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The article focuses on the study of Gambierdiscus launched by several scientists and funded by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) Ocean Life Institute's Tropical Research Initiative. The Gambierdiscus, accordingly, is a single-celled marine algae that lives on seaweeds and produces a substance that is transformed into a toxin when reef fish graze on seaweed and consume it. Its result, further, is ciguatera fish poisoning to people. To test the cell, WHOI Senior Scientist Don Anderson, University of Texas marine biologist Deana Erdner, and U.S. Food and Drug Administration chemist Robert Dickey, decided to map distributions of the cell to discover how strains and degrees of toxicity vary in different environments.

An excerpt from the newspaper "The Galveston County Daily News" about ciguatera fish poisoning is presented.

Discusses the health risk posed by high-mercury fish to individuals. Range of neurological problems associated with mercury exposure; Examples of high-mercury fishes that should not be eaten by pregnant women; Fish diet recommendations for children.

Reports on the health effects of the ciguatera toxin found in reef fishes. Symptoms of ciguatera poisoning; Advice for preventing ciguatera poisoning.

Reports on the warning issued by North Carolina officials on March 2000 to limit the consumption of king mackerel which may have high levels of mercury.

Warns that certain kind of fish living in warm, shallow location in the Pacific, Indian Oceans and Caribbean area can cause a type of foodborne illness called ciguatera poisoning. Information on ciguatera outbreak in Texas; Symptoms of ciguatera; Details on how ciguatera toxin is produced; Ways to protect oneself from ciguatera poisoning.

Reports on the poisoning of a breast fed infant after his mother ate fish as published in the October 24, 1990 issue of the `Journal of the American Medical Association.' Ciguatera as the toxin in the fish; Symptoms of ciguatera poisoning.

Presents information on the puffer fish as a source of lethal poisoning. Puffer fish as a Japanese delicacy gaining popularity in Europe and the United States; Tetrodotoxin as the active poison in the fish; Symptoms of poisoning; Other fish species containing the toxin.

Presents a chart listing the hazards of fish and shellfish poisoning. Includes the contamination of improperly preserved fish and shellfish with Clostridium botulinum to cause botulism; Toxins in fish as including tetrodotoxin in puffer fish; Ciguatoxin in red snapper and groupers; Symptoms.

Highlights the report `Contaminated Catch: The Public Health Threat from Toxins in Fish,' by Amy D. Kyle, on fish which are contaminated with toxic chemicals. Identification of several of the chemicals; What is offered through the report; Contact information for ordering the report.

Describes the Earthwatch project led by Drs. Christopher Kohler and Susan Kohler on the travel of ciguatera through the food chain, to take place on the Virgin Islands Ecological Research Station in Saint John. Ciguatera as a form of poisoning from eating species of tropical marine fish; Probable causes; Field conditions; Expedition costs.

Provides information on a project on how the ciguatera travels through the food chain in the Virgin Islands Ecological Research Station in Saint John, United States Virgin Islands headed by Christopher and Susan Kohler, and supported by the Earthwatch organization. Project cost.

Describes the Earthwatch project led by Drs. Christopher Kohler and Susan Kohler on the marine food chain which will take place in the Virgin Islands Ecological Research Station in Saint John, Virgin Islands of the United States. Observation of fish in the clear waters off Saint John; Clarification of how ciguatera, a serious and sometimes lethal form of poisoning from eating tropical fish, travels through the food chain.

Reports on the adverse reactions of a patient to a mannitol infusion administered to treat headache due to suspected ciguatera fish poisoning. Response of patient to diazepam treatment; Loss of headache.

Discusses the foodborne disease, ciguatera fish poisoning. Tropical fish species as the culprit; Origin of toxin; Symptoms; Doctors' unfamiliarity with the disease; Advice.

Relates the author's experience during a diving tip to Grand Bahama Island. Fish poisoning in the Caribbean; Source of toxin from the fish; Symptoms of the ciguatera fish poisoning.

Reports that Puerto Rico native Gladys Escalona de Motta, is searching for a cure for ciguatera, a form of poisoning that strikes its victims from the dinner plates. How ciguatera is caught; Role of dinoflagellates in ciguatera; Goal of Escalona.

Reports on ill-effects of consuming fishes by human beings due to toxins in their body. Diseases caused by eating barracuda fishes; Fishes which have toxins in their bodies; Type of fishes with higher possibility of toxin.

The article offers news briefs related to marine resources. Topics include a model to help predict and avoid butterfish bycatches in squid fishing, the awarding of research grants by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to determine the source of ciguatera reef fish poisoning in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, and a report by the marine conservation group Oceana proposing the establishment of more marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Baltic Sea.

The article discusses several research published in the online resource of the periodical "Chemical & Engineering News." It includes the research which shows that soil, marine plants and animals in the Antarctic region contained cyclic volatile methylsiloxanes. It adds the research which shows that moth eyes can boost the efficiency of solar cells and sharpen the view of light sensors. It also includes a research which shows that dye-labeled DNA strands can measure toxic mercury in fish.

The article reports on the letters issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to seafood processors advising them to reassess and update their Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point plans. The agency issued the letters as a result of a number of confirmed cases of ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) in the Washington, D.C. and Saint Louis, Missouri areas. CFP is associated with the consumption of fish carrying the ciguatera toxin.

The article presents news briefs on the chemical industry. DuPont research leaders have outlined a three-pronged strategy to deliver new biofuel technologies. Swiss life-sciences group Lonza has signaled its commitment to tackling bird flu by announcing plans to strengthen its hygiene products business. Scientists at Tohoku University in Japan are developing an antidote for ciguatera poisoning, the world's most common type of seafood poisoning.

Reports the findings from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's water and fish contaminant testing in the Gulf Coast.

Reports on the achievement of a total synthesis of ciguatoxin from fishes. Researches of chemist Masahiro Hirama; Biological nature of ciguatoxin; Chemical challenges from other organic chemists.