Researchers with UW-Madison are not only adding to our understanding of the strange and ancient life form but also coming up with better ways to detect its lethal presence.
“Now, public health officials just look at the water and, if it looks blue-green, they close a beach or post a warning near a waterway,” said Katherine McMahon, a UW-Madison microbiologist and engineer. Now, however, using funding from the Sea Grant Institute at UW-Madison, McMahon has worked with Ph.D. student Lucas Beversdorf and the School of Freshwater Sciences’ Matthew Smith to build and test an automated sampler that can monitor bloom conditions around the clock.