On a shelf at the Center for Marine Science, dozens of clear
glass jugs are filled with greenish water, home to a tiny marine
algae known as “dinoflagellate Karenia brevis.” The organism is
the same type present in the dangerous algal blooms known as
“red tides,” which produce toxins that kill fish, make shellfish
dangerous to eat and cause respiratory problems for humans,
among other things. But the algae being grown at the University
of North Carolina Wilmington facility will be used for a starkly
different purpose — improving the lives of people who have had
strokes or traumatic brain injuries. “There is a brevetoxin
that’s found in Florida red tides, which in large quantities is
toxic to humans,” said Dan Baden, director of the Center for
Marine Science. “But any drug in large amounts is toxic. What we
are doing is finally determining the concentration at which the
brevetoxin can exert positive therapeutic effects rather than
the overwhelming toxic effects. A team of researchers, led by
Dr. Thomas Murray