Overview

• Pyrocystis noctiluca, a bioluminescent phytoplankton, inflates to six times its size to navigate ocean depths.
• This inflation allows the plankton to rise up to 200 meters towards the ocean surface to access sunlight for photosynthesis.
• The process is part of the plankton's cell cycle, where division and inflation occur naturally over seven days.
• Researchers used a 'gravity machine' to simulate ocean conditions and observed how density changes facilitate this movement.
• The study suggests this mechanism reduces predation risk and enhances nutrient uptake and photosynthesis.