Diatoms (IMAGE) University of Washington Caption Diatoms are intricate, often beautiful single-celled algae. The Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries look like simple rods and carry out photosynthesis throughout the world's oceans. Credit California Academy of Sciences / Flickr Usage Restrictions Creative Commons license. License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.