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BUTTE — Organisms found in the Berkeley Pit's toxic water are leading to a scientific breakthrough, according to two University of Montana professors who are former Butte residents.

Andrea and Don Stierle paired together two fungi taken from pit water in Butte. That pair produced a compound that has the ability to fight drug-resistant bacteria in a laboratory setting.

The Stierles' new findings are published in a paper that appeared in The Journal of Natural Products last month.

The next step is to begin research to show if the new compound the Stierles created can be turned into a drug.

Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director at the Washington D.C.-based American Public Health Association, said by phone Monday that it could potentially take 10 years before the Stierles' discovery could make its way to the market. The compound would have to be tested on animals then tested on humans and also go through U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval. Issues such as how does the compound fight drug-resistant bacteria, is it safe for human consumption, and what are the potential side effects are all questions the Stierles will have to answer before it becomes an actual drug.

Despite that long road, Benjamin called the discovery "pretty exciting stuff."