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Nuclear waste is probably the most dreaded substances in existence, in part because it's proved so difficult to effectively clean up and store. But a stunning new breakthrough has just surfaced that may make cleaning up radioactive waste easier and much more efficient--and the solution takes its inspiration from one of everyone's favorite creepy plants. Researchers have developed a material that opens its pores to let in its intended prey--the radioactive ion cesium--then "snaps shut" to entrap it, according to Science Daily. It's a Venus Flytrap that eats radioactive waste instead of flies.

The flytrap-like material is evidently a snythetic material made from "layers of a gallium, sulfur and antimony compound," and was developed by researchers at Northwestern University.

The radioactive ion cesium, found in nuclear waste, is very difficult to clean up. And that's because the ratio of harmless sodium ions to dangerous radioactive cesium ions is 1,000 to 1. There's tons more sodium than cesium--one scientist on the project even said that looking for the radioactive material in nuclear waste is "like looking for a needle in a haystack." But the material the scientists developed turned out to be extremely adept at removing the cesium from a sodium-heavy solution--thanks to its Venus flytrap-like qualities.
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