Image from here. Blown Away: Measuring Hormones from Whale Blow at Sea “'For the first time, we don’t have to wait around for these whales to poop,' said Dr. Scott Kraus, vice president and senior science advisor at the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium." [Emphasis added] That right there... Continue Reading →
Image by J.P. Sylvestre from the linked article. A New Orca Species May Have Been Spotted Off the Coast of Chile First the dang tortoise and now an orca? Where in the heck are all these new species coming from?? If you're not hip to it, orca is another name for killer whales - which... Continue Reading →
Image from designboom courtesy of Volvo Volvo Develops 3D-Printed 'Living Seawall' to Save the World's Oceans from Plastic Pollution Volvo, Swedish automakers of the "Most Mom-est Station Wagon of 2014", aren't just a one trick pony, it appears. They've also got a hand in marine habitat engineering. <--- Not a typo, that's the gist of... Continue Reading →
Photo from imgur The Ocean Cleanup - Updates Putting the Ocean Cleanup back on blast (in a good way; though they have received some rough press lately). When we last checked in at the end of October, System 001 (now affectionately named Wilson) had just been deployed to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) to... Continue Reading →
Photo from New Scientist Squid could provide an eco-friendly alternative to plastics On a scale of 1 to misleading headlines, this baby is up there. No, we won't soon be replacing Dasani bottles with liquid-filled squid (though I'm imagining vending machines stocked with them and models in bus advertisements drinking from them and that would... Continue Reading →
Photo by Rodrigo Buendía/AFP/Getty Images Giant tortoise believed extinct for 100 years found in Galápagos Ok, ok, I know this is not technically marine science related, but I'm going to say islands count. Especially the Galápagos since their unique ecosystem is defined by oceanic isolation. And this ties in nicely to last weeks post about... Continue Reading →
Sea Turtle Populations Soared by 980% After Legal Protections: Report The Endangered Species Act is bad ass. It's not hyperbole to call it the most important piece of conservation legislation in the US. Species of animals and plants put on its accompanying Endangered Species List are offered high-level legal protections and become the subjects of... Continue Reading →
Read: This "Mutant [Bacteria] Enzyme" Breaks Down Plastic If you're hip to environmental news, you've probably already heard about the bacteria that breaks down PET (the plastic in plastic bottles and a bunch of other stuff). Scientists even improved the enzyme responsible! I was stoked to come across this news initially, but like a lot of... Continue Reading →
Photograph by Michael Lombardi, National Geographic New 'tent' makes it possible to camp underwater Those of you who don't SCUBA dive may not be aware, but the deeper you go underwater, the less time you have to spend. At greater pressure, your body consumes more air and nitrogen gas builds up in your blood -... Continue Reading →
