Algae of commercial uses. It is a good medium on which to grow bacteria and fungi, as most microorganisms cannot digest agar. Alginic acid, or alginate, is extracted from brown algae. Its uses range from gelling agents in food, to medical dressings. Alginic acid also has been used in the field of biotechnology as a biocompatible medium for cell encapsulation and cell immobilization. Molecular cuisine is also a user of the substance for its gelling properties, by which it becomes a delivery vehicle for flavours. Between 100,000 and 170,000 wet tons of "Macrocystis" are harvested annually in New Mexico for alginate
Social history of viruses are bacteria and archaea. Viruses are the main agents responsible for the rapid destruction of harmful algal blooms, which often kill other marine life, and help maintain the ecological balance of different species of marine blue-green algae, and thus adequate oxygen production for life on Earth. The emergence of strains of bacteria that are resistant to a broad range of antibiotics has become a problem in the treatment of bacterial infections. Only two new classes of antibiotics have been developed in the past 30 years, and novel ways of combating bacterial infections are being sought. Bacteriophages were first used to