Did you know that we only know ten percent of all the species which float in our oceans? There is an infinity of marine creatures we have yet to discover and learn about. As of today, we know roughly 500.000 microalgal strains out of an estimated 800 000 to 1 million. Many more remain hidden from our knowledge books and databases.
This knowledge gap is not only painful for scientists and algae nerds. It literally may leave many people in pain; pain that could be treated with the help of microalgae. These tiny ocean dwellers produce a great number of health-beneficial compounds. These could be used to treat pain and inflammation or to prevent and treat chronic diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
To harness the health potential of microalgae, we need to cultivate them. For that, we need to understand what makes them thrive in our laboratories and biotech industries. Then, sort out the health-beneficial compounds from all the other molecules algae produce. Finally, we need to persuade the microalgae to produce more of the health-beneficial compounds.
To learn more about the cultivation of algae, its health potential and how to harness it, watch the 4-minute video interview with microalgae specialist Dr. Amikam Bar-Gil.
This project has received funding from the European Union‘s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under grant agreement N° 101000501