A germ that heals
It seems that bacteria, one strain at least, can work wonders for art. Scientists at Milan University in Italy claim to have used the bacterium Pseudomonas stutzeri to restore a 14th century Italian fresco. The painting, Conversion of St Efisio by Spinello Aretino, which was once part of a 14th and 15th century fresco cycle in the interior wall of the Camposanto cemetery in Pisa, was covered with a thick layer of glue following a shoddy restoration attempt in the 1950s. The bacteria degraded the organic compounds present in the adhesive, making the figures visible once again.