Investigating the Superpowers of Algae and Cyanobacteria

Volunteering to learn during the summer holidays? Absolutely – at BioVT’s iLAB. At this year’s final MINTmach-Pass session, ten young scientists once again had a fantastic time experimenting.

During the BioVT-organised workshop, the children spent part of the first week of their summer holidays on the trail of the “superpowers” of algae and cyanobacteria. Alongside plenty of fascinating fun facts, they discovered that algae-based products appear in many aspects of everyday life – from sushi in restaurants and wobbly jelly desserts to wound dressings, prints on their favourite T-shirts, colourful Smurf ice cream and even the pearls in bubble tea.

The bubble tea pearls were the first experiment of the day. By dripping mixtures of alginate and fruit juice into a calcium lactate solution, the children produced their own pearls. Watching them form was fascinating, and they tasted delicious too.

Armed with their first experimental experience, the young researchers then headed into the laboratory. Together, they discussed the best way to cultivate algae in a bioreactor before putting their ideas directly into practice.

But do the algae in the reactor actually perform photosynthesis? Do they really need light to live and grow? To find out, the participants immobilised algae in alginate beads and transferred them into an indicator solution that changes colour in response to the carbon dioxide concentration. The observation: when exposed to light, the algae turned the yellow indicator solution a deep violet within just 20 minutes, providing clear evidence of their photosynthetic activity.

While waiting for the colour change, the children extracted different pigments from algae and cyanobacteria. One highlight was isolating the natural blue pigment from the cyanobacterium Spirulina, the same pigment used to colour the popular Smurf ice cream.

To round off the day and experience their newly acquired knowledge with all their senses, the participants coloured yoghurt with Spirulina blue and topped it with the bubble tea pearls they had prepared earlier. Afterwards, everyone agreed: this is what makes learning fun.