NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program, 2013 Northeast U.S. Canyons Expedition

A sea pig (Scotoplanes globosa), a kind of walking transluscent deep sea holothurian (sea cucumber) feeds by sifting through loose sediment in a deep sea canyon off the NE coast of the United States.

This deep sea Rockling (Gaidropsarus sp.), peaking out from under a carbonate rock, was observed on the two seep dives during the deep sea canyons expedition off the NE coast of the United States.

A kind of king crab called a porcupine crab (Neolithodes grimaldii.) explores the soft sediment of a deep sea canyon off the NE coast of the United States.

graneledone

A small deep sea octopus (Graneledone sp.) strikes a pose for the remotely operated vehicle near Shallop Canyon, off the NE coast of the United States.

Image courtesy of NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program, 2013 Northeast U.S. Canyons Expedition.

science interior

lepiota

argonaut morphology

SCIENTISTS SOLVE MILLENNIA-OLD MYSTERY ABOUT THE ARGONAUT OCTOPUS

Ed Yong / DIscoverMag

The argonauts are a group of octopuses unlike any other. The females secrete a thin, white, brittle shell called the paper nautilus. Nestled with their arms tucked inside this beautiful, translucent home, they drift through the open ocean while other octopus species crawl along the sea floor. The shell is often described as an egg-case, but octopus specialists Julian Finn and Mark Norman have discovered that it has another function – it’s an organic ballast tank.

An argonaut uses its shell to trap air from the surface and dives to a depth where the encased gas perfectly counteracts its own weight, allowing it to bob effortlessly without rising or sinking. Finn and Norman filmed and photographed live animals in the act of trapping their air bubbles, solving a mystery that has been debated for millennia.

Since 1923 and the work of Adolf Naef, the shell has been viewed as a container for the argonaut’s eggs. After mating with a male (who is around 8 times smaller and 600 times lighter), the female secretes the papery shell using the tips of two large tentacles. She lays her eggs within the structure before snuggling inside herself. Besides her eggs, her only housemate is one of the male’s arms – the hectocotylus. The arm doubled as a penis, snapped off during sex and stays inside the female’s body….

• continue here
• photo by Yasushi Okumura, Japan Underwater Films

(via mad-as-a-marine-biologist)

human anatomy 1867

heisenberg dia de los muertos

if frogs go extinct

asian flower tattoo

building paintings

chrome t-rex in paris

Giant Chrome T-Rex Installed on the Seine River in Paris by Philippe Pasqua

shipping beer

13 June 1944: An English brewery donates a sizable amount of fresh beerfor the troops fighting in Normandy and a unique delivery method is created, strapping kegs to the underwings of Spitfires being shipped to forward airfields. Flying at 12 000 feet chills the brew to perfection.

Hagfish Slime

When threatened, hagfish secrete copious amounts of slime from some 100 glands along its body. The microfibrous substance expands to up to 20 L (5¼ gallons) when dissolved in water. 

The slime is thought to be a defense mechanism against predators. In addition to distracting the predator, the slime has the potential to clog and impair the function of the predator’s gills. This allows the hagfish to escape as it twists itself into a knot to free itself of its slimy secretions. 

The slime also has the potential to be developed into an elastic fabric. A research team at Canada’s University of Guelph managed to harvest the slime from the fish, dissolve it in liquid, and then reassemble its structure by spinning it like silk (Discovery).

solar energy maps

Congratulations to Germany for breaking their own record last month in harnessing solar energy!

By the end of 2012, Germany was ranked #1 for solar energy production per capita at 400 MW per million people while the United States was ranked #20 with only 25 MW per million people.

The United States is expected to double their usage of solar power by the end of 2015.

More info: http://bit.ly/154ZZkf

Photo via: National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Check out our new YouTube show here: http://bit.ly/1f7BMZl

Mike Dubois

Faro de Oriente Febrero 2013

rappers and cereal

web of life

HIV

The CGSociety had a contest that challenged digital artists to illustrate how the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) attacks critical immune system defense cells in human blood, causing the disease AIDS. Alexey Kashpersky (mrRIDDICK) from Poltava, Ukraine won first prize for his image.

moth teeth

giraffe

Giraffe, printed by Hans Adam (Nuremberg), based on an original drawing by Melchior Lorck who had seen the animal in Constantinople in 1559.

A Monster Born of a Ewe

gryphon love

silurian quilt

Silurian Quilt by ~Saberrex   [Jeremy Herz]

anatomical embroidery

hannah hill

experiment in the bedroom

les micros

camera lens mug

mobstub