Hobbies And Interests
Description
Chlorella is a green, unicellular (single cell) algae, and one of the oldest known organisms. One of the first organisms on Earth to evolve a nucleus, fossils of chlorella have been found that date back three billion years. Chlorella's shape is spherical, it has an extremely high concentration of chlorophyll, and it is said to smell like grass. It has an extremely strong, fibrous cell wall that is difficult to break.
Habitat
Chlorella is common in fresh water around the world (and in many fish tanks). Chlorella is very durable, and reproduces easily via photosynthesis. Needing only a small amount of minerals, along with water, sunlight, and carbon dioxide, chlorella can quadruple approximately every 24 hours under the right conditions. Chlorella is also cultivated for commercial and scientific uses in large vats or ponds. The water is purified, and nutrients are added to aid chlorella growth. These vats are often indoors, because chlorella can grow just as well in artificial light.
Food and Medicine
Chlorella has been seen for decades as a great potential source of food, due to its high concentration of protein and other nutrients. Chlorella has been used as food for both humans and livestock, and has also proven to be effective in a variety of medicinal uses, including cancer prevention, cleansing of toxins from the body, and even weight loss. But mass production and harvesting have proven more difficult and expensive than expected. Due to our digestive inability to break chlorella's sturdy cell wall, the breaking must be done during the production process. Therefore, Chlorella's potential for a mass market has yet to be realized.