Bees of the sea: crustacean pollinators
Scientific American introduces us to the bees of the sea, newly observed tiny crustaceans that pollinate seaweed like bees do flowers on land: For the […]
marine biology
Science Art: Holothuria tubulosa (Sjogurka stor ugglan, a sea cucumber) from Nordisk Familjebok, 1919.
The sea cucumber doesn’t look like much until you really look at it. They’re complicated little creatures. They have complicated little parts. In this case, […]
SONG: Octopus Gloves
SONG: “Octopus Gloves”. (OGG version) ARTIST: grant. SOURCE: Science News 13 July 2022, “This octopus-inspired glove helps humans grip slippery objects,” as used in the […]
Science Art: Cetorhinus maximus, by Greg Skomal
Basking sharks are really big. As fish go, only whale sharks get bigger, and only then sometimes. And both of them eat plankton, not sailors. […]
Octopus gloves. They grab things better.
Science News reports on gloves that are especially good at picking slippery things up and sticking to ’em thanks to “rapidly switchable” materials inspired by […]
Octopus brains and human brains have “jumping genes” in common.
Science Daily reports on an Italian study that found something in common between human brains and the brains of two different species of the unusually […]
The largest plant in the world stretches over 180 km and is 4,500 years old. And fish like it.
The University of Western Australia has singled out a seagrass, Poseidonia australis, in the waters of Shark Bay, Western Australia, as the world’s largest plant: […]
Science Art: Crabs (figures 212-216, Natuurlyke Historie, page 256, 1782.
A collection of crustaceans from a book by Amsterdam-based publisher Louis Renard on East Indian sea creatures. The illustrations were apparently done by Samuel Fallours, […]
Dolphins use corals and sponges as medicine – to treat their skin.
Science magazine takes a deep dive on the medical lives of dolphins, who appear to be intentionally using corals and other stuff growing on the […]
Fossil-eating sponges found on the Arctic seabed.
The U.K.’s National History Museum celebrates the unexpected discovery of Arctic sponges that feed on 3,000-year-old fossils: The fossilised remains of an ancient ecosystem have […]
Little green lights could save sharks and turtles while keeping fisheries in business.
Science magazine reports on one of those simple fixes that could make everything a little bit better if only everyone would sign on. Scientists have […]
Barnacle glue saves lives.
Science magazine offers a briefing on a paste modeled on barnacle glue that sticks to wet surfaces within 15 seconds – making it a perfect […]
Science Art: Blue Shark (Carcharias glaucus), 1904.
Reinhold Thiele painted this limber-looking blue shark for the book British Salt-Water Fishes. I found it on Wikimedia Commons, but they got it from University […]
Cone snails trick their prey into thinking it’s time to get it on. Then they eat ’em.
Science News shares a nightmare scenario from the ocean. The lights are low, there’s slow music playing, and look, there’s someone sexy over by the […]
There’s a new whale in the Gulf of Mexico. A whole new species, in fact.
NPR introduces us to a 42-foot-long stranger, the Rice’s whale. The mysterious species is large in size, but small in number, hanging out in off […]