What a tiny microbe from the sea has taught me about life – the Crafoord Academy Lecture 2020 with Penny Chisholm, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA and Crafoord Prize Laureate 2019.
What a tiny microbe from the sea has taught me about life
Penny Chisholm, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, Crafoord Prize Laureate 2019. Welcome remarks by Ove Eriksson, Chairperson of the Crafoord Committee for Biosciences. Introduction by Karin Rengefors, Lund University. Panel discussion with Penny Chisholm, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA; Olof Berglund, Lund University; Hannah Blossom, Lund University and Catherine Legrand, Linnæus University.
Phytoplankton give us half the oxygen we breathe, feed life in the sea, and play a central role in regulating Earth’s climate. Like plants on land, they photosynthesize, using solar energy to build their bodies from the carbon dioxide in seawater. There are thousands of different species of these microscopic cells floating in the upper 200 meters of the ocean. The smallest and most abundant among them – Prochlorococcus – has been my passion for over 30 years. Prochlorococcus has many secrets to tell us about life in the sea. I will share the story of their discovery, and some of the lessons I have learned from them over the years.
Penny Chisholm is an Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she teaches ecology and does research on the role of microorganisms in shaping marine ecosystems. She was awarded the Crafoord Prize in Biosciences 2019.