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3 Crucial processes: Study suggests humans can breathe thanks to volcanoes, tectonics and cyanobacteria

April 12, 2021 -

In a paper published in the journal Nature Geoscience, the researchers described how tectonic activity –the shifting of Earth's outer crust – led to the formation of volcanoes that spewed massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. In turn, the climate warmed and populations of photosynthetic organisms called cyanobacteria increased. These processes collectively increased oxygen levels around 2.5 billion years ago, giving birth to oxygen-dependent organisms ...

Recently discovered 2.5-billion-year-old fossils may contain cyanobacteria that transformed Earth’s atmosphere with oxygen

March 18, 2020 - cyanobacteria. Today, most cyanobacteria range from 5 to 10 microns in size, with some occasionally reaching 60 microns. Most of the ancient cyanobacteria fossils, however, were larger than these, with some reaching 100 microns in size.

Additionally, the fossils have shown a number of protrusions that the researchers haven't been able to explain. One possibility is that they're a type of budding, a type of asexual reproduction where the bacterium ...

Scientists create a “bionic mushroom” that produces electricity

February 03, 2019 -

This Frankenstein's Monster is the brainchild of researchers from the Stevens Institute of Technology (Stevens). They used a 3D printer to create cyanobacteria clusters and graphene-based nanoribbons, which they then grafted onto a white button mushroom.

The resulting animal-mineral-vegetable hybrid can absorb sunlight via its cyanobacteria and turn it into energy via photosynthesis. The electricity is collected by the nanoribbons, which can be extracted ...

New technology enables scientists to generate energy from live bacteria

August 29, 2018 - cyanobacteria occupy a similar, important spot in the food chain. They are a vital source of sugar and other organic materials that are needed by higher, energy-intensive lifeforms.

As if that wasn't impressive enough, cyanobacteria can also produce energy even without a source of light. They have evolved respiratory mechanisms that can break down stored sugar into usable energy. Both energy-generating mechanisms can even interact with each other. (Related: Hawaii ...

Study of microbes from extreme habitats may aid search for life on Mars

June 04, 2018 - cyanobacteria taxa that were common to almost all the deserts. Others were found in nearly every desert, save for those with the most extreme climates. "Although cyanobacteria are ubiquitous in the hypolithic communities in different deserts, there are genera that are more dominant than others. Cold deserts like the Antarctic and Tibetan deserts will tend to have a higher abundance of filamentous cyanobacteria, called Phormidium," said Lacap-Bulger. By contrast, ...

Novel natural sunscreen from Thai hot springs could offer eco-friendly alternative to synthetic filters

January 14, 2026 - cyanobacteria in the Bo Khlueng hot spring in Ratchaburi Province, Thailand.

This discovery arrives at a critical time. Public awareness is growing regarding the potential dangers of many conventional sunscreens, which have been linked to allergic reactions and are increasingly scrutinized for their environmental impact, particularly on marine life like coral reefs. The search for biocompatible, effective alternatives has never been more urgent.A unique molecule ...

Study: Plastic pollution is harming photosynthetic bacteria in the ocean that produce 10 percent of the oxygen we breathe

November 17, 2019 - cyanobacteria. Similar microbes might have made Earth a livable place for complex animals and humans.

Ancient cyanobacteria took sunlight and used the energy to power photosynthesis. They broke down water into hydrogen and oxygen, and the latter gas molecule eventually filled the atmosphere.The toxic chemicals that leach from plastic trash

The Macquarie researchers obtained samples of two Prochlorococcus strains that lived at different depths of ...

Spending the Labor Day weekend at the beach? Watch out for toxic algal blooms, warn experts

September 04, 2020 -

The Environment Working Group (EWG) identified 318 individual bodies of water all over the United States that are populated by toxic amounts of cyanobacteria, a type of algae that can produce toxins. The majority of the outbreaks are concentrated in recreational areas. In other locations, dogs and cattle died after being exposed to the toxic blooms.

Fewer outbreaks of algal blooms were reported this year compared to 2019. However, the EWG noted that this might ...

Study reveals that toxic algae is causing dolphins to suffer from Alzheimer’s-like brain disease

August 18, 2019 - cyanobacteria

Blue-green algae are photosynthetic microorganisms called cyanobacteria. One of the oldest lifeforms on Earth, they live in any place that contains sufficient amounts of water. Some cyanobacteria even live in conditions similar to Mars.

Their favorite environments are lakes, ponds, and warm, still waters.

For protection, cyanobacteria produce different kinds of toxins, such as BMAA. These toxins are lethal to fish ...

Immense hydrocarbon cycle discovered in the world’s oceans

April 06, 2021 - cyanobacteria pump more hydrocarbons into the ocean per year than other sources.

"Just two types of marine cyanobacteria are adding up to 500 times more hydrocarbons to the ocean per year than the sum of all other types of petroleum inputs to the ocean, including natural oil seeps, oil spills, fuel dumping and run-off from land," said UCSB researcher Connor Love. (Related: Oil companies in Saudi Arabia use nanotechnology for petroleum extraction to minimize ...

Powerful nutrients in microalgae like chlorella found to save lives by restoring heart function after a heart attack

June 26, 2017 - cyanobacteria (or blue-green algae), which are tougher because they have to survive in water. Most of us are familiar with spirulina and chlorella, which are forms of cyanobacteria. [RELATED: Discover the many health benefits of chlorella.]

After determining that the bacteria could survive out of their environment along with the heart cells, the research team then moved on to animal trials, injecting the cyanobacteria into the tiny hearts of rats ...

Scientists study efficient photosynthetic bacteria to boost crop yields

July 01, 2019 -

In a study published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, a group of researchers from Canada reported on how bacteria could help boost crop yield by improving an enzyme called RubisCO. This enzyme uses light energy to incorporate carbon dioxide into organic molecules that the plant can use to form sugar.RubisCO works better in bacteria

RubisCO is an enzyme found in plants and photosynthetic microorganisms such as cyanobacteria. Scientists believe that the enzyme, ...

Study: Three common lichen-forming fungi dramatically reduce the risk of breast and cervical cancer

September 29, 2018 - cyanobacteria and fungi in a natural example of the sum being greater than its parts.

The fungus (or fungi in certain cases) provides a place for the algae or cyanobacteria to live, as well as water and nutrients for its survival. The algae and bacteria are capable of photosynthesis, from which the fungus derives either sugar alcohols or glucose as food. The algae and cyanobacteria have been observed to be able to live by themselves, but only ...

Florida dolphins show Alzheimer’s symptoms in warning sign for humans in nation’s highest-risk county

October 15, 2025 - cyanobacteria, microscopic organisms that multiply rapidly in warm, nutrient-rich waters. The findings suggest that these toxins are a primary culprit behind the neurodegenerative damage observed.

The correlation between toxin levels and algal blooms was dramatic. Dolphins that washed ashore during peak bloom seasons had up to 2,900 times more 2,4-DAB in their brains than those stranded at other times of the year. This direct link points to the acute danger posed ...

How should you cook freshwater fish to avoid biotoxins?

August 05, 2019 -

Cyanotoxin is produced by bacteria called cyanobacteria or blue-green algae. They can be found everywhere, but are most abundant in freshwater.

Cyanotoxin is known to affect organs such as liver, kidneys, heart, intestines, lungs, and brain.  When ingested, cyanotoxin can cause hepatoenteritis, headaches, diarrhea, dehydration, and kidney damage, among others.

This toxin may be present in fish and shellfish that grew in contaminated water. It can also ...

It’s a simple chain of cause-and-effect: Toxic green algae in Florida is the result of man-made pollution

April 03, 2019 - cyanobacteria in the blue-green algae outbreak as a food source. The latter is mainly caused by man-made pollution, especially from the following sources:

The end result is a chain reaction: Nitrogen- and phosphorus-rich runoffs feed the cyanobacteria in green-algae, which become fodder for the red tide-causing K. brevis. (Related: Florida battling dual ecological disasters … What aren’t they telling residents about the connection between the ...

Harmful algal blooms can release lethal neurotoxins in the air, scientists warn

April 12, 2021 -

The discovery suggests that the neurotoxin called anatoxin-a (ATX) has the potential to become airborne. The researchers have reported the discovery in a paper published Thursday, April 1, in Lake and Reservoir Management.Harmful algal blooms release toxin into the air

Harmful algal blooms appear when huge amounts of photosynthetic bacteria, known as cyanobacteria, grow on the surface of a pond or lake. These blooms are amplified by fertilizer runoff from wastewater ...

Ancient Maya civilization purified water using filtration system made of crystal minerals

October 29, 2020 - cyanobacteria and other toxins, which otherwise would have had made them sick. In fact, the researchers found no evidence of blue-green algal blooms in the Corriental reservoir. These blue-green algal blooms were toxic overgrowths of cyanobacteria in the water.

According to Tankersley, complex water filtration systems were observed before in ancient civilizations in Greece, Egypt and South Asia. None, however, had been observed in the ancient New World ...

ETH Zurich unveils revolutionary photosynthetic material to absorb CO2 from air and build structures

June 29, 2025 -

Scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) have invented a groundbreaking photosynthetic material that not only absorbs carbon dioxide (CO?) from the atmosphere but also mineralizes it into solid carbonates, offering a scalable low-energy solution to climate change. By embedding cyanobacteria—photosynthetic microbes—within a 3D-printable hydrogel matrix, the material can grow, harden and even repair itself, paving the way ...

Study: Mars was once habitable; atmosphere likely formed through the same process as Earth’s

March 02, 2021 -

Studying the Martian atmosphere

Earth went through a process called the "Great Oxidation Event" (GOE) two to three billions of years ago. The GOE gradually deposited enormous amounts of oxygen into the atmosphere, leading to the emergence of complex life forms.

Scientists agree that photosynthetic cyanobacteria were responsible for the GOE. These microorganisms existed millions of years before the event and managed to thrive despite Earth's then "reduced" atmosphere, ...