Census of Marine Life & the Yeti Crab
July 2, 2008
This new species of crab was discovered off the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge in the South Pacific Ocean.
It was named Kiwa hirsuta kiwa, after the goddess of shellfish in Polynesian mythology, but has become known as the “yeti crab” because of its hairy appearance.
With 120,000 species now on-line, the Census of Marine Life considers itself half-way to its goal of checking and validating the 230,000 marine species currently known to science. Once completed, the World Register of Marine Species, called WoRMS, will be the first source for descriptions on all marine life.
The World Register of Marine Life finds itself in good company. In fact both the Register and the Census of Marine Life are working with similar projects like Species2000, The Encyclopedia of Life, and ZooBank to create places for researchers and educators to find authenticated and up-to-date information on the globe’s total species.
From Mongabay.com: Read more
See also:
www.marinespecies.org
www.coml.org
Gallery: Rich life under the sea
June 14, 2008
Gorgeous photographs of Gelatinous Zooplankton, Pelagic Molluscs, Crustacea, Eukrohnia, Tompteris, Colonial radiolarians and Globigerinoides ruber (pink variety)…
Census of Marine Life (2006) scientists trawled rarely explored tropical ocean depths between the southeast U.S. coast and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, revealing a newfound variety of zooplankton and other small creatures.
OK, its a bit technical but anyway, they look cool.
From Livescience.com, an original content site that chronicles the daily advances and innovations made in science and technology.
Marine bacteria dyes keep knickers free of E coli
June 5, 2008
A strain of marine bacteria produces large amounts of bright red pigments that can be used as a natural dye for wool, nylon, silk and other fabrics, scientists in California are reporting. The dyes from Mother Nature’s palate also have an anti-bacterial effect that could discourage harmful bacteria from growing on socks, undergarments, and other clothing, they report in a new study.
In the new research, graduate student Farzaneh Alihosseini, her adviser Gang Sun and colleagues point out that conventional dyes and pigments used in clothing have several drawbacks. Many are made from non-renewable resources such as petroleum, and are potentially harmful to the environment and human health. In addition, concerns exist about the potential toxicity of existing antibacterial-fabric coatings.
The researchers found that a certain strain of bacteria isolated from marine sediments produces large quantities of bright red pigments called prodiginines that can be used to dye clothing. In laboratory tests, the pigments worked on wool, silk, nylon, and acrylic fabrics as efficiently and effectively as some conventional dyes. The pigments showed strong antibacterial activity against harmful bacteria, including E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus, when applied to most of the fabrics tested.
From Science Daily: Read more
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