Scientists have figured out how the coral reef sea sponge makes its extreme poison—it outsources toxin production to a bacterium living with it symbiotically.
The chemically complex compounds are key to the sponge’s (Theonella swinhoei) defenses—and produced by the organism in disguise.
The team’s discoveries, published online in Science Express this week, could have implications for human medicine, too—the highly effective nature of the sponge’s toxins, and their means of production, could be the starting point for new antibiotics and anti-cancer therapies.
Lucius Fox
Chief Executive Officer of Wayne Enterprises
Reblogged from theatlantic|1,178 notes
npr:
A visualization of the world’s oceans.
From NASA:
This visualization shows ocean surface currents around the world during the period from June 2005 through Decmeber 2007. The visualization does not include a narration or annotations; the goal was to use ocean flow data to create a simple, visceral experience.
(Source: fromageetalpinisme)
Reblogged from engineeringisawesome|342 notes
Reblogged from fastcompany|85 notes
These robot orbs are being readied to roll out by the hundreds to take measurements about the life and environment of hard to reach ocean depths.
Sensorbots: Swarms Of Sea-Crawling Robots To Explore Our Ocean’s Depths
Reblogged from curiositycounts|123 notes
“A mere handful of seafloor mud may contain as many species as are found in a square meter of tropical rainforest.” Reminiscent of the One Cubic Foot project.
Reblogged from wildcat2030|43 notes