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Published online 9 April 2008 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2008.742

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Bacteria designed to search out pesticides

Biological switch triggers E. coli to swim towards chemical.

Researchers have hacked into the navigation system of the bacterium Escherichia coli, causing it to hunt down a widely used herbicide called atrazine. The finding could help improve efforts to clean up the environment using biological tricks.

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