Did you know that there is a kind of octopus called a wonderpus?
Sounds like a Dr. Seuss creation, doesn't it? But no, it's a real animal! The wonderpus octopus (Wonderpus photogenica) is a beautiful creature, with dark red skin marked by bold, white stripes on the arms and spots on the mantle. These spots are extremely distinctive, and vary for each individual octopus - so much so that they allow for the identification of specific animals. In fact, the wonderpus's distinctive appearance is what enabled its discovery. They are close relatives of another type of octopus called a mimic octopus (Thaumoctopus mimicus). In fact, it is highly likely that people have observed wonderpus for many years, but didn't realize it because it is very similar to the mimic. The mimic, however, has much more muted colors than the wonderpus. It was only in 2006 that scientists realized that mimics and wonderpus were 2 different creatures.
The mimic octopus is, in an of itself, pretty interesting, too. Found in the seas off southeast Asia, the mimic shows an amazing ability to hide itself in plain sight simply by looking like something else. It has been observed disguising itself as more than a dozen different species, including sea snakes, crabs, stingrays, jellyfish and sea anemones. It accomplishes this amazing feat of deception by altering the color and texture of its skin, as well as contorting its arms with a high degree of flexibility. While all octopus are able to hide themselves with camouflage, the mimic is unique in its ability to not just blend in to the environment, but to actively disguise itself to look like something else. While that makes it difficult for predators to find the mimic, it also makes it difficult for scientists to find them!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Deep sea creatures
The other night I was watching one of the episodes of the Discovery channel's documentary "Planet Earth." In case you haven't seen any of these shows, they are truly amazing. They captured some of the most amazing video of creatures in places all over the globe - from the topics of mountains to the depths of the sea, from the lushest jungles to the most barren stretches of desert, from the poles to the equator - and everything in between. In the episode "Deep Ocean," the viewer is introduced to the largest habitat on the planet - the sea.
Deep ocean is considered anything away from the coasts and beyond the continental shelves. Out in these areas, the water can reach several miles deep. Historically, water this deep has been impossible for man to reach - the crushing pressure associated with it has been too much to overcome. But while it is too deep for man, it is not too deep for machine. In recent years, the use of remote underwater submersibles has allowed scientists to see just what is down there in the deepest parts of the world. And it turns out that this region, once considered barren and devoid of life, is not quite the wasteland we once believed. In fact, the deepest oceans in the world contain some amazing life. Amazing - and quite bizarre!
Here are a few examples of what lives in the depths of the world. (Some of these creatures are very poorly understood, given how hard it is to even find them.)
Vampire squid: The Vampire squid lives at depths of 2000 feet or more in what is called the OMZ, the oxygen minimum zone. At this depth, the amount of oxygen in the water is too low to sustain life in most oxygen-utilizing higher organisms. However, the vampire squid survives - and even thrives - in water with as little oxygen as 3%. (It is the only known cephalopod capable of this.) Interestingly, the vampire squid uses light as a defense mechanism. While shallower-dwelling squid squirt ink when startled, the vampire squid instead squirts a bioluminscent mucus that can glow for up to 10 minutes. This presumably blinds would-be predators in the inky darkness of the deep sea, allowing the squid to escape.
Sawtooth eels: These eels are so named for their inward-slanted teeth, arranged in a saw-like pattern. There are 11 known species of sawtooth eel, and they live in waters up to 2000 feet deep.
Tube worms: Tube worms are arguably some of the most well-understood deep water creature. Tube worms live around deep sea hydrothermal vents. The giant tube worm is the easiest to recognize - they can reach up to 4 feet tall, and grow more than 33 inches a year. Giant tube worms are only found in the Pacific ocean; other oceans contain tube worms such as Jericho worms, benthic worms and palm worms. These worms have a symbiotic relationship with deep see vent bacteria, which colonize the worms and provide them with energy as a byproduct of bacterial metabolism.
There are no doubt countless deep sea creatures that we know nothing of, given how difficult it is to get down there. But what little we do know about the creatures who make this region home makes me really appreciate how amazingly diverse a planet we live on.
Deep ocean is considered anything away from the coasts and beyond the continental shelves. Out in these areas, the water can reach several miles deep. Historically, water this deep has been impossible for man to reach - the crushing pressure associated with it has been too much to overcome. But while it is too deep for man, it is not too deep for machine. In recent years, the use of remote underwater submersibles has allowed scientists to see just what is down there in the deepest parts of the world. And it turns out that this region, once considered barren and devoid of life, is not quite the wasteland we once believed. In fact, the deepest oceans in the world contain some amazing life. Amazing - and quite bizarre!
Here are a few examples of what lives in the depths of the world. (Some of these creatures are very poorly understood, given how hard it is to even find them.)
Vampire squid: The Vampire squid lives at depths of 2000 feet or more in what is called the OMZ, the oxygen minimum zone. At this depth, the amount of oxygen in the water is too low to sustain life in most oxygen-utilizing higher organisms. However, the vampire squid survives - and even thrives - in water with as little oxygen as 3%. (It is the only known cephalopod capable of this.) Interestingly, the vampire squid uses light as a defense mechanism. While shallower-dwelling squid squirt ink when startled, the vampire squid instead squirts a bioluminscent mucus that can glow for up to 10 minutes. This presumably blinds would-be predators in the inky darkness of the deep sea, allowing the squid to escape.
Sawtooth eels: These eels are so named for their inward-slanted teeth, arranged in a saw-like pattern. There are 11 known species of sawtooth eel, and they live in waters up to 2000 feet deep.
Tube worms: Tube worms are arguably some of the most well-understood deep water creature. Tube worms live around deep sea hydrothermal vents. The giant tube worm is the easiest to recognize - they can reach up to 4 feet tall, and grow more than 33 inches a year. Giant tube worms are only found in the Pacific ocean; other oceans contain tube worms such as Jericho worms, benthic worms and palm worms. These worms have a symbiotic relationship with deep see vent bacteria, which colonize the worms and provide them with energy as a byproduct of bacterial metabolism.
There are no doubt countless deep sea creatures that we know nothing of, given how difficult it is to get down there. But what little we do know about the creatures who make this region home makes me really appreciate how amazingly diverse a planet we live on.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
All things baby and science-y
Hi everyone! I'm starting to get back into the swing of things after the birth of our daughter, which means I'm hopefully going to be able to start blogging again! Over the last 3 months, my brain has been all-consumed with all things baby-related, so I thought I'd start off with the list of baby-related science thoughts.
1. Cradle cap: Our daughter had a pretty severe case of it. For those of you unfamiliar with it, this is a skin condition characterized by thick, scaly flakes on the scalp, forehead and eyebrows. Some babies get it, some do not. But we really don't know what causes it. It seems to have something to do with the same reason why many adults get dandruff. Who knew - apparently it's not just a case of dry skin!
2. Hearing tests: Newborns are given hearing tests these days before they even leave the hospital. It's pretty neat how it's done, too, considering that a newborn can't tell you whether she's heard a noise or not. Sensors are attached to their foreheads, and then a tone is played in their ears. If they hear it, the sensors detect the neuronal signals passing through their brains, and output a signal to the detection machine. From a parenting standpoint, it was a relief to know that our daughter's hearing was normal. From a science standpoint, the process was really neat.
3. Colic: We were extremely fortunate to have a non-colicky baby. Many parents are not so fortunate. Despite it's prevalence, however, colic is poorly understood. Some believe that many cases of colic are actually undiagnosed cases of acid reflux (otherwise known as heartburn). But what about those colicky babies who do not have reflux? No one really knows why they have such a fussy time during their first 3 months of life.
4. Speaking of reflux: Did you know that the sphincter that closes the stomach off from the esophagus actually weakens from birth until about 4 months of age? Only after that does it begin to get stronger. That's what babies do most of their spitting-up between the ages of 2 and 4 months.
5. Baby fingernails: These are really amazing. Baby fingernails are so soft and pliable - and yet incredibly sharp! If you don't keep them trimmed, a baby can give herself or you some strong scratches. I wonder when they start to become harder, like adult fingernails?
6. Baby blue eyes: Like many Caucasian babies, our daughter has started life with blue eyes. We strongly suspect that they will change color as she ages - many babies develop their adult eye color at around 6 months. But here's a question - why would a baby's eye color change from blue to something else? Why aren't they born with their final eye color?
7. SIDS: That dreaded fear of all parents - sudden infant death syndrome. A small percentage of babies suddenly stop breathing while sleeping, and thus they die. It's been known about for centuries, and the reasons for it are still a mystery. Here's some good news, however. The risk of a baby dying of SIDS has been drastically reduced in recent years due to current recommendations that babies sleep on their backs. While we may not know why this reduces the risk of SIDS so much, I'm grateful for it!
These are just a few of the science type thoughts I've had in the last few months related to parenthood. I'm sure I'll come up with many others, and I strongly suspect that my posts for a while will all relate to baby topics. Hopefully you'll all find this as interesting as I do these days!
1. Cradle cap: Our daughter had a pretty severe case of it. For those of you unfamiliar with it, this is a skin condition characterized by thick, scaly flakes on the scalp, forehead and eyebrows. Some babies get it, some do not. But we really don't know what causes it. It seems to have something to do with the same reason why many adults get dandruff. Who knew - apparently it's not just a case of dry skin!
2. Hearing tests: Newborns are given hearing tests these days before they even leave the hospital. It's pretty neat how it's done, too, considering that a newborn can't tell you whether she's heard a noise or not. Sensors are attached to their foreheads, and then a tone is played in their ears. If they hear it, the sensors detect the neuronal signals passing through their brains, and output a signal to the detection machine. From a parenting standpoint, it was a relief to know that our daughter's hearing was normal. From a science standpoint, the process was really neat.
3. Colic: We were extremely fortunate to have a non-colicky baby. Many parents are not so fortunate. Despite it's prevalence, however, colic is poorly understood. Some believe that many cases of colic are actually undiagnosed cases of acid reflux (otherwise known as heartburn). But what about those colicky babies who do not have reflux? No one really knows why they have such a fussy time during their first 3 months of life.
4. Speaking of reflux: Did you know that the sphincter that closes the stomach off from the esophagus actually weakens from birth until about 4 months of age? Only after that does it begin to get stronger. That's what babies do most of their spitting-up between the ages of 2 and 4 months.
5. Baby fingernails: These are really amazing. Baby fingernails are so soft and pliable - and yet incredibly sharp! If you don't keep them trimmed, a baby can give herself or you some strong scratches. I wonder when they start to become harder, like adult fingernails?
6. Baby blue eyes: Like many Caucasian babies, our daughter has started life with blue eyes. We strongly suspect that they will change color as she ages - many babies develop their adult eye color at around 6 months. But here's a question - why would a baby's eye color change from blue to something else? Why aren't they born with their final eye color?
7. SIDS: That dreaded fear of all parents - sudden infant death syndrome. A small percentage of babies suddenly stop breathing while sleeping, and thus they die. It's been known about for centuries, and the reasons for it are still a mystery. Here's some good news, however. The risk of a baby dying of SIDS has been drastically reduced in recent years due to current recommendations that babies sleep on their backs. While we may not know why this reduces the risk of SIDS so much, I'm grateful for it!
These are just a few of the science type thoughts I've had in the last few months related to parenthood. I'm sure I'll come up with many others, and I strongly suspect that my posts for a while will all relate to baby topics. Hopefully you'll all find this as interesting as I do these days!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
An update
For those of you who've been wondering where I've been, my family has been a little busy with the recent birth of our daughter. Please be patient! I will start posting entries again in the near future.
Friday, September 5, 2008
More than just bed-head: UHS
I came across an article on a news website today that I read and thought, "this has got to be a joke." The article was entitled "The tangled truth about uncombable hair," and it began with the following sentence:
"If ever there were a disease designed to vex a mother, it’s uncombable hair syndrome (UHS)."
You're joking, right? Uncombable Hair Syndrome? They came up with a disease name for when someone has messy hair? As I read on, I became more disbelieving; my disbelief was not helped by the statement that it was first described 35 years ago in a French medical study, which called it "cheveux incoiffables." Okay, now I know you're pulling my leg, right?
Actually, much to my surprise, no! This story is legit. This syndrome is legit. It may sound wacky, but it's for real. Some people have messy hair. Some people have hair that is easily tangled. Some people have truly horrible cases of bed-head when they get up in the morning. But others have truly uncontrollable hair.
Uncombable Hair Syndrome is also known as Pili trianguli at canaliculi, or Spun Glass Hair. This syndrome can manifest itself in children anytime between the ages of 3 months and 12 years old. While these kids start out with hair that looks thin and glassy (though still relatively normal), the hair begins to become drier, curlier and lighter in color. Eventually, it stands straight out from the scalp and is literally impossible to comb flat.
The reason for this disorder lies in an abnormality in the hair shafts of the affected individual. When examined under high magnification, these hair shafts have 2 unique qualities. First, their cross-section is shaped like a kidney bean (instead of a circle). And second, there is a deep groove or canal that runs down the entire length of the hair. This makes the hair unable to bend like normal hair without such a groove. So it stands straight out from the scalp. But here's the good news. Kids with UHS usually outgrow it. So while their hair may be unmanageable now, it'll get better as they get older.
But in case you're wondering whether your messy hairdo could be the result of UHS, the odds are quite strong that it's not - UHS is an incredible rare syndrome. In the last 35 years, barely 100 cases have been reported in the medical literature.
It's far more likely that you just have easily tangled hair.
"If ever there were a disease designed to vex a mother, it’s uncombable hair syndrome (UHS)."
You're joking, right? Uncombable Hair Syndrome? They came up with a disease name for when someone has messy hair? As I read on, I became more disbelieving; my disbelief was not helped by the statement that it was first described 35 years ago in a French medical study, which called it "cheveux incoiffables." Okay, now I know you're pulling my leg, right?
Actually, much to my surprise, no! This story is legit. This syndrome is legit. It may sound wacky, but it's for real. Some people have messy hair. Some people have hair that is easily tangled. Some people have truly horrible cases of bed-head when they get up in the morning. But others have truly uncontrollable hair.
Uncombable Hair Syndrome is also known as Pili trianguli at canaliculi, or Spun Glass Hair. This syndrome can manifest itself in children anytime between the ages of 3 months and 12 years old. While these kids start out with hair that looks thin and glassy (though still relatively normal), the hair begins to become drier, curlier and lighter in color. Eventually, it stands straight out from the scalp and is literally impossible to comb flat.
The reason for this disorder lies in an abnormality in the hair shafts of the affected individual. When examined under high magnification, these hair shafts have 2 unique qualities. First, their cross-section is shaped like a kidney bean (instead of a circle). And second, there is a deep groove or canal that runs down the entire length of the hair. This makes the hair unable to bend like normal hair without such a groove. So it stands straight out from the scalp. But here's the good news. Kids with UHS usually outgrow it. So while their hair may be unmanageable now, it'll get better as they get older.
But in case you're wondering whether your messy hairdo could be the result of UHS, the odds are quite strong that it's not - UHS is an incredible rare syndrome. In the last 35 years, barely 100 cases have been reported in the medical literature.
It's far more likely that you just have easily tangled hair.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
In honor of the start of school
I thought I’d write an entry in honor of all of the children, teachers and administrators in our country who are just starting up another year of school. The start of the school year brings lots of exciting opportunities, does it not? New books, new subjects, new friends, new challenges – oh, and of course, the possibility of new illnesses. Sometimes school seems the perfect place for the propagation of viruses, bacteria and other assorted bugs. And it’s one of these bugs I want to discuss today – the ever-popular, ever-fun, and ever-exciting pediculosis. Otherwise known as head lice.
What are head lice? A head louse (singular, as opposed to the plural form lice) is a small, wingless insect that lives among human hairs and feeds off small amounts of human blood. How small are they? Lice go through three stages during their life cycle. They start out as eggs, otherwise known as nits. These are very small, about the size of a flake of dandruff. About 7 days after the nits are laid by a female, the lice hatch into the nymph stage. Nymphs look like adult lice, but they’re much smaller. At this point, they need human blood to survive to adult. If they feed enough, after about 7 days as a nymph, they will mature into adult lice, capable of laying their own nits. Adult head lice are tan to grayish-white and about the size of a sesame seed, easily visible to the naked eye; so if you’re going to spot an infestation, it’s the adults you want to be on the lookout for. And adult louse can survive for around 30 days as long as it keeps feeding; if it falls off its human’s head, however, it will die within about 2 days.
Here’s a few facts about head lice that I did not know before I started looking into them:
Head lice cannot survive on any animal besides a human. That means you cannot catch head lice from your pets – cat or dog blood will not sustain a louse.
Head lice cannot jump or fly from head to head. The only way to pass head lice among people is for them to come into direct contact with hair that has a nymph or an adult louse clinging to it. Once that contact is made, the louse can transfer itself to the new person’s head and begin feeding.
Head lice have very strong claws that allow them to hang on very tightly to a strand of hair.
Dessicated head lice and head lice nits have been found on the hair and scalps of Egyptian mummies.
It is believed that 1 in 10 kids in America will come down with head lice at some point during their lives.
Okay, now that I’ve given myself the creeps over imagining all these little bugs crawling over my scalp…
What are head lice? A head louse (singular, as opposed to the plural form lice) is a small, wingless insect that lives among human hairs and feeds off small amounts of human blood. How small are they? Lice go through three stages during their life cycle. They start out as eggs, otherwise known as nits. These are very small, about the size of a flake of dandruff. About 7 days after the nits are laid by a female, the lice hatch into the nymph stage. Nymphs look like adult lice, but they’re much smaller. At this point, they need human blood to survive to adult. If they feed enough, after about 7 days as a nymph, they will mature into adult lice, capable of laying their own nits. Adult head lice are tan to grayish-white and about the size of a sesame seed, easily visible to the naked eye; so if you’re going to spot an infestation, it’s the adults you want to be on the lookout for. And adult louse can survive for around 30 days as long as it keeps feeding; if it falls off its human’s head, however, it will die within about 2 days.
Here’s a few facts about head lice that I did not know before I started looking into them:
Head lice cannot survive on any animal besides a human. That means you cannot catch head lice from your pets – cat or dog blood will not sustain a louse.
Head lice cannot jump or fly from head to head. The only way to pass head lice among people is for them to come into direct contact with hair that has a nymph or an adult louse clinging to it. Once that contact is made, the louse can transfer itself to the new person’s head and begin feeding.
Head lice have very strong claws that allow them to hang on very tightly to a strand of hair.
Dessicated head lice and head lice nits have been found on the hair and scalps of Egyptian mummies.
It is believed that 1 in 10 kids in America will come down with head lice at some point during their lives.
Okay, now that I’ve given myself the creeps over imagining all these little bugs crawling over my scalp…
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
An update from MESSENGER
In February of this year, I wrote an entry about the MESSENGER spacecraft, NASA's recent expedition aimed at learning more about the planet Mercury. Despite being relatively close to us in the solar system (a few scant planets away), we know relatively little about this rocky planet. MESSENGER is an attempt to answer some long-standing questions about the planet, including (if you remember from my previous post) what half of the planet even looks like! I figured it was about time to give you an update on what MESSENGER's been up recently.
Some of the latest news to come from the MESSENGER mission concerns the origin of Mercury's magnetic field. The question of what exactly is a magnetic field opens the door to a big area of physics called electricity and magnetism. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail about magnetism - at least, not right now. I will tell you that a magnetic field is a a field that permeates space and exerts a magnetic force on moving electrical charges and magnets (otherwise known as magnetic dipoles). Earth (as I'm sure you know) has a magnetic field; this fact gives us north and south. There does not appear to be a simple answer for why Earth has a magnetic field. It seems that it has something to do with our rotation. We believe this because the planet Venus, though it has a similar iron core to Earth's, has a different rotation pattern and has no magnetic field itself. Earth's rotation may generate something called a dynamo effect, causing the fluid iron in the core of our planet to circulate. At the same time, convection occurs, drawing the hottest part of the molten iron away from the center of the planet towards the surface. This combination of rotation and convection generates electric currents, which in turn generates and sustains our magnetic field.
Now, while it's long been known that Mercury has a magnetic field (though it is about 100 times weaker than our own), why it does so has been a mystery. Scientists had believed that Mercury's iron core was thought to have cooled long ago; a lack of fluidity in the core would make it incapable of generating a dynamo effect. But it turns out that Mercury's core is not as quiet as they once believed. The latest news from MESSENGER seems to indicate that a combination of volcanic activity and fluidity in Mercury's core is responsible for the generation of this magnetic field.
Of course, as is always the case in science, as soon as one question is answered, another is posed. The question now is not "why does Mercury have a magnetic field," but "why is Mercury's core still molten?" For the answer to that one, however, it looks like we'll have to wait for more data from MESSENGER, and another announcement from NASA.
In the meantime, here are a few other facts about Mercury that NASA has announced from the latest data from the spacecraft:
1. Mercury appears to have active volcanic vents around something called the Caloris basin, This is one of the solar system's largest and youngest impact basin - a basin formed by an impact with an asteroid or comet during the first billion years in the history of the solar system.
2. The planet has shrunk in on itself more than anyone had ever expected - in fact, the planet seems to have shrunk one-third more than anyone predicted
3. The magnetosphere around Mercury is more complex than scientists had predicted. The magnetosphere (a kind of bubble around the planet that contains atomic and molecular particles) contains more complex particles than had been expected, given how close it is to the sun. In fact, many of the particles themselves originate from the planet, and are not carried there by solar wind.
MESSENGER is supposed to make another flyby of the planet in October, so I'm sure that more news about Mercury will be coming shortly. Until then, if you want to see a really interesting picture from the latest set of data, check out picture of the Caloris basin on the MESSENGER website at:
http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/gallery/sciencePhotos/image.php?gallery_id=2&image_id=193
Some of the latest news to come from the MESSENGER mission concerns the origin of Mercury's magnetic field. The question of what exactly is a magnetic field opens the door to a big area of physics called electricity and magnetism. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail about magnetism - at least, not right now. I will tell you that a magnetic field is a a field that permeates space and exerts a magnetic force on moving electrical charges and magnets (otherwise known as magnetic dipoles). Earth (as I'm sure you know) has a magnetic field; this fact gives us north and south. There does not appear to be a simple answer for why Earth has a magnetic field. It seems that it has something to do with our rotation. We believe this because the planet Venus, though it has a similar iron core to Earth's, has a different rotation pattern and has no magnetic field itself. Earth's rotation may generate something called a dynamo effect, causing the fluid iron in the core of our planet to circulate. At the same time, convection occurs, drawing the hottest part of the molten iron away from the center of the planet towards the surface. This combination of rotation and convection generates electric currents, which in turn generates and sustains our magnetic field.
Now, while it's long been known that Mercury has a magnetic field (though it is about 100 times weaker than our own), why it does so has been a mystery. Scientists had believed that Mercury's iron core was thought to have cooled long ago; a lack of fluidity in the core would make it incapable of generating a dynamo effect. But it turns out that Mercury's core is not as quiet as they once believed. The latest news from MESSENGER seems to indicate that a combination of volcanic activity and fluidity in Mercury's core is responsible for the generation of this magnetic field.
Of course, as is always the case in science, as soon as one question is answered, another is posed. The question now is not "why does Mercury have a magnetic field," but "why is Mercury's core still molten?" For the answer to that one, however, it looks like we'll have to wait for more data from MESSENGER, and another announcement from NASA.
In the meantime, here are a few other facts about Mercury that NASA has announced from the latest data from the spacecraft:
1. Mercury appears to have active volcanic vents around something called the Caloris basin, This is one of the solar system's largest and youngest impact basin - a basin formed by an impact with an asteroid or comet during the first billion years in the history of the solar system.
2. The planet has shrunk in on itself more than anyone had ever expected - in fact, the planet seems to have shrunk one-third more than anyone predicted
3. The magnetosphere around Mercury is more complex than scientists had predicted. The magnetosphere (a kind of bubble around the planet that contains atomic and molecular particles) contains more complex particles than had been expected, given how close it is to the sun. In fact, many of the particles themselves originate from the planet, and are not carried there by solar wind.
MESSENGER is supposed to make another flyby of the planet in October, so I'm sure that more news about Mercury will be coming shortly. Until then, if you want to see a really interesting picture from the latest set of data, check out picture of the Caloris basin on the MESSENGER website at:
http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/gallery/sciencePhotos/image.php?gallery_id=2&image_id=193
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