Are Teflon and GoreTex Harming the Future of Our Oceans?

Ashani Arulananthan began her PhD studies at the Faculty of Natural Resource Sciences in September 2023. In her lecture, Ashani will share key findings from the project so far and discuss the challenges and tasks that lie ahead.

Ashani is working on a large-scale project investigating the effects of various fluorinated alkanes on diatoms. Among these substances is polytetrafluoroethylene, commonly known under the brand names Teflon and GoreTex. These chemicals are widespread and persistent pollutants in nature, as their breakdown by fungi and bacteria occurs very slowly. Some of these compounds can also have harmful effects on the health of humans and other organisms. Diatoms form a crucial part of the marine food chain, making it essential to understand how pollutants affect their growth and survival.

Ashani’s project is extensive and employs advanced methods such as microbial community analysis (metabarcoding), transcriptomics, metabolomics, and more. It is being conducted in collaboration with numerous scientists both in Iceland and abroad. Notably, Dr. Bettina Scholz from the biotechnology company BioPol in Skagaströnd leads the project overall and serves as Ashani’s primary advisor alongside Professor Oddur Þór Vilhelmsson from the Faculty of Natural Resource Sciences at the University of Akureyri.

The lecture will be held in English in room N201 and will also be online here.

All welcome