Oxybenzone, a UV-filtering compound used in sunscreens, has been found in high concentrations in the waters around popular coral reefs in Hawaii and the Caribbean. According to new research, the chemical not only kills coral, it causes DNA damage in adults and deforms the DNA in coral in the larval stage, making it unlikely they […]
Tag Archives | Algae
Blue-green algae affecting reproductive health
Algal blooms that occur in rivers and waterways have been found to produce a previously unrecognized estrogen-like compound that adversely affects fish, plants and humans by disrupting the normal activity of reproductive hormones. University of Tennessee researchers, led by biotechnologist Theodore Henry, compared groups of larval zebrafish exposed to blue-green algae (Microcystis) cells with those […]
Toxin producing algae key to mass extinctions, claims new study
Algae, rather than asteroids, were the key to the end of the dinosaurs, claims a new study that notes that current environmental conditions show a significant similarity to the periods in the past when mass extinctions occurred. Clemson University geologist James W. Castle and ecotoxicologist John H. Rodgers have spent two years analyzing data from […]