By Manasi Desai Our blue beautiful ocean provides numerous benefits to our planet and all the organisms that live here. But it faces many environmental threats created by humans. Oil spills caused by oil rigs and tankers is one of

By Jennifer Gladstone Deep in the ocean off the coast of Oregon, there is an underwater mountain range called the Juan de Fuca Ridge. The rock of this ridge is the home of a newly discovered microbial phylum called Aminicenantes.

By Hannah McGrath Some species of phytoplankton produce harmful toxins that have consequences for the environment and ecosystems. One example of a phytoplankton that produces harmful toxins is a species called Karenia mikimotoi. When this species grows a lot it

By Eliza Goodell Climate change is rapidly warming our oceans and our atmosphere. One of the fastest warming places on the planet is the Arctic Ocean. In the Arctic Ocean, mini plants called phytoplankton are making their living from carbon

By Charis Li Imagine having a seaweed living inside a womb. This is the case in the fascinating symbiosis between green algae and spotted salamander, where the green algae not only exists in the egg capsule fluid but also in 

By Ben Gustafson Phytoplankton are tiny organisms that are important to everything living in our oceans, including here in the Gulf of Maine. They get their energy from photosynthesis, provide oxygen for the oceans, and become food for many other

By Angela Biron Although it might not look like it, ocean water is full of tiny marine microorganisms! While most of these microbes are harmless, some can infect humans. One species of infectious, or pathogenic, marine bacteria found in the

By Dylan Halbeisen The Coronavirus pandemic forced the summer REU program to branch into many fruitful limbs of learning. From the fundamentals of computer code to delivering a science talk over the internet, I am advantageously learning a diverse range

By Tre’Andice Williams Do you ever think about the smaller things in life? So small, you are unable to view with a naked eye. Well, let’s take a minute to visualize a microscopic protist. Kind of hard, right? To be

By Annabelle Adams-Beyea Today, the surface of Mars is mapped better than the surface below the ocean. From what scientists have discovered, the ocean floor consists of many diverse environments supporting a plethora of life. One critical component of the