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DenverSun.com Saturday 4th September 2010 Edition 2010/0904
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"This historic moment comes at a time of great uncertainty for many Americans. We have now been through nearly a decade of war. We have endured a long and painful recession. And sometimes in the midst of these storms, the future that we are trying to build for our nation - a future of lasting peace and long-term prosperity - may seem beyond our reach"
Barack Obama
US President Obama was making a national address Tuesday to mark the end of the combat mission in Iraq

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Rockies' path to playoffs may lie in West
SEC Reaches Settlement With Ex-Qwest CEO Nacchio
Colorado Children’s Campaign chief ‘deeply concerned’ over DBJ report on insurers dropping child health plans
Teen: Security Told Me To Remove U.S. Flags
Transient Gets 336 Years For Raping Teen In Library Parking Lot

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US service sector figures show weakening recovery
Bopanna-Qureshi in US open third round

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Lady Gaga set to become minister for gay fans
Andre's chest infection delays album release
Katy Perry eyeing British citizenship
Katy Perry is a pillow thief!

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Hey CU, CSU fans: Behave, admonishes Denver's top cop
Denver Police Chief Gerald Whitman has a message for Colorado State and University of Colorado football fans: Be nice or leave. Whitman sent a letter to both schools this week, urging sober rivalry...

Giambi delivers as Rockies top Padres
SAN DIEGO -- The Rockies document the length of time between home runs. Jason Giambi's second-inning two-run shot on Friday night was his first since June 23, a span of 71...
Reynolds takes first homer allowed in stride
Francis, Daley set for rehab work SAN DIEGO -- Rockies rookie left-handed reliever Matt Reynolds took in stride giving up his first Major League runs -- on a grand slam by the Phillies' Chase Utley...
More breaking stories
Food shortage crisis building in many developing countriesFood shortage crisis building in many developing countries
As natural disaster batter the world's agricultural industry, fears are growing that we may be heading into the dark food crisis days of 2007 and...

UN struggling to protect women and children in DRC from rapeUN struggling to protect women and children in DRC from rape
Over 200 women and children have been raped by rebels in the Congo in recent weeks, according to UN...
Mexico offended by US cartoonistMexico offended by US cartoonist
A US cartoonist's attempt to make a statement about the violence in Mexico backfired with his use of the Mexican flag and its national symbol, the Mexican...
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Greece risks civil war if it does not leave Eurozone, German economist warnsGreece risks civil war if it does not leave Eurozone, German economist warns
An influential German economist, Hans-Werner Sinn, has argued Greece should leave the Eurozone or risk a civil...

Employment figures for August reveal different economy for Obama and RepublicansEmployment figures for August reveal different economy for Obama and Republicans
Obama and Republicans are divided over what the new unemployment data from the Department of Labor means to the economic...
Prices for food soar in Russia Prices for food soar in Russia
Russia's government is holding out on freezing the price of certain food goods as prices continue to...
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bullet Bacteria can make gold nuggets corner

In a first of its kind study, Aussie researchers have found that bacterial biofilms can go on to create gold nuggets-a feta that could help prospectors use biosensors to zero-in on where clumps of the precious metal may lie.

Researchers have not only demonstrated the process, but have even identified the bacteria at work.

Layers of bacteria can actually dissolve gold into nanoparticles, which move through rocks and soils, and then deposit it in other places, sometimes creating purer "secondary" gold deposits in cracks and crevices of rocks.

The process overturns the long-held belief by some scientists that gold ore is created only by "primary" physical geological processes.

By looking at the DNA in biofilms that grow on gold grains collected from the Prophet gold mine in southeast Queensland, Australia , the University of Adelaide's Frank Reith and his colleagues discovered that 90 percent of the bacteria were of just two species Delftia acidovorans and Cupriavidus metallidurans.

The bacteria share genes that make them resistant to the toxic effects of heavy metals.

"It's the first time we actually see the mechanism laying on top of the gold grain," Discovery News quoted Joel Brugger of the South Australian Museum and University of Adelaide, a co-author on the study as saying.

"We tagged the DNA and saw the beautiful active biofilm (dissolving the gold). That was very interesting because gold in soluble form is very toxic," said Brugger.

That dissolved gold can then be redeposited in other places in a much purer form.

The discovery is especially important because it could point to a new high tech way to prospect for gold.

The presence of the bacteria could be a quick way to test if gold is present in the ground, suggested Brugger.

Field geologists could even someday use biosensors that are tuned to detect the genes of these gold-specific microbes.

A report about the discovery appears in the September issue of the journal Geology. (ANI)


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    With the departure of US combat troops from Iraq, is the Iraq war now over?


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    Crowne Plaza Times Square Manhattan
    Crowne Plaza Times Square Manhattan

    The taxi drove through the center of the building to an arrival station for the Crowne Plaza which is a building towering 42...


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    Missing piece of Mars puzzle may reveal whether life existed on planet
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