On average, phytoplankton are only five to 10 percent heavier than seawater. This means if they want to remain at the surface ...

Many plankton journey from the cold, dark depths of our oceans to the surface, only to eventually drift down again into the ...

Researchers have discovered that the bioluminescent phytoplankton Pyrocystis noctiluca can rapidly inflate, allowing them to ...

In a paper publishing October 17 in the Cell Press journal Current Biology, researchers describe a species of bioluminescent phytoplankton, called Pyrocystis noctiluca, that balloons to six times ...

The researchers discovered that P. noctiluca cells behave more like little submarines which can control their density so they can choose where they want to reach the ocean’s surface.

Taking in seawater while filtering out dense salts lets unicellular phytoplankton migrate tens of meters vertically toward sunnier seas.

"What we have discovered in this paper is that these P. noctiluca cells are like little submarines that can control their density so precisely that they can choose where they want to be in the ...

This unique strategy for ocean travel is described in a study published October 17 in the Cell Press journal Current Biology. “What we have discovered in this paper is that these P. noctiluca ...

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