Researchers Studying How Blue-Green Algae Toxins Travel

Originally published by WINK News on January 18, 2022

We know that toxins from blue-green algae can make people sick. And, the smell and sight of blue-green algae is something none of us want to deal with again.

But now, researchers are trying to figure out how these toxins travel through the air and get into our bodies. WINK News gives you a sneak peek of the technology making this study possible.

A blue-green algae culture from Las Vegas, Nevada, is just one of the many samples being studied. A duo from The Water School at Florida Gulf Coast University uses these samples to see how toxins travel through the air.

Barry Rosen is a professor at The Water School at FGCU. “So that’s an aerosolization chamber, we built it, we designed it and built it, and the idea is that we want to create wind speeds that might occur Mother Nature,” said Rosen.