http://www.algaeindustrymagazine.com/omega-3-ingredients-market-est-3-79-billion-2022/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlgaeIndustryMagazine+%28Algae+Industry+Magazine%29

Omega-3 ingredients market est. $3.79 billion by 2022

November 16, 2016
AlgaeIndustryMagazine.com

Europe’s EPA/DHA ingredients market size, by application, 2012-2022 (Tons)

PA/DHA (omega-3 ingredients) market size is likely to be worth USD 3.79 billion by 2022, according to a recent research report by Global Market Insights, Inc. An increasing trend towards healthy nutrient-fortified diets is likely to drive the EPA & DHA ingredients’ market growth.

Dietary supplements accounted for over 65% of the total omega-3 ingredients market in 2014. Growing consumer awareness for adopting proactive self care measures to reduce illness probability and consuming supplements to avoid expensive medical bills is likely to continue influencing EPA/DHA ingredients demand.

Functional foods accounted for over 11% of the total EPA & DHA ingredients market share in 2014, with consumption estimated at approximately 10.5 kilo tons. This application is likely to attain significant gains during the forecast period.

FDA approval towards health claims for coronary heath diseases, and American Dietetic Association, for suggestion of minimum intake at close to 500mg per day, is likely to favor omega-3 market size.

Other key insights from the report include:

• Global EPA/DHA ingredients market size was evaluated at 93.69 kilo tons in 2014 with forecast to attain growth rate at 5.4% up to 2022 and reach 142.5 kilo tons.
• North America was the leading regional consumer industry in 2014, and accounted for over 36% of the total demand. Pharmaceutical application in the North American EPA/DHA ingredients market generated revenues worth approximately USD 86 million in 2014.
• Functional food applications in North America accounted for close to 10% of the total demand, and are expected to be an attractive growth segment for this industry over the forecast period.
• China’s omega 3 market accounted for over 10% of the total demand in 2014 and is likely to significantly grow during the forecast period. Dietary supplement application was dominant in China and is likely to witness highest CAGR, at 6.1% up to 2022.
• EPA/DHA ingredients market share represents moderate consolidation with the top four key players accounting for close to 54% of the demand.

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Diatoms are good source of EPA.

Nualgi in Lagoon STPs and dams in Queensland, Australia

http://nualgienviro.com.au/an-overview-of-trials-using-nualgi-in-lagoon-stps-and-dams-in-queensland-australia/

An Overview of Trials Using Nualgi in Lagoon STPs and dams in Queensland, Australia

This entry was posted in CyanobacteriaDiatomsHarmful AlgaeNutrient managementSewage TreatmentToxic AlgaeWastewater Treatment on September 21, 2015 by simonadmint

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This blog post is somewhat more technical than some of the other posts I have done to date. The reason for this is that I am presenting actual data! Yes! The numbers are in and I have graphs, relationships and hypotheses to offer. So if you are interested in the more analytical side of things then I hope you enjoy this post. As we are moving towards summer here in Australia things are warming up so the cyanobacteria are getting more active and the use of Nualgi in these tests is going to get properly tested to see how good it is. I hope you enjoy the report and as always, feel free to contact me if you want to know more.

Nualgi is a nano-silica nutrient mixture that has all the micronutrients required for growth of diatom microalgae adsorbed into the amorphous nano-silica structure. As only diatoms have a requirement to take up silica, they are the only algae that benefit from the micro-nutrient boost. This means that the diatoms successfully out-compete the other algae for nutrients, and reduce blue-green algae growth in a natural way. The process is non-toxic and offers an added benefit in that bacterial activity is enhanced due to the increased dissolved oxygen content from the diatom bloom. This increase in dissolved oxygen and bacterial activity will assist in bringing down the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) in the wastewater. 

......

Summary

The three trials presented here are each slightly different in regard to the conditions of the STP or the water being treated.  Trials 1 and 2 have both shown a strong change in the percentage of the BGA that make up the Total Cell count.  A similar pattern may slowly be emerging in Trial 3 which has a lower N concentration.

The Total Cell Counts in all trials have been seen to reduce markedly from the starting values.  Trial 2 has shown some recovery of non BGA algae, although this stage may be transitory as the lagoon continues to settle toward having a higher DO and lower BGA population.

Because of the increased activity of diatoms, especially benthic diatoms, induced by the addition of Nualgi there have been several positive changes to the water quality.  In Trial 3, a reduction in the pH and a qualitative assessment that the invertebrate populations in the water have increased suggest that the water is progressively returning to a more stable environment in which algae other than BGAs may proliferate and the nutrients will shift from being retained in algal cycles and may now move up the food chain through the invertebrates and into higher animals such as fish, eels and birds.

Longer trials are needed to assess the long term use of Nualgi in managing nutrients and controlling Blue Green Algae growth, but these three trials are strongly indicative that the use of Nualgi is a simple and effective pathway to achieve this outcome.

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/mar/23/gold-in-faeces-worth-millions-save-environment

Gold in faeces 'is worth millions and could save the environment'

Geologist suggests extracting precious metals from human waste would keep harmful substances out of the ground – and recover valuable objects

Fortunes could be saved from going down the drain by extracting gold and precious metals from human excrement, scientists suggest.

Sewage sludge contains traces of gold, silver and platinum at levels that would be seen as commercially viable by traditional prospectors. “The gold we found was at the level of a minimal mineral deposit,” said Kathleen Smith, of the US Geological Survey.

Smith and her colleagues argue that extracting metals from waste could also help limit the release of harmful metals, such as lead, into the environment in fertilisers and reduce the amount of toxic sewage that has to be buried or burnt.

“If you can get rid of some of the nuisance metals that currently limit how much of these biosolids we can use on fields and forests, and at the same time recover valuable metals and other elements, that’s a win-win,” she said.

A previous study, by Arizona State University, estimated that a city of 1 million inhabitants flushed about $13m (£8.7m) worth of precious metals down toilets and sewer drains each year.

The task of sifting sewage for microscopic quantities of gold may sound grim, but it could have a variety of unexpected benefits over traditional gold mining. The use of powerful chemicals, called leachates, used by the industry to pull metals out of rock is controversial, because these chemicals can be devastating to ecosystems when they leak into the environment. In the controlled setting of a sewage plant, the chemicals could be used liberally without the ecological risks.

Precious metals are increasingly used in everyday products, such as shampoos, detergents and even clothes, where nanoparticles are sometimes used to limit body odour. Waste containing these metals all ends up being funnelled through sewage treatment plants, where many metals end up in the leftover solid waste. “There are metals everywhere,” Smith noted.

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More than 7m tonnes of “biosolids” come out of US sewage treatment plants each year, about half of which is burned or sent to landfill and half used as fertiliser on fields and in forests. In the UK, about 500,000 tonnes of dry sewage solids are used as fertiliser each year. The amount of waste that can be converted into fertiliser is limited, in part, by the high levels of some metals.

“We’re interested in collecting valuable metals that could be sold, including some of the more technologically important metals, such as vanadium and copper that are in cell phones, computers and alloys,” Smith said.

To assess the viability of mining sewage, the team collected samples from small towns in the Rocky Mountains, rural communities and big cities, and used a scanning electron microscope to observe microscopic quantities of gold, silver and platinum.

In findings presented on Monday at the 249th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society in Denver, the scientists showed that the levels of the precious levels were comparable with those found in some commercial mines.

The eight-year study, which involved monthly testing of treated sewage samples, found that 1kg of sludge contained about 0.4mg gold, 28mg of silver, 638mg copper and 49mg vanadium.

A sewage treatment facility in Tokyo that has already started extracting gold from sludge has reported a yield rivalling those found in ore at some leading gold mines.

Elsewhere, sewage plants are removing phosphorus and nitrogen, which can be sold as fertiliser. A Swedish treatment plant is testing the feasibility of making bioplastics from wastewater. Earlier this year, Bill Gates demonstrated his confidence in a radical sewage purification system by drinking a glass of clean water extracted from human waste."

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Diatom Algae can perhaps be used to remove Gold and Silver from sewage.

Diatoms have been used to remove heavy metals, so they may consume Gold and Silver too.

Two new diatom species found in Lonar lake

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/Two-new-diatom-species-found-in-Lonar-lake/articleshow/45517325.cms

Two new diatom species found in Lonar lake

Meenakshi Rohatgi, TNN | Dec 15, 2014, 05.10AM IST

inShare

PUNE: Scientists have discovered two new species of diatoms - a kind of algae - at Lonar Lake in Buldhana district in Maharashra.

Though the environment of soda lakes is usually considered hostile for living beings, often many photosynthesizing organisms like algae, including diatoms are recorded in these places. The Lonar crater lake is a unique saline soda lake formed when a meteor struck around 50,000 years ago, and the discovery of new species points to the thriving biodiversity of the lake.

Karthick Balasubramanian, a scientist in the plant division at Agharkar Research Institute (ARI) and one of the four researchers who discovered these species, explained that diatoms are one of the most ecologically significant group of organisms and each species is specific to their environment with unique characteristics. "These two species were found to be extremely pollution-tolerant, indicating the presence of large quantities of Nitrogen and Phosphate in the water body," he said.

Scientists from city-based ARI have been studying the microbial biodiversity of this ancient lake for more than a decade.

The two species are named Nitzschia kociolekii and Nitzschia tripudio. The first species is named afterProfessor J Patrick Kociolek, of the University of Colorado at Boulder, USA, a known face of diatom research.

"Diatoms are special types of algae that live inside 'glass houses' - they have hard outer shells made of silicon and oxygen, the same elements that make up glass," Balasubramanian said. These outer casings are made of two half cylinders that fit together like a jewellery box. Inside is a single celled organism that can carry out photosynthesis and they are responsible for almost one fourth of the oxygen produced on Earth.

The other scientists involved in the study were Alakananda Batni from Gubbi Labs, Bangalore, Paul B Hamilton from Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Canada and Jonathan C Taylor associated with North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa.

The species are characterized by minute structures on its surface, known as areolae on diatom valves, that helps in exchange of gases and nutrients. The areolae and the valve shape state the evolutionary pattern of common species due to extreme environments like saline conditions and nutrients.

"This discovery is also significant as this is a relatively unexplored region of peninsular India," Balasubramanian added. "These species also show environmental importance and can be used as biological indicators, as they thrive in polluted regions and could be endemic to Peninsular India."

Another species of the same organism, Nitzschia williamsii, was recently described from Bangalore lakes by the same team and has also been recorded from Lonar Lake. This indicates that several extreme waterbodies in India, like Mangrove forests, estuaries, and waterfalls, might harbor numerous species endemic to Peninsular India.

Newsweek cover - Planet Reboot: Fighting Climate Change With Geoengineering

http://www.newsweek.com/2014/12/12/can-geoengineering-save-earth-289124.html?piano_t=1

Planet Reboot: Fighting Climate Change With Geoengineering

Walking the Plankton

The world’s oceans have countless tiny organisms called phytoplankton. Also known as microalgae, these itty-bitty plants eat carbon dioxide from the water and release oxygen into the ocean as a by-product. Once the phytoplankton blooms take up the carbon from the ocean’s surface, they sink down to the deep ocean, where the carbon is effectively sequestered. They’re so productive that scientists think phytoplankton produce about 50 percent of the oxygen humans breathe.

If we could get phytoplankton to boost their uptake of carbon, it could have a huge global impact—and would be very simple to do. When the tiny plants get a boost of nutrients from the water around them, they eat a lot more carbon. And right now the oceans of the world are low in one particular nutrient—iron—although scientists aren’t sure why. So the phytoplankton aren’t nearly as active as they could be. In fact, when big storms blow iron-rich dust into the oceans, satellites see evidence of phytoplankton blooms in areas where they normally aren’t visible.

Over the past decade there have been more than 12 small-scale experiments in which scientists (and one rogue California businessman named Russ George) dumped iron dust into the ocean to test the hypothesis that phytoplankton could be triggered to wake up and start devouring mass quantities of carbon. All of the experiments (except George’s) showed that there was some benefit to seeding the ocean with iron.

Victor Smetacek, a biological oceanographer at Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, contributed to one such study in 2009. Though he says there needs to be a lot more research into ocean seeding, he believes it’s a very promising option. “I’m talking about using a natural mechanism that has already proven itself,” Smetacek says. “We need to harness the biosphere and see where we can apply levers to lift the carpet and sweep some of the carbon under.”

Oddly, however, the ocean-seeding option seems to be a controversial one. Smetacek says that although he believes strongly in its benefits, it has never been a popular option among climate scientists. “This ocean iron fertilization is highly unpopular with technocratic geoengineers because it involves biology. But we have to get the biosphere to help,” he says. “The only thing we can do is try and nudge the biosphere as much as possible and try to open up as many carbon sinks as possible.”

http://www.algaeindustrymagazine.com/researching-diatoms-insulation-material/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AlgaeIndustryMagazine+%28Algae+Industry+Magazine%29

Researching diatoms as insulation material

December 2, 2014
AlgaeIndustryMagazine.com

Dr. Mufit Akinc is leading a research effort to find and develop better insulation materials for buildings, appliances and other heating and cooling applications. Photo by the Iowa Energy Center.

r. Mufit Akinc, a professor ofmaterials science and engineering at Iowa State University, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory, are working to develop next-generation insulation materials for freezers, refrigerated trucks, buildings and other heating and cooling applications.

The idea is to replace traditional insulating materials such as foam, fiberglass and synthetic silica with better materials. Akinc figures the improvements could lead to hundreds of millions of dollars in energy savings. “This study will contribute directly to energy savings in Iowa and beyond,” Dr. Akinc wrote in a project summary.

Back in his Hoover Hall lab, Dr. Akinc and graduate students Landi Zhong and Boyce Chang are working with the support of a two-year, $76,960 grant from the Iowa Energy Center. Mark Petri, director of the Energy Center, said the grant is part of the center’s new effort to help Iowa researchers compete for much larger research grants.

“The Iowa Energy Center is funded by the state of Iowa to support economic development through advances in renewable energy and energy efficiency,” Petri said. “Anything we can do to improve thermal insulation of buildings would go far to improve energy conservation in the United States.”

Dr. Akinc and his students have focused their attention on vacuum insulation panels. The panels are just an inch or so thick and filled with an insulating powder that’s vacuum-sealed inside a foil cover. The vacuum enhances the insulating properties of the powder by eliminating the air molecules that can transfer heat. That’s how an inch-thick panel can provide as much insulating power as 10 inches of foam.

Dr. Akinc said the most common powder inside the panels is fumed silica, a synthetic nano-sized particle made from sand. But it’s expensive to make. And that makes the panels pricey for some applications, especially insulating homes and buildings. “The insulation industry is very cost-conscious and competitive – and right now the issue is cost.”

That has Dr. Akinc and his research group studying the porosity, surface area, density and other characteristics of low-cost alternatives, including glass fiber, fly ash, glass bubbles and diatomite. The most promising material so far is diatomite, the fossilized remains of single-celled algae called diatoms.

Diatoms have silica cell walls and grow just about anywhere there is water and sunshine. The skeletons they leave behind create diatomite. It’s inexpensive and filled with nanopores, just the material he has been working to find.

Dr. Akinc will soon be studying the material with an even bigger research team. The Iowa Energy Center has awarded another $20,000 to support the work of two more Iowa State researchers, Ulrike Passe, an associate professor of architecture, and Ganesh Balasubramanian, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering. They’ll collect data about the new material’s potential energy savings and manufacturability.

http://www.pondtrademag.com/tradenews/tn-2023/

Breakthrough Nanotechnology to Greatly Reduce Pond Maintenance

Release Date: November 25th, 2014

It is not every day we come across a product that will save you so much time in your pond cleaning routine. Using the power of Diatoms a natural bio filter, Nualgi Ponds stimulates the growth of these microorganisms that give off O2 and consume C02 for healthier and happier fish.

For the past year, Nualgi has been naturally reducing algae in ponds and aquariums across the world with positive reports stating, “I haven’t experienced such a rapid change in all my years…that very dark green thick water in my 3000 gallon holding pond cleared by 60% in less than 14 hours”

Nualgi Ponds Naturally Improves the Aquatic Food Chain
It creates a natural micro food chain that is beneficial to both koi Fish and aquatic plants and even contributes to reducing detritus levels in the pond. Some users experience overnight effects while others wait about 5 weeks depending on the light that the pond receives. After you begin dosing Nualgi the savings will begin to amount as a direct result of not having to buy all the different chemicals. Nualgi’s formula is certified non-toxic by the Indian Institute of Toxicology Research and has successfully been used in large lakes and rivers in India for over ten years. However, adoption in the United States has been limited to private buyers of their Nualgi Aquarium & Nualgi Ponds products due to regulatory approval procedures.

Fight to Eliminate Global Water Pollution
Taking the first major step towards getting the United States to approve Nualgi’s use in fighting the water pollution in our lakes, rivers, bays, and oceans, Nualgi has secured facilities and a team of research scientists from Mississippi State University to perform a yearlong study. This double-blind study will be led by the aquaculture and fisheries staff at MSU to review Nualgi’s safety and effectiveness at reducing water pollution and improving water conditions in a commercial aquaculture setting. Independent aquaculture consultant and leader of the research study, Tom Frese, founder of AquaSol, Inc., is encouraged by the possibilities of large-scale application of this type of nanotechnology. "Water quality management in aquaculture is critical to environmental sustainability as well as commercial success. Nualgi is a promising and rather unique product that has the potential to be an important tool in every farm manager’s toolbox. We look forward to leading the independent study of Nualgi's products in aquaculture."

Help Fund Vital Research for Aquaculture
To help fund the Mississippi State University research study and allow Nualgi to begin treating harmful algae blooms in public waterways, they launched a Kickstarter campaign that will run for two weeks, from Nov. 24th - Dec, 8th 2014. The goal of the campaign is to raise awareness as well as generate $100,000 to fund the double-blind research study at MSU. The possibilities are endless for this technology with long term goals including waste water treatment, food processors, aquaculture, foliar fertilizers and beyond. For the pond maintenance professional this product is revolutionary for fish health/vibrancy, plant growth, algae removal, and overall water quality management. Include this new technology to take advantage of the benefits immediately in your ponds for less maintenance, healthier fish, and severely less algae buildup!

Nualgi America, Inc. is the licensed distributor of Nualgi™ products in North America and the maker of Nualgi AquariumTM & Nualgi PondsTM. Support Nualgi and their mission to improve the world’s waterways at the source by donating to their Kickstarter campaign at http://kck.st/11Lt5ES

For more information contact:
Andrew Rowland
619/630-0614
press@nualgiponds.com

Great Video about Diatoms

Video - The Diatomist on Vimeo

The Diatomist

from Matthew Killip PLUS 6 months ago ALL AUDIENCES

THE DIATOMIST is a short documentary about Klaus Kemp, master of the Victorian art of diatom arrangement.

Diatoms are single cell algae that create jewel-like glass shells around themselves. Microscopists of the Victorian era would arrange them into complex patterns, invisible to the naked eye but spectacular when viewed under magnification.The best of these arrangements are stunning technical feats that reveal the hidden grandeur of some of the smallest organisms on Earth. Klaus Kemp has devoted his entire life to understanding and perfecting diatom arrangement and he is now acknowledged as the last great practitioner of this beautiful combination of art and science. THE DIATOMIST showcases his incredible work.

Soundtrack by Ryuichi Sakamoto, Bernard Herrmann and Cults Percussion Ensemble.

MATTHEW KILLIP is an English filmmaker living in New York. His documentaries have been broadcast on UK television and exhibited in festivals including Sundance and True/False.

Psychotherapy for Plankton

http://mit.whoi.edu/student-research?tid=1423&cid=113369

Psychotherapy for Plankton

The scene: A diatom is out of its oceanic habitat and on a couch, talking to a therapist. The diatom is stressed. It can’t ever seem to get enough nutrients. And it’s feeling underappreciated ... 

Diatom: People just don’t seem to understand. Without me and all the other phytoplankton producing oxygen via photosynthesis, people wouldn’t have half the oxygen they need to breathe!  We’re also the base of the ocean food chain that supports the fish they eat, and all the carbon dioxide I take up from the air to make into my body would still be in the atmosphere, making the earth heat up. Why can’t they see how important I am?

Therapist: I’m hearing that you feel undervalued. Why do you think it is that people don’t understand?

Diatom: I suppose it’s because I’m so small. They can’t see me without a microscope, so I might as well not exist! But that’s not my main problem. I can go on fine without humans knowing how much they depend on me. The thing that’s really getting me down is all this stress I’m under. 

Therapist: Tell me what you mean. What’s causing this stress?

Diatom: Well, it’s a bit of a long story. I’ll start from the beginning. Since I do photosynthesis for a living, sunlight is my energy, and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is my sustenance. But in order to grow, I need other ingredients, too, like nitrogen, iron, and vitamins. I use these ingredients in a specific ratio, just like a recipe. So, for example, even if there is plenty of nitrogen around in the ocean, unless there is also enough iron, I can’t grow. Whatever runs out first— that’s called a "limiting nutrient."

Therapist: I see. Why this is causing you such stress right now?

Diatom: So, I live in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica. The waters there have plenty of nitrogen for me to use, but there is almost never enough iron to go around. I have to compete with other phytoplankton for my iron, and I also have to compete with bacteria. It’s particularly annoying that I have to share this scarce resource with the bacteria, because the way theyget by in life is only through exploiting the carbon that we phytoplanktonmake for them. It just seems unfair!

Therapist: Correct me if I’m wrong, but it sounds to me like there’s more to this story.

Diatom: Uh, I suppose. My relationship with those bacteria—well, it’s complicated. Even though they take that scarce iron from me when I need it most, I just can’t live without them. When the bacteria grow and die, they release vitamin B₁₂ into the water. I need that B₁₂ to grow. And just like iron, it’s in short supply relative to the other ingredients I need. Without enough of those bacteria growing, I can’t get enough vitamin B₁₂. Without enough iron or B₁₂, I get really stressed! It’s just a bad cycle.

Therapist: It seems almost like sibling rivalry. You and the bacteria are dependent on each other, but at the same time, you’re also competing with each other for iron. That’s quite a delicately balanced relationship you have to negotiate there in the Southern Ocean. What are some strategies you use to try to cope with this stress?

Diatom: Life really gets difficult for me when I start to get starved for iron or vitamin B₁₂. First, I try harder to get these missing nutrients. I make more of proteins that I use to find and transport the iron or vitamin from the seawater into my cell. I also make more of the proteins that I need to move the iron or vitamin around inside my cell. This way, as soon as I find the nutrients I need, I’m ready to use them. 

Therapist:  These seem like good strategies. But what happens if they don’t work?

Diatom: Well, I try to get by with less of whatever I’m feeling starved for. Sometimes I can substitute some other nutrient for the scarce ones, but this doesn’t always work very well. I just can’t work as efficiently when I’m starved, but I can make do and grow more slowly for a while. If supplies of these nutrients are too low, I just won’t survive. You can see why this is causing me such anxiety.

Therapist: Yes, your reaction seems perfectly natural. Let’s try to think of ways to manage this stress.  Are there any ways you could predict what nutrients you are going to be starved for?

Diatom:  Well, I’m not sure. I know that oceanographers are looking into this, too. They want to know what nutrients starve me and the other phytoplankton. But they don’t seem much better than me at predicting which nutrients are limiting how much we can grow. Until a couple of years ago, the scientists weren’t even sure we could be limited by the lack of vitamin B₁₂!

Therapist: That’s interesting. Go on.

Diatom: One way scientists find out about what controls our growth is to take some of us out of the ocean, put us in bottles, add different nutrients, and watch to see which make us grow faster. This doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, because I know that being in a bottle can make us plankton respond to nutrients differently than we do growing in the ocean. There just has to be a better way.

Therapist: Yes, yes. But I’m afraid we are out of time; let’s pick this up again next session.

The following week.

Therapist: I did some research after last week’s session and found something that may help. It seems that some scientists are actually finding new ways to learn about what starves you phytoplankton. Really. The way they are doing this is by looking closely at changes in the way you grow when you are starved for specific nutrients, particularly vitamin B₁₂. They are just learning how to measure those coping strategies you told me about last week. They have developed new technologies that allow them to detect and measure the proteins that organisms make when they are grown under different conditions. 

Diatom: Are you saying that ocean scientists think they can tell when we phytoplankton feel starved for B₁₂ just by watching what kinds of proteins we make? They actually are interested enough in phytoplankton to make new methods to do this?

Therapist: That’s right. When the scientists grew some of you in the laboratory, they noticed that there were a few proteins that you make moreof when you are starved for the vitamin, but not when you are starved for other nutrients. They call these proteins “B₁₂-starvation indicator proteins.” 

Diatom: They come up with fancy names, those scientists. If only they could learn how to measure those—what did they call them, B₁₂ … starvation indicator proteins?—if only they could measure them in the ocean instead of just in the lab! If they did, they could figure out what controls all the patterns and processes that lead to us getting starved for vitamin B_12. I’d sure love to know that. Then I could be prepared for the stress.  That would make life so much easier!

Therapist: I know that they are doing their best. In order to use these measurements to learn about what stresses you, the scientists will need to measure these proteins from within a very complex mixture of many thousands or even millions of other proteins in the ocean, and they must also be sure they understand why you make this protein. They are getting closer!

Diatom: Wow, that’s great news. I feel a little better already. It’s comforting to think that those scientists aren’t overlooking me and care so much about me and my stress!

This research was supported by a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship and an Environmental Protection Agency STAR Fellowship, the WHOI Ocean Ventures Fund, the NSF Ocean Sciences Division and Office of Polar Programs, and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

About the author: Erin Bertrand has worked to measure nutrient stress in diatoms in Mak Saito’s lab in the WHOI Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry Department, as part of her research for her Ph.D. from the MIT/ WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography. She  has been interested in how the availability of metals in the environment affects microscopic organisms ever since she started conducting research as an undergraduate at Bates College. When she is not growing diatoms, extracting proteins, taking samples of phytoplankton in Antarctica, or running the mass spectrometer, she likes to hike or run in the woods, listen to live music, or cook something new for her friends and family. Her mentor on this article was Heather Goldstone, a science journalist for WCAI radio (and a graduate of the MIT/WHOI Joint Program).

By Erin Bertrand
MIT/WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography
Marine Chemistry & Geochemistry Dept.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn24508-skeletal-chains-could-help-algae-deliver-drugs.html#.UnUUNHCL9Xs

Skeletal chains could help algae deliver drugs

Skeletons of single-celled algae have been modified while they are still alive to incorporate molecular chains that can harness chemical cargo. The algal bodies are then dissolved away so that their remains can be used to deliver drugs or clean up contaminated water.

The microscopic algae known as diatoms are supported by skeletons made of silica that are about 10 micrometres across. Each species grows intricate innards that yield a range of shapes, from barrels to stars and doughnuts. Tiny folds and crevices give diatom skeletons a much larger surface area than simple spheres or other nanoscale capsules, making them an ideal choice for drug delivery.

Previous work created artificial casts of the skeletons, usually made from biodegradable polymers, by coating the skeleton and then washing away the biological components. But modifying these casts to reliably carry drugs and other molecules has been a challenge, because the method requires harsh organic solvents applied in completely dry conditions that can be costly and time consuming to use. Now Abhay Pandit of the National University of Ireland, Galway, and his colleagues have found a way to make living diatoms incorporate thiols – sulphur-bearing molecular chains – directly into their skeletons as they grow, meaning their casts can carry drugs without having to be treated first.

"This is the first piece of a big puzzle to functionalise diatoms without disturbing the design of their intricate architecture in a substantial way," says Pandit.

Purifying algae

The team grew the diatom species Thalassiosira weissflogii in a nutrient-rich solution at room temperature and exposed it to a light-dark cycle that mimicked a natural day. They added thiol compounds to the growth solution multiple times over eight days, which allowed the algae to take up the molecules as they grew. Thiol-rich diatoms were then treated to make polymer casts. The chains remained attached to the casts even after the rest of the diatom's structure was dissolved away.

Molecular cargo such as drugs could be attached to the chains hanging from the cast's inner wall or outer surface. This would help deliver substances to parts of the body in medical treatments, says Pandit. Thiol chains can also bind with heavy metals so, in future, diatoms with more porous structures could be used for nanoscale water purification, he says.

Nils Kröger at the Dresden University of Technology in Germany is not convinced that modifying live diatoms will prove to be more efficient than growing thiols on casts of their skeletons. But he thinks figuring out the best approach will lead to myriad applications for chain-wielding diatoms.

"Having thiols exposed on the surface of diatoms opens the doors for introducing a host of biomolecules including enzymes, receptors and drugs," he says.

Journal reference: Nature Communications, DOI: 10.1038/ncomms3683

http://www.livescience.com/39787-super-eruption-seeded-sky-diatoms.html

Super-Eruption Launched Algae Army Into the Sky

Slimy brown algae not only survived a wild ride into the stratosphere via a volcanic ash cloud, they landed on distant islands looking flawless, a new study finds.

"There's a crazy contrast between these delicate, glass-shelled organisms and one of the most powerful eruptions in Earth's history," said lead study author Alexa Van Eaton, a postdoctoral scholar at both the Cascades Volcano Observatory in Washington and Arizona State University.

The diatoms were launched by the Taupo super-eruption on New Zealand's North Island 25,000 years ago. More than 600 million cubic meters (20 billion cubic feet) of diatoms from a lake flew into the air, Van Eaton reported Sept. 6 in the journal Geology. Lumped together, the microscopic cells speckled throughout Taupo's ash layers would make a pile as big as Hawaii's famed Diamond Head volcanic cone.

Some diatoms drifted as far as the Chatham Islands, 525 miles (850 kilometers) east of New Zealand. "They just hitched a ride," Van Eaton said. The pristine shells in the Chatham Island ash suggest diatoms could infect new niches by coasting on atmospheric currents.

"If they made it there alive, this is one way microorganisms can travel and meet each other," Van Eaton told LiveScience's OurAmazingPlanet. "We know that ash from smaller events easily travels around the world." [5 Colossal Cones: Biggest Volcanoes on Earth]

World domination, cell by cell

Diatoms, a golden brown algae, rule Earth's waterways. From Antarctica's glacial lakes to acidic hot springs to unkempt home aquariums, diatoms are everywhere. It's a good thing. The tiny creatures pump out up to 50 percent of the planet's oxygen, said Edward Theriot, a diatom expert and evolutionary biologist at the University of Texas at Austin, who was not involved in the study.

The algae look like little petri dishes or footballs,depending on the species, and spend most of their lives drifting on currents. How diatoms manage to colonize new homes remains a mystery: They can't swim.

Yet diatoms get around. When Wyoming's Yellowstone Lake emerged from its mile-thick ice cover 14,000 years ago, diatoms quickly arrived, Theriot said. "They had to be blown in by some mechanism or carried in by water birds," he added.

Diatoms particularly love volcanic lakes, because they are the only creatures that build shells of glass. (Glass sponges, for instance, produce a skeleton of glass spicules — tiny spike-like structures — but not a hard shell.) Silica-rich magma often causes the volcanic explosions that leave behind lake-filled craters, and silica is the key ingredient in diatom shells. Yellowstone Lake, which sits in a caldera created by a super-eruption, contains so many diatoms that the lake sediments are mostly shells (85 percent by weight), Theriot said.

Now scientists know what happens to diatoms when a massive volcanolike Yellowstone blasts through a big lake.

Immaculate preservation

The Taupo Volcano super-eruption slammed through a deep lake that filled a rift valley, similar to the elongated lakes in East Africa. The combination of water and ash created a hellish dirty thunderstorm, with towering clouds and roaring winds. The detonation flung ash and algae upward at more than 250 mph (400 km/h), Van Eaton said. Volcanic hail (called accretionary lapilli) pelted the landscape for miles.

Van Eaton discovered the diatoms while examining the volcanic hail with a scanning electron microscope.

"The first time I ever saw them I was looking at these volcanic ashaggregates and, bam, these gorgeous little symmetrical shells were there," she said. "Their shells are immaculately preserved."

Van Eaton soon determined that one of the three diatom species entombed in the ash only lives on the North Island of New Zealand. This meant she could track the 25,000-year-old ash layers around the South Pacific with a unique biologic marker. The unique North Island diatoms turned up in a few inches of ash on the Chatham Islands. The diatoms' trip to the Chatham Islands took longer than it looks on a map. The prevailing winds blew west at the time, so the shells circled the Southern Hemisphere before landing on the islands, Van Eaton and her colleagues think.

Some of the diatoms even kept their color, both in ash close to the volcano and at the Chatham Islands. The color suggests they weren't cooked to extreme temperatures in the volcanic eruption, Van Eaton said.

Spores infect the sky

But even though the Taupo diatom shells are pristine, Theriot is doubtful any diatoms lived through the eruptions. Instead, he suspects diatom resting spores could travel the atmospheric currents, dropping out and colonizing new ecosystems. Diatoms fashion spores to ride out inhospitable changes in their environment. Two years ago, Danish researchers revived 100-year-old resting spores from muck in a local fjord. Resting spores have been found in clouds. The eruption could have launched spores from the lake bottom into the atmosphere, Theriot said.

"I and many others have joked about Yellowstone blowing up again and dispersing the diatomite that is being created at the bottom of Yellowstone Lake," Theriot said. "This is the most thoroughly studied and best documented example of this phenomenon, and so it really says maybe we can add volcanoes to the list of possibilities [of how diatoms spread]. And volcanoes would be particularly effective." [Infographic: The Geology of Yellowstone]

Van Eaton hopes the discovery will prompt other scientists to search for microscopic life in "wet eruptions," where magma hit water.

"This is potentially another tool to pinpoint where ash deposits come from," Van Eaton said. "If the work is done to characterize the kinds of microbes that are unique to an area, then it could give you a biogenic fingerprint for your eruption deposits. This has likely been going on in modern eruptions, but no one has taken the time to look for them."

Ash travels hundreds of miles, but once it's far from its source, linking a few inches of glass back to a single volcano becomes difficult, particularly in regions like the South Pacific, where volcanoes pop off all the time.

But Theriot is skeptical that diatoms will prove to be a useful tool for tracking volcanic ash. Diatoms are so global that endemic species — known only to one place — are hard to find, he said. "If you found diatoms in ash deposits in a bog in Ohio, you would have no idea if it was from Yellowstone or from that bog," Theriot said. "It would take a really extraordinary set of circumstances, like this New Zealand [diatom] that is clearly out of place, to be convincing that the diatoms had blown in with the ash."