Fog bacteria eat formaldehyde pollution, new study finds
Caroline AylwardAda Wood
ByCaroline AylwardandAda Wood
August 28, 2026Updated: August 28, 2026, 4:31 pm EDTPublished: August 28, 2026, 3:29 pm EDT

A new study found millions of bacteria living and growing inside fog droplets, with one type feeding on formaldehyde pollution. Researchers at Arizona State University say just enough fog water to fill a thimble holds 10 million bacteria, and across all the droplets the concentration matches the ocean's. That recasts fog as a habitat, and means those microbes are helping clean our air.

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