Biofouling: Introduction

Report Description:
Some of the invasive species that plague the Great Lakes ecosystem have arrived as stowaways by affixing themselves to the hulls of ships. And one invasive, the zebra mussel, has cost utilities millions by clogging the pipes that expel wastewater into the lakes.

Reporter Andy Soth investigates new research at the University of Wisconsin that shows promise in fighting this problem, known as biofouling. Rodolfo Perez has conducted preliminary experiments to generate tiny electrical fields that repel creatures from the otherwise smooth surfaces they find so inviting. In addition to fighting invasives, the technique could save the shipping industry from the costly maintenance of removing barnacles and other creatures that latch on to hulls and slow ships down at sea.

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