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Architecture & Engineering


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April 18, 2007

Can bacteria make buildings, bridges more quake-proof?

  • Scientists think they can induce microbes to stiffen ground in areas prone to quakes, preventing liquefication of loose soils.
  • By BOB SECHLER
    Dow Jones Newswires

    AUSTIN, Texas — A microscopic critter is being enlisted to safeguard buildings and other structures from the destructive power of earthquakes.

    The microbe — a soil bacterium called Bacillus pasteurii — can trigger a chemical reaction through its metabolism that cements sand grains together.


     
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