Once Upon a Time – Is it possible to turn straw into gold?
Keywords:
TV Programme, Biology, Genetic Modification, Phytoextraction, Once Upon A Time, RumplestiltskinAbstract
In Once Upon a Time (OUAT), a series based on fairytale characters and their real stories from another realm, one of the characters, Rumplestiltskin (The Dark One), possesses the magical ability to spin straw into gold. While this is clearly fiction, the concept raises an intriguing scientific question: is it possible to extract gold from straw in the real world? Advances in genetic engineering have made it possible to modify plants for phytoextraction. This paper will explore the process by which plants take up gold from the soil, through phytomining.
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