By combining an artist and scientific quest, the two professors at Michigan State University found that a certain type of metal-loving bacteria can transform high amounts of the toxic chemical compound gold chloride from a liquid into solid 24-karat gold.

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The plaques receded, but the compound proved toxic.

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The compound appears not to show any toxic side-effects, although much more safety testing will be needed.

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Praecis Pharmaceuticals, in Waltham, Massachusetts, has crafted a compound dubbed Apan, now in early human tests, which prevents toxic bundles from forming by latching on to them like Velcro.

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Screening Pfizer's compound collection produced some promising leads, but the compounds turned out to be toxic.

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"We're now able to get an idea, at a very early stage, which compound will be a good chemical series rather than find out five years later that it is toxic, " says Hargreaves.

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"We're now able to get an idea, at a very early stage, whether a compound will be a good chemical series rather than find out five years later that it is toxic, " says Andrew Hargreaves , an AstraZeneca scientist.

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