nature

Most people don’t think of bacteria when they consider cleaning supplies. But for the Italian National Agency for New Technologies (ENEA), its library of microorganisms is an essential tool for art restoration work. Most recently, a team of scientists and restorers used three types of bacteria to clean Michelangelo’s work in the Florentine Medici Chapels. In two nights, the bacteria cleaned centuries of dirt without leaving any damage or residue on the marble.