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Friday, 29 August 2003
X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy Catches the Chemical Form of Mercury in Fish - SSRL Scientists Reveal New Findings in Science Article
The presence of "methyl mercury" in fish is well-known, but until now the
detailed chemical identity of the mercury has remained a mystery. In an x-ray
absorption spectroscopy study published in the August 29 issue of Science
(Science 301, 2003:
1203; Science now: Murky Picture on Fish Mercury), SSRL scientists
report that the chemical form of mercury involves a sulfur atom (most likely in
a so-called aliphatic form). The study presents significant new knowledge -
because the toxic properties of mercury (or any element) are critically
dependent upon its chemical form - and represents an important milestone in
developing an understanding of how harmful mercury in fish might actually be.
The study was carried out by SSRL staff scientists Ingrid Pickering and Graham
George and postdoctoral fellow Hugh Harris using SSRL's structural molecular
biology beam line 9-3. The very high flux, excellent beam stability and
state-of-the-art detector technology allowed the team to measure samples of
fish containing micromolar levels of mercury, much lower than had previously
been possible.
Funding for this research was provided by the U.S. Department of
Energy, Office of Biological and Environmental Research and by the NIH National
Center for Research Resources, Biomedical Technology Program.
(Note: Ingrid Pickering
and Graham George (g.george@stanford.edu) have recently relocated to the University of Saskatchewan and
Hugh Harris to the University of Sydney).
Relevant URLs:
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