Diatoms, a group of tiny algae, are also known as “living opals” because of the strange, beautiful properties of their silica shells. But what genes are responsible for such mesmerizing exteriors? Setsuko Wakao and Kris Niyogi, biologists at UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, aim to find out. Find more info on this episode, including the transcript, at https://jgi.doe.gov/genome-insider-s2ep2-cracking-the-secrets-of-the-diatoms-shell/.