Harvesting algae blooms could help mitigate environmental problems and provide a source of biomass

Sandia method cheaper, greener, and cuts competition for fertilizer

Water-borne algal blooms from farm fertilizer runoff can destroy aquatic life and clog rivers and lakes, but scientists will report today that they are working on a way to clean up these environmental scourges and turn them into useful products. The algae could serve as a feedstock for biofuels, and the feedstock leftovers could be recycled back into farm soil nutrients.

Dogs are known to play, swim and lap up water in lakes and ponds, but these simple joys can lead to illness and even fatal poisoning when harmful algae blooms muck up the water.

Understanding how viruses attack giant algal blooms may help us understand their role in fixing global carbon.

Late summer is the peak time for harmful algae that can turn lakes into toxic scum, canceling fishing trips and fouling water supplies. While the Pacific Northwest doesn’t get anything near the activity that turned parts of Lake Erie into bright green slime, our coasts are vulnerable in late summer to this largely unpredictable – and in our case unseen – menace.

Jose A. Olivares will present an overview of the technologies and processes that are needed to widely produce algae-based liquid transportation fuels.

New research reveals how the algae behind red tide thoroughly disables – but doesn’t kill – other species of algae. The study shows how chemical signaling between algae can trigger big changes in the marine ecosystem.

A growing partnership between the University of Michigan and a company in Dexter is a model for how university-to-business ties can produce significant mutual benefits.

Lab success doesn’t always translate to real-world success. A team of Michigan State University scientists, however, has invented a new technology that increases the odds of helping algae-based biofuels cross that gap and come closer to reality.