There Is More Than One Way To Impregnate A Squid
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All sperm are not the same. Among fruit flies the longer the reproductive tract of the female the longer the sperm. In tiny crustaceans called ostracods, sperm length can range from several hundred micrometers to several millimeters. And here is some trivia for your next cocktail party, sperm in ostracods can even be longer than . . . → Read More: There Is More Than One Way To Impregnate A Squid

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Minorities in Ocean Sciences: The LGBT Pride Weekend Edition
Minorities in Ocean Sciences: The LGBT Pride Weekend Edition avatar

Happy Pride Weekend to everyone!  Here in San Francisco, I’m hunkered down in the office prepping for field work in Mexico, but through my open window I can hear the cheers of the crowd from the SF Pride Parade just a couple of blocks away.  This post has spent a long time languishing in my . . . → Read More: Minorities in Ocean Sciences: The LGBT Pride Weekend Edition

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Some Echinoderms Will Never Grow Up
Some Echinoderms Will Never Grow Up avatar

Not your typical Echinoderm. This female specimen of a Xyloplax seastar was collected along the Juan de Fuca Ridge off the coast of the state of Washington; it measures less than a quarter-inch (4 mm) and shows brooded embryos Some of us never grow up.  In fact I am writing this now in my Aquaman . . . → Read More: Some Echinoderms Will Never Grow Up

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Scuba Diving = Crappy Vessels? Pt. 2
Scuba Diving = Crappy Vessels? Pt. 2 avatar

You may remember a week ago I spoke of a recent study indicating a link between repeated scuba diving, especially with mixed gases, and damage to blood vessels.  I asked the great folds at the Divers Alert Network (DAN) for some more information.  I received a response back from John U. Lee a DAN medical information specialist who is . . . → Read More: Scuba Diving = Crappy Vessels? Pt. 2

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Scuba Diving = Crappy Vessels?
Scuba Diving = Crappy Vessels? avatar

If you scuba dive, you may already have heard of Nitrox. To breath underwater, most divers use a normal atmospheric air mixture (21% oxygen, 78% nitrogen, 1% trace gases) under pressure.  One the issues every diver faces is decompression sickness.  Decompression sickness happens when the dissolved gases in your blood come out of solution . . . → Read More: Scuba Diving = Crappy Vessels?

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A Tale of Germanic Chieftains and Deep-Sea Corals
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Arminius The year is 9CE. Fourteen years later Pliny the Elder will be Pliny the Newly Born. Cai Lun will invent paper one hundred years later. In Northern Germany a storm unleashes on 30,000 Roman soldiers under the command of Publius Quinctilius Varus. Varus’s most trusted advisor, Arminius, was the son of a Germanic war . . . → Read More: A Tale of Germanic Chieftains and Deep-Sea Corals

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Scientist In Residence: Danny Richter on Diatoms and X-ray Whosamagidgets
Scientist In Residence: Danny Richter on Diatoms and X-ray Whosamagidgets avatar

In a recent paper, de Jonge et al used x-ray fluorescence tomography to give us a new perspective on how diatoms put together those phenomenally intricate frustules of theirs. “X-ray whosamagidget” you say? My thoughts exactly. Let’s break it down. First: X-rays. High-energy waves that help doctors see our bones. Check. Second: fluorescence. Fluorescence is . . . → Read More: Scientist In Residence: Danny Richter on Diatoms and X-ray Whosamagidgets

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Biodiversity crisis-a call to arms for scientists?
Biodiversity crisis-a call to arms for scientists? avatar

Dr. M’s article in Wired truly stirred something in me this morning. We need to put names on things. I’m a scientist who has always strived to be integrative—I believe you need to understand all sides of a debate in order to fix the root of the problem.  I’ve tried everything from traditional nematode taxonomy, . . . → Read More: Biodiversity crisis-a call to arms for scientists?

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Interview with Edith Widder
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At TreeHugger, Edith Widder on Mimicking the Glow of Deep Sea Fish to Discover New Species At TreeHugger, Edith Widder on Mimicking the Glow of Deep Sea Fish to Discover New Species

Scientist In Residence: Danny Richter on the To Humble Diatom
Scientist In Residence: Danny Richter on the To Humble Diatom avatar

Dear Diatoms, You are pretty, and I like you. Haeckel liked you too, so did Gaudi. Obviously, they appreciated the little things in life. While you still make appearances now and again in modern life, let’s face it: being microscopic and aquatic, recognition is an up-current battle, and you can’t swim. Perhaps obscurity suits you? . . . → Read More: Scientist In Residence: Danny Richter on the To Humble Diatom

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