Oak Ridge Today

Food First: Walk of Abundance at four local churches

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Submitted photo

Submitted photo

 

Come join four local churches in creating a Walk of Abundance. As abundant lives are built on generosity, First Baptist, First Christian, First Presbyterian, and First United Methodist churches will be collecting canned food goods between now and October 21 to stock local food pantries, a press release said.

“You can help by taking your donation to any one of these four churches,” the press release said.

On October 21, using some of the collected cans, a labyrinth, similar to the one pictured above, will be built on the lawn of First United Methodist Church. As part of an outdoor worship celebration (which will include inflatables, human bubble balls, and a pumpkin-launching trebuchet), participants can both make a contribution to help local families in need as well as walk the can-lined labyrinth. A collection will also be taken for Second Harvest Food Banks, the press release said. [Read more…]

ORNL research reveals new challenges for mercury cleanup

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Mercury Cycle

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers are learning more about the microbial processes
that convert elemental mercury into methylmercury. (Submitted image)

More forms of mercury can be converted to deadly methylmercury than previously thought, according to a study published Sunday in Nature Geoscience. The discovery provides scientists with another piece of the mercury puzzle, bringing them one step closer to understanding the challenges associated with mercury cleanup.

Earlier this year, a multidisciplinary team of researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory discovered two key genes that are essential for microbes to convert oxidized mercury to methylmercury, a neurotoxin that can penetrate skin and at high doses affect brain and muscle tissue, causing paralysis and brain damage.

The discovery of how methylmercury is formed answered a question that had stumped scientists for decades, and the findings published this week build on that breakthrough. [Read more…]