- Mercury from the environment can enter the food chain and cause health problems for humans, particularly developing fetuses and children.
- Mercury is more absorbable in the gut in some forms compared to others.
- Recently researchers have developed a probiotic bacteria engineered to express an enzyme that converts more absorbable forms of mercury into less absorbable forms.
- They hope this could eventually be used to minimize mercury exposure in humans, particularly vulnerable populations.
Heavy metals are required for cellular functions in both humans and the
However,
Another heavy metal that can be absorbed by the human body is mercury. Mercury can be absorbed by humans through the skin from cosmetics — such as the skin-lightening products banned in several countries in
Mercury exists in different forms, but it is methylmercury, formed by the action of bacteria on mercury that exists naturally in the environment, that can be absorbed by the human gut. It is this form that poses a particular threat to fetal and child neurodevelopment.
Populations that eat large amounts of fish are particularly affected by the health impacts of mercury, according to the
One notorious example of this occurred when a factory discharged chemical waste containing methylmercury into the sea in Minamata, Japan, between 1932 and 1968. It is now thought that at least 50,000 people were affected by a condition known as Minamata disease, caused by consuming excess mercury from fish caught in the area.
While…
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