A high-tech version of a basic principle used 8,000 years ago in reducing unwanted materials is at the heart of an effort by University of Alabama scientists to lessen the Gulf oil spill’s impact on fragile coastal marshes.

A high-tech version of a basic principle used 8,000 years ago in reducing unwanted materials is at the heart of an effort by University of Alabama scientists to lessen the Gulf oil spill’s impact on fragile coastal marshes.