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Krill Biomass And Strange Life Traits
- Antarctic krill form enormous swarms that contain most of their regional biomass and can even be spotted from space.
- Their biology (molting, eye-size ageing, reverse puberty, bioluminescence) reveals surprising life-history adaptations.
Krill Physiology Holds Biotech Potential
- Tom Ikeda's research shows krill can survive long starvation and repeatedly molt, shrinking between molts while eyes remain constant.
- That molting and bioluminescence give krill unique survival strategies with potential biotechnical interest.
Krill Hype Versus Scientific Caution
- Researchers have patented krill enzymes and proposed many medical uses, but these claims remain unproven.
- Media hype also overstated krill's ability to solve plastic pollution by breaking microplastics into more dangerous nanoplastics.