#Newswire: Nutrition from Water (NXW), the New Zealand-born company harnessing microalgae strains and proprietary heterotrophic fermentation processes to biomanufacture protein-rich, fiber-containing alternatives to bovine whey at one-third of the cost, announces JDAs with Japan's Nissei Kyokei and a prominent European dairy nutrition company.
#algae #microbial #ingredients #dairy #protein #biotech #foodtech #microalgae #innovation #newzealand #japan #europe #pressrelease
https://www.proteinreport.org/newswire/nutrition-water-nxw-signs-two-joint-development-agreements-launch-marine-wheytm-globally/

We found a really cool giant virus inside the genome of a green alga, and it has a very strange infection cycle that is hard to detect.

There are reports going back decades of viral particles spontaneously appearing in pure cultures of green algae, so this phenomenon seems quite common but mostly overlooked.

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ads6303

Found a nice vitricolous lichen yesterday in New York. I'm assuming it's some sort of rock shield (Xanthoparmelia) but not sure which one. Per Harris (2004) there are 15 different species in the state. #lichen #glass #nature #fungi #algae #inaturalist https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/269613876

Here is a fabulous snail!

#Newswire: Are you or someone you know a trailblazing woman in the world of agri-food-tech? The Modern Agriculture Foundation (MAF) proudly launches the third annual “Leading Women in Foodtech 2025” recognition program.

#cellbased #microbial #plantbased #fungi #algae #molecularfarming #meat #dairy #eggs #seafood #ingredients #protein #biotech #foodtech #agtech #innovation #women #leaders #awards #pressrelease

https://www.proteinreport.org/newswire/modern-agriculture-foundation-launches-global-call-nominations-leading-women-foodtech-2025

Intertidal projects poster session

9 great posters summarizing biodiversity, species cohabitation, and abiotic factors

Today I made art with #algae. Or maybe #seaweed?
Anyway.
Today was a good day.

https://www.livescience.com/animals/giant-fungus-like-organism-may-be-a-completely-unknown-branch-of-life

first Prototaxites fossil was discovered in 1843, scientists haven't been sure whether they were a plant, fungus or even a type of #algae. However, chemical analyses…suggested they were likely a giant ancient fungus.

…Prototaxites might not have been a humongous #fungus after all — rather, it may have been an entirely different and previously #unknownlifeform. The study has not yet been peer-reviewed.

Mindfulness poem for the #lichenology #phycology #mycology fans. #Bryology fans can likely relate too.

On Peace by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer

"There is so much I cannot do
to help the world,
but this—
let me learn to metabolize
silence as the alga in lichen
metabolizes light."

https://ahundredfallingveils.com/2025/03/28/on-peace/

Weekend #Plankton #Factoid
Autotrophs are organisms which use pigments for photosynthesis by absorbing light at specific wavelengths. The dominant chlorophyll-a absorbs #light in the violet-blue (430nm) and red (660nm) wavelengths, but not green, which is why #algae is green. Phycocyanin, an accessory #pigment in #cyanobacteria, absorbs in those green wavelengths, so is blue in colour. This is why we can determine algae types from space.
https://scitechdaily.com/new-research-suggests-earths-first-oceans-werent-blue-they-were-green/
#Science #satellites #oceans

#Crisis On The Coast: #DomoicAcid Poisoning Strands 140 #SeaLions & 50 #Dolphins On #California Beaches
The recent influx of #marine #wildlife affected by domoic acid poisoning off the coast of Southern California underscores a critical #environmental crisis, w/≧140 sea lions suffering from this debilitating poison & reports of at least 50 stranded dolphins along local beaches.
#ClimateCrisis #climate #MarineLife #ocean #wildfires #ecosystems #algae #OceanWarming #science
https://worldanimalnews.com/crisis-on-the-coast-domoic-acid-poisoning-strands-140-sea-lions-and-50-dolphins-on-california-beaches/

Toxic Harmful Algae Bloom (HAB) along the California coast.

https://sccoos.org/started-feb-2025-algal-bloom-effects-hundreds-of-marine-mammals-seabirds/

My at-home algal cultivation hobby is going well. I am surprised thst soil samples are the best for growing new green algae - more so than pond water.

@animalculum It's interesting that "bloody snow" is an important topic in old lore, Christian legends of Middle Ages, and cultural heritage. It would be very interesting to analyse these texts for their connection with climate history, like warming periods.

Mystery solved: our tests reveal the tiny algae killing fish and harming surfers on SA beaches

https://theconversation.com/mystery-solved-our-tests-reveal-the-tiny-algae-killing-fish-and-harming-surfers-on-sa-beaches-252810

> A harmful algal bloom of Karenia mikimotoi made dozens of surfers sick and killed seadragons, fish and octopuses on two South Australian beaches.

Great article about #BigAg...

https://riverraccoon.substack.com/p/seeing-red

"Water from the #RedRiver flows through #LakeWinnipeg on its journey to #HudsonBay. Lake Winnipeg is huge—the world’s 11th largest freshwater lake by surface area (even larger than Lake Ontario and about the same as Lake Erie) and has the world’s largest ‘lakeshed’, i.e. area of land draining to a lake. It supports a large commercial and sport fishery for several fish species including walleye, which are a peculiar green color there due to the mineral content of the water."

"The #water_quality in Lake Winnipeg is tanking because of “rapidly increased #livestock production and use of synthetic #fertilizer in the Red River Valley, with smaller contributions of phosphorus from the city of Winnipeg and other human development in the Red and Winnipeg River basins .” Nutrient-driven #toxic #algae blooms have doubled in size since the 1990s due to increases in Red River phosphorus levels, a common component of livestock manure."

A bit more Closterium, at x100.

Plenty of improvements to imaging and lighting yet to come with this restored early 20th century microscope.

The motile organisms produce multiple linear progressions due to image stacking.

How did plants evolve to cope with such a challenging and changing habitat?

It turns out the answer is in 600 million years of stress! A research team led by our Uni compared algae and plants spanning million years of independent evolution. Using advanced bioinformatic methods, they pinpointed a shared stress response network: https://www.uni-goettingen.de/en/3240.html?id=7740

Research at #NatureCommunications: https://doi.org/n9m4