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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Sofia Quaglia

Scientists use water fleas to filter pollutants out of wastewater

A common water flea (Daphnia pulex)
Members of the genus Daphnia are not actually fleas but a group of more than 450 species of tiny crustaceans that filter feed. Photograph: blickwinkel/Alamy

Tiny water fleas could play a big role in filtering out drugs, pesticides and industrial chemicals from wastewater to make it safe, according to scientists.

“We’ve developed our bioequivalent of a Dyson vacuum cleaner for wastewater, which is very, very exciting,” said study co-author Karl Dearn, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Birmingham.

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