ALGAE HUNTERS HELL: PENGUIN POOP AND LEOPARD SEALS
ALGAE HUNTERS HELL: PENGUIN POOP AND LEOPARD SEALS
WORCESTER, Mass. (Wireless Flash) Spending a week surrounded by penguin poop doesnt sound like fun but Brian Duval isnt raising a stink. Duval is a professional algae hunter who travels the world collecting algae for scientists who use it in new pharmaceuticals and he says the snow found around penguin poop is filled with the stuff. In fact, next month, the 41-year-old environmental analyst will visit Antarcticas penguin territory to gather samples of red, green and orange algae, which reportedly have cancer-fighting properties. Duval says scientists want Antarctic algae because its been exposed to more ultraviolet radiation than other types. Although he only needs a beer cooler full of algae, collecting it wont be as easy as it sounds because leopard seals who live in the area attack people who get too close to the water.
Fri 11-02-01