Latest Green algae Stories
Unique footage shows 'waltzing' and 'minueting'Scientists at the Cambridge University have discovered that freshwater algae can form stable groupings in which they dance around each other, miraculously held together only by the fluid flows they create. Their research was published today in the journal Physical Review Letters.The researchers studied the multicellular organism Volvox, which consists of approximately 1,000 cells arranged on the surface of a spherical matrix about half a...
RICHMOND, Va., March 30 /PRNewswire/ -- A new study, published in the Journal of Medicinal Food, showed that consumption of as little as 8 grams (1/3 ounce) of "Sun Chlorella A" daily resulted in noticeable reductions in body fat percentage, serum total cholesterol, and fasting blood glucose levels. For a 12-week period, 34 participants ingested four grams of "Sun Chlorella A" tablets each morning and evening. Seventeen subjects were healthy; the other 17 were at high risk for developing...
Single-celled algae took the leap to multicellularity 200 million years agoSome algae have been hanging together rather than going it alone much longer than previously thought, according to new research.Ancestors of Volvox algae made the transition from being a single-celled organism to becoming a multicellular colony at least 200 million years ago, during the Triassic Period.At that time, Earth was a hot-house world whose inhabitants included tree ferns, dinosaurs and early mammals. Previous...
Land plants' ability to sprout upward through the air, unsupported except by their own woody tissues, has long been considered one of the characteristics separating them from aquatic plants, which rely on water to support them.Now lignin, one of the chemical underpinnings vital to the self-supporting nature of land plants "“ and thought unique to them "“ has been found in marine algae by a team of researchers including scientists at UBC and Stanford University.Lignin, a principal...
Scientists are trying to determine why large algae blooms have largely returned to Lake Erie.The blooms are toxic to fish and small animals. "Algae is a big deal, especially the microcystis, what is often called the blue-green algae," said Tom Bridgeman, a professor of environmental science at the University of Toledo's Lake Erie Center. "It's not aesthetically pleasing when it gets on boats or rots on the shore, but it can also be a health hazard."In fact, of the 11...
SEATTLE, Aug. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- As human activity triggers more and more blooms of stinking, toxic algae known as "sea lettuce" around scenic Puget Sound, Blue Marble Energy Corp. announced that it has been awarded a contract by the Washington State Department of Ecology to help clean up part of the mess. And, as it does, Blue Marble Energy will provide a solution to an even larger challenge: converting this problematic algae into energy and bio-chemicals that displace petroleum products....
TORRANCE, Calif., Aug. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that people who live in Japan can expect to remain in good health longer than anybody else in the world. Japanese women, revered for both their ethereal beauty and health, live to be an average of around 82.5 years old. Why this is the case has been the focus of studies regarding their diet and lifestyle. In the Land of the Rising Sun, lifestyle and diet play a significant role in their overall health....
Olympic athletes competing in waters off the east coast can literally expect smooth sailing in August, a Chinese official said Tuesday. The official, Lin Hong, said from the coastal city of Qingdao that efforts to clean up a large amount of green algae had been successful. Barriers have been erected to keep the algae from infiltrating waters where Olympic sailing events will be held, said Lin, spokeswoman for the Qingdao Emergency Center on Algae Disposal. Photos posted on sohu.com, a popular...
By The Janesville Gazette, Wis. Jul. 4--JANESVILLE -- People living in areas flooded by Lake Koshkonong and the Rock River have another problem to watch out for: blue-green algae. The algae are obvious in Lake Koshkonong, said Tim Banwell, Rock County Health Department environmental health director. "It looks like you've dropped paint in the water," Banwell said. It's hard to determine the exact amount of blue-green algae, otherwise known as pond scum, in the water, so the department...
When single-celled organisms such as sperm crack their whip-like appendages called flagella, the beating sets them in motion. But in certain colonies of green algae, flagella also boost nutrient uptake, according to surprising new research. In the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from the University of Arizona and Brown University explain how flagella allow these algae to get the energy they need to multiply and create colonies - the...
