Ò×ʤ²©¹ÙÍø

Lake closures in the hot summer months are often caused by cyanobacteria blooms, also know as harmful algae blooms, which release toxins that may be linked to such diseases as ALS and Alzheimer’s.

Ò×ʤ²©¹ÙÍø’s Jim Haney and his team of researchers are looking at the possibility that these toxins are being breathed in via aerosols from the surface of the lake. The research was funded by the Ò×ʤ²©¹ÙÍø Agricultural Experiment Station, a research center of the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture.

Katie Langley ’15, a student in the and the recipient of a (SURF) through Ò×ʤ²©¹ÙÍø’s Hamel Center for Undergraduate Research, has been working closely withÌýHaney.

Langley has spent her summer studying these aerosols to determine if toxins are in factÌýcoming from the lake, and if so, inÌýunder what conditions, and whether they are a potential source of toxins.