Opals In The Sea,

is one way to describe this brown algae,

but it has a remarkable property, Cystoseira tamariscifolia is an algae that has an iridescent shimmer just like an opal crystal does, C. tamariscifolia is a common brown alga found in Europe and the Mediterranean, looking at it under a microscope reveals a shimmering iridescence, an even closer analysis reveals two to three fat-filled vesicles in each of its cells, inside these sacs, lots of spherical fat globules arrange themselves into a three-dimensional lattice, similar to the lattice structure that silicon dioxide takes in opals, to give the alga its special iridescent property, not only that, but it appears that the algae can choose to order and disorder the spheres to control how light is scattered (or not) inside cells. according to the paper published last week in Science Advances, researchers at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom have discovered the iridescent algae species, "We have living jewels in the environment," study author Heather Whitney said, "It’s a Fabergé seaweed", there is so much in our oceans we still have to discover, I wonder what will be next?