The diatom Skeletonema. (Image credit: Andrew Alverson) Advances in DNA sequencing technologies have made it possible, and practical, to address these types of questions with whole-genome sequencing.

In Victorian England, a very curious art form flourished: making intricate patterns from the microalgae known as diatoms, single-celled organisms that range from five microns (or .005 millimeters ...

A new study led by researchers from the U of A found that diatoms evolved slowly for the first 100 million years of their existence. Then, 170 million years ago, they reached an inflection point ...

A diatom, doubling about once a day, will beget 100 million descendants in a month. How the organism manages to be so successful is becoming clearer. And the secret, researchers say, is its ornate ...

A simple single-celled marine organism, known as a diatom, has an enormous impact on our atmosphere and oceans, and without these chlorophyll- producing organisms classified as phytoplankton, life ...

Diatoms – unicellular organisms – have long been known to science, but their overwhelming appetite for nitrate is a new discovery made in a global survey. Nitrate is a nutrient, widely used as ...

Our diatom research is focused on the pursuit of comparative biology: the systematics, evolution and biogeography of freshwater diatoms. The research covers both extinct and extant taxa, and utilises ...

Single-celled algae and marine bacteria live in a complex but largely unexplored relationship. Now, a new study shows that the surface of diatoms is a surprisingly diverse habitat for bacteria. A ...

Diatoms have unique geometric structures made from silica, which they extract from the water, like corals that build their homes from calcium in the ocean. They are also one of the most important ...

A new study led by researchers from the U of A found that diatoms evolved slowly for the first 100 million years of their existence. Then, 170 million years ago, they reached an inflection point ...