The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, Dec. 9, edition that the federal government is funding research to understand how microbes in oil and gas pipelines cause corrosion, which can cost the energy sector billions of dollars a year and increase the risk of a damaging leak. The Globe's Eva Uguen-Csenge writes that a $7.8-million grant through Genome Canada, an organization created and funded by Ottawa, will allow four Canadian universities to collaborate on the research study. The corrosion of steel infrastructure costs the oil industry an estimated $3-billion to $7-billion a year, at least 20 per cent of which may be the result of microbial activity. "This is a piece of the puzzle that's there to help our infrastructure, to maintain it appropriately and potentially reduce the number of failures that occur," said John Wolodko, one of the project leads and an associate professor from the University of Alberta. The study will also include researchers from the University of Calgary, Memorial University in St. John's and Dalhousie University in Halifax. Minister of Science Kirsty Duncan unveiled the four-year project in an announcement Thursday in Montreal.