The Gowanus Canal Doesn't Just Give You Gonorrhea...It Cures It Too

Wow...this is may be slightly outdated, but it's news to me: apparently the Gowanus Canal (the inspiration for The Canal) is so polluted that, in some bizarre paradox, it actually harbors microbes with potentially life saving properties. Yeah, I think my head just exploded. Or as the blog Gowanus Lounge puts it -- Holy Crap: "Gowanus Canal May Be Source of New Antibiotics". Here's a quote from a Newswise story dated July 29, 2008, from a biology professor researching the canal's microbes:

“Despite the canal’s toxicity, which includes cancer-causing chemical agents...microorganisms are surviving by adapting to the harsh environment there that shouldn’t survive at all. Working in synergy, they seem to sense if nutrients are available; they exchange genes and secrete substances -- some of which operate like antibiotics. I believe these substances may provide clues that lead to the development of new drugs to combat human disease.”

Click here for the full article. But the fun doesn't stop there: In an article in the Daily News (October 5, 2007), these same researchers discovered that the Gowanus carries, of all things, gonorrhea. And not the good kind either:

Besides gonorrhea, [Professor] Haque and her students have found flu viruses and other "disease-causing" bacteria in the canal's fetid waters. But Haque said she is most disturbed by how virulent the strains appear to be.

"These are species of microorganisms that are very aggressive," said Haque. "When you take the samples and analyze them back at the lab it is scary."

Full article here. Seriously, you couldn't in a million years make this stuff up. If the Gowanus Canal isn't already your favorite waterway in the world, it needs to be.

- Great News: Gowanus Canal May Hold Key To Wonder Drugs [Curbed]
- Gowanus Clap Update: 'Very Aggressive Strain' [Curbed]