vortex-l  

Re: [Vo]:Nostalgae

Harry Veeder
Sun, 13 Apr 2008 09:27:21 -0700

How about algae chips?
dried/baked algae with a bit of salt. ;-)

Harry

On 13/4/2008 5:02 AM, Michael Foster wrote:

> All this talk of algae reminds me of a project I embarked upon when I was
> about 14 years old.  I had the rather ambitious idea that I could use algae to
> feed an animal tissue culture. Essentially what I tried to do was grow algae
> in a glass tube and using a bacterial or protozoan intermediary, feed the
> muscle tissue culture.
> 
> In other words, I attempted have sunlight feed the algae on one end, and for
> filet mignon to be extruded out the other.  I obtained a really nice Pyrex
> glass tube about 4 inches in diameter and 6 feet long with ground flanges on
> each end.  I have no idea what these cost originally, but an industrial
> surplus place had hundreds of these beauties for a quarter each. People used
> to buy them and use them for target practice.
> 
> I got some unidentified algae species from the duck pond in a local park and I
> must say the algae thrived remarkably well in the glass tube.  Well at least
> that part worked.  Nearly pure oxygen collects at the top of the tube. Must be
> good for something.
> 
> As you can imagine, the rest of my effort didn't work out so well.   I had in
> fact succeeded with a tissue growth  medium, but nothing resembling meat was
> the result. Undaunted, I tried various combinations of organisms inside the
> algae tube with the tissue culture. In the end, practically everything I tried
> in the tube succeeded in making a really smelly toxic brown mess of the algae.
> My dreams of cheap steak were dashed.
> 
> Not long after that, I learned that the glass tubing was surplussed out from
> the old Vitro uranium processing plant.  Those tubes were likely radioactive
> as hell.  Remember that no one was very concerned about such things in those
> days. 
> 
> See: 
> http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/page/umtra/salt_lake_title1.html
> http://tinyurl.com/3ffgjs
> 
> It sort of makes me wonder if algae might grow a little better in a
> radioactive environment. You know, some like it hot.
> 
> M.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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