What the Orange Goo Really Is

Scientists originally misidentified substance washed up in Alaska
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 19, 2011 11:40 AM CDT
Alaska's Orange Goo Is Actually Fungal Spores
This Aug. 6, 2011 photo provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows a magnified close up of a sample of orange gunk tested by NOAA scientists in Juneau, Alaska.   (AP Photo/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Mandy Lindeberg)

At first, scientists were baffled by the orange goo that washed ashore in Alaska. Then they announced it was tiny eggs. Now they’re saying that's wrong: It’s actually fungal spores, the Los Angeles Times reports. Microbiologists in South Carolina linked the material to the spores that turn plants orange with a disease known as “rust.” But the puzzle still isn’t completely solved. There are currently 7,800 known species of rust, and scientists aren’t sure if the goo is a member of any of these. (More Alaska stories.)

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