively called the technosphere—supports B2

Twenty-six underground air handlers heat, cool, filter and manage the humidity of the air across the biomes of Biosphere 2. The above-ground Energy Center complex provides continuous power to these and other systems, including heating and cooling water for laboratory experiments and personal use.

How the environmental diversity of coral reefs provides potential medical treatments for humans

As immobile animals, corals and the organisms that live on them have evolved a suite of chemical compounds to prevent disease and ward off predators they cannot outrun. These include antibiotics, antivirals, and powerful toxins that target the nervous system and are studied for applications involving pain management and neurological treatments.

Research studies can be conducted inside or outside of living samples

While "in vitro" experiments occur outside living organisms for cost-effectiveness, "in vivo" experiments take place inside them, providing real-life insights at a higher cost and with increased ethical concerns. Alternatively, "in silico" methods use computational simulations.

Commercializing space debris removal may follow the commercialization of launches

Active debris removal is likely to focus on larger derelict objects, which are more easily identified and yield better financial returns. One actively researched possibility involves using netting to capture derelict objects before towing them into a controlled descent into an ocean.

Bioluminescence produces new light while biofluorescence re-emits absorbed light

A chemical reaction between luciferin and oxygen—catalyzed by luciferase—produces light within bioluminescent organisms. Biofluorescence, on the other hand, involves special proteins that absorb light of one wavelength and re-emit the light at a different, typically longer, wavelength.

Cremations are America's top choice for postmortem body treatment

Though this process is the most popular one, more Americans are becoming interested in "green" burials that don't involve slowly degrading coffin materials, toxic embalming fluids or emissions from crematoria.

Watch how deep-sea mining equipment collects and processes polymetallic nodules—metal-rich, potato-shaped rocks—from the ocean floor and creates environmentally damaging plumes of sediments.

Desalination involves costly, energy-intensive methods for producing freshwater

Thermal desalination heats saltwater to produce steam, and reverse osmosis forces saltwater through a membrane that only allows water through. In both cases, freshwater is collected and remineralized for consumption, while wastewater brine is often returned to the ocean, where it may harm marine organisms.

Visualizing the built world compared to the natural world

In the last century, humans have covered the Earth in 1,300 metric gigatons of built material, known as technomass. That amount is more than the Earth's entire biomass at 1,100 GT, which includes all living organisms. To get a sense of the scale of this comparison, click through this striking, simple visualization showcasing the various organisms comprising biomass as well as the materials making up the technomass.

Artificial coral reefs have been 3D printed from nontoxic, biodegradable terracotta clay, which coral polyps have used as a foundation for rebuilding marine ecosystems.

Visualize how CRISPR-Cas9—a type of immune system used by single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses—targets and makes precise changes to a gene's DNA.

Read a deep dive on the 'all-purpose healing' peptide BPC-157.

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

Some renewable energy sources may weaken the resiliency of electric grids by removing outage buffers provided by coal- and natural gas-fired plants, which provide the system with more time to find a new power source if a plant goes down.

Doctors differentiate between a phobia and fear by asking patients whether their fear interferes with their day-to-day activities.

Radioactive elements can introduce software errors because the ionizing radiation they produce can detach electrons from atoms, and computer code relies on the distribution of electrons.

Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain autoimmune conditions by tamping down the immune system's inflammatory response.

How fusion—which releases energy when two lighter atoms combine to form a heavier atom—differs from fission

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

Cultural norms about how to handle the bodies of loved ones in communities in West Africa have hampered Ebola responses.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' is infamous for having some of the highest industrial pollution, toxic air emissions, and cancer risks in the US.

Apollo astronauts left items in the moon's 'toss zone,' including golf balls, family photos, and bags of human waste, to make room for lunar rocks.

To reduce wrinkles in clothing, research recommends gentle wash cycles with more water and tumble drying with smaller loads and longer times.

Tattoos remain visible on your skin thanks to immune cells called macrophages

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

The boiling temperature of water decreases with increasing elevation because the molecules need less energy to overcome the lower atmospheric pressure associated with thinner air.

Use this tool to calculate the dollar value of your parental mental load, from meal planning to coordinating after-school care, then see resources that help generate solutions.

Some Pokémon have been named after real and fictional organisms, while some real-world species have been named after Pokémon, such as Chilicola charizard and Binburrum zapdos.

Budweiser stores yeast derived from the original 1800s strain in a secret bunker, which only the Head of Yeast Management can access—not even the CEO

A pickleball's loud 'pop' sound can reach 120 decibels, which is equivalent to a hammer hitting a nail