GM bacteria may filter well water arsenic: scientists

"Bugs from Australian gold mines may be used to remove arsenic from well water in Bangladesh," said Dr Peter Singer, professor of medicine at the University of Toronto at a briefing of science journalists, last month.

Arsenic contamination is a serious threat to human health. In Bangladesh, for example, chronic exposure to arsenic has been linked to serious medical conditions, including hypertension, cardiovascular disease and a variety of cancers.

Singer said the technology to filter arsenic from water would be applied practically after necessary experiments at the laboratory.

Between 35 million and 77 million are at risk of drinking contaminated water in Bangladesh, according to an estimation of the World Health Organisation (Who).

The scale of this environmental disaster is greater than any seen before; it is beyond the accidents at Bhopal, India, in 1984, and Chernobyl, Ukraine, in 1986.

Scientists said cutting-edge science could be the salvation of the developing world.

"In every region of the world there are two to three countries that are really innovative. The other 20 or 30 do not have a high level of technology and are learning from the two or three," said Singer.

Canada recently announced it would contribute $1 billion to government research and development in developing countries. In Canada, about $22 billion is devoted to research and development.

Taking science to the people and blending it with common practices could end suffering from disease, poverty and infant mortality, mentioned Singer at the science writers meeting.