Researchers at Rice University's Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology (CBEN) in Houston, Texas, have found a new method to remove arsenic from contaminated water - who millions of people have to drink in India, Bangladesh and other developing nations - using nanoparticles of rust, aka "nanorust". According to Nature (paid subscription required): "The iron present in the rust (magnetite; Fe3O4) binds to the arsenic [and is then removed with a magnet], reducing it to the safe levels stipulated by international drinking-water standards of the US EPA. The team is now working on a cheap and simple manufacturing method using rust mixed with olive or coconut oil as a dispersal agent." One of the benefits of this approach is that it doesn't require high-pressure pumps and electricity, things that are not always available where the arsenic contamination occurs. The CBEN team is working on an approach that "requires no more facilities than a kitchen with a gas cooktop." ::Nature (paid subscription required), ::Cooking up 'nanorust' could purify water, ::Cleaning Water With 'Nanorust', ::'Nanorust' Cleans Arsenic From Drinking Water, :: 'Nanorust' cleans arsenic from drinking water Discussion at PhysOrgForum. Image: Rice U./CBEN.