Algae

Red tides are “near annual” events for Florida, but they vary in their severity and how long they last. One particularly destructive instance lasted for more than 10 months in 2018. The dead fish here were photographed in 2018 in Sanibel, FL. Photo: Joe Raedle / Staff (Getty Images)People and fish alike along Florida’s west coast are feeling the effects of an ongoing red tide. The toxic algae bloom is making both humans and sea life sick as it persists along nearly 150 miles of the Sunshine State’s coastline. At least 13…

Swirling blooms of turquoise phytoplankton along coasts may be happening more often and getting bigger, according to new research published in Nature, raising concerns about the impacts of climate change on the world's oceans. Using data captured by NASA's Aqua satellite, scientists have tracked coastal phytoplankton blooms over 17 years, between 2003 and 2020.Phytoplankton are microscopic algae, and a "bloom" is a sudden explosion of them, sometimes covering hundreds of square kilometres of ocean.The study found that…

Caption: Intensifying phytoplankton blooms in earth's coastal oceans. Credit: Lian Feng A team of Earth scientists affiliated with multiple institutions in China and the U.S. has found that coastal algae blooms (also known as phytoplankton blooms) have been getting bigger over the past couple of decades. In their study, published in the journal Nature, the group analyzed satellite data supplied to them by NASA to compare the…

Alcobioses are common in urban areas, too. Lyomyces sambuci, pictured here, is abundant on elder bark. Credit: Institute of Botany, Czech Academy of SciencesResearchers from the Institute of Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences, described the symbiotic relationship between fungi and algae which science has largely overlooked until now. The coexistence of algae and corticioid basidiomycetes, which are common in temperate forests, has been given a new name: alcobiosis.Jan Vondrák of the Department of Taxonomy, Institute of…

If you've advanced far enough into Disney Dreamlight Valley, you'll eventually find that Merlin will offer you the ability to craft unique potions that enhanced your various tools, allowing you to farm for resources more efficiently. Crafting these often require some rare resources themselves, though--one of which is Red Algae. If you're wondering how to get your hands on this uncommon drop, we've got you covered here.How to get Red Algae in Disney Dreamlight ValleyRed Algae is only obtainable while…

In the winter months, at the bottom of Lake Akan in Hokkaido, Japan, harmless underwater algae balls that can grow to be bigger than basketballs are protected from death by an ice shield on top of the water. That shield is expected to thin thanks to global warming, causing the balls to join the list of species threatened by climate change, according to researchers at the University of Tokyo.Known as marimo algae balls, the lifeform is something of a hero in Japan, where they are popularly known (incorrectly) as marimo…

Although they have a number of potential uses, spent coffee grounds typically just end up in landfills – or at best, in compost heaps. According to a new study, however, they could soon be utilized to both support and feed biodiesel-producing algae.First of all, it is already possible to convert discarded coffee grounds into biofuel, without involving algae at any step along the way. It's a fairly complex process, though, reducing the likelihood of it being adopted on a wide scale.Of course, oils extracted from algae are…

Image: Grigorii Timin & Dr. Michel MilinkovitchThe first-prize image shows the embryonic hand of a Madagascar giant day gecko (Phelsuma grandis). It was taken by Grigorii Timin, a PhD student at the University of Geneva’s Department of Genetics and Evolution, under the supervision of Michel Milankovitch. To do so, Timin had to photograph the hand using a confocal microscope, then he had to merge together hundreds of images. But the net result provides a thorough look at the gecko’s nerves, bones, tendons, ligaments,…

A new paper published in the journal Oceanography speculates future global food production problems could be solved by growing protein-dense microalgae in coastal aquaculture farms. The modeling boldly projects 100% of global protein demands could be provided by marine microalgae in 2050.Over the next 35 years the world’s population is projected to reach 10 billion people. To feed billions more people there will need to be significant changes to global food production systems. Charles Greene, from the department of earth…

Scientists have recently had success in curing mice of a serious type of pneumonia, using what are described as "microrobots." The bots were actually live algae cells, which carried life-saving medication throughout the rodents' lungs.Led by professors Joseph Wang and Liangfang Zhang, a team at the University of California - San Diego set about treating a group of mice whose lungs were infected with pneumonia-causing Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria. If left unchecked, such infections can prove fatal.For the treatment,…