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Science
Owen Peter Missen, Geosciences Researcher, Museums Victoria, and Research Assistant in Geochemistry, Monash University

How metal-munching microbes help the rare, toxic element tellurium circulate in the environment

Tellurium pieces Jan Askeit / Wikimedia, CC BY-SA

New technologies often mean elements start moving through the environment in new ways. Take lead plumbing: it helped provide access to fresh water for the masses, but left a toxic legacy that remains to this day.

As we transition away from fossil fuels, we are turning to technologies reliant on rare elements that had few uses in the past. One of these is tellurium, an element found in an increasing number of solar panels.

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