A.E. Walsby facts for kids
Anthony Edward Walsby, a Fellow of the Royal Society, passed away on April 14, 2024. He was a Professor of Microbiology at the School of Biological Sciences, which is part of the University of Bristol.
Professor Walsby was a dedicated scientist who studied many fascinating things. He researched tiny living organisms like Algae and Cyanobacteria, which are types of simple plants and bacteria often found in water. He also explored how these organisms live in lakes and the Baltic Sea. A big part of his work involved studying special tiny bubbles called gas vesicles found inside some of these organisms, and he also looked into their genetics.
He is especially famous for discovering a very unique microbe called Haloquadratum walsbyi. He found this amazing square-shaped organism in super salty ponds on the Sinai Peninsula in 1980. Because of his important work, he was chosen to be a Fellow of the Royal Society on March 11, 1993. This is a very high honor for scientists.
What Professor Walsby Studied
Professor Walsby's research focused on several key areas:
- He studied the tiny gas bubbles, called Gas vesicles, found in cyanobacteria. He looked at how they work, what they are made of, and how they affect the environment.
- He investigated how these gas vesicles help cyanobacteria float at different depths in lakes and oceans, which is important for their survival.
- He used a special technique called PCR to study the Population genetics of cyanobacteria. This helped him understand how different groups of these bacteria are related.
- He also researched a specific type of cyanobacterium called Planktothrix rubescens, especially in lakes where the water layers don't mix much.
- He worked on ways to calculate how much these organisms grow and make their own food (photosynthesis) in lakes each day.
