Bacteria-killing book cleans drinking water


Teri Dankovich, a postdoctoral researcher at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has developed a book with pages that can be used to eliminate bacteria in water, according to BBC News. The "drinkable book" was introduced at the 250th national meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston on Monday. "All you need to do is tear out a sheet, put it in a simple filter holder and pour water into it from rivers, streams, wells [or other water sources], and out comes clean water - and dead bacteria as well," she told BBC news. The book includes silver or copper nanoparticles that help kill bacteria in water.Working at McGill University in Canada and then at the University of Virginia, Dankovich trialed 25 contaminated water sources in South Africa as well as Ghana and Bangladesh. During the tests, one page cleaned up to 100 liters of water. There are also instructions on clean water use written in both English and local languages. Dankovich said the book was invented for developing countries, especially those that do not have access to clean drinking water. Daniele Lantagne, an environmental engineer at Tufts University, also told BBC News that although it successfully kills bacteria, more research needs to be conducted on whether it would remove other disease-causing micro-organisms and viruses.