Back to the Octopus

So last time, there was an octopus running away with a coconut. Deep Sea News posted another octopus video, this one showing one swimming in the deep sea.





Wow.
I am really becoming fascinated by these things. It's like a horrible accident. I just can't look away.

What You Won't See on the News About Haiti

For some reason our news reporters don't like to portray the United States in ANY light that might make us look good. We have hundreds of hours of footage of victims of the Haiti earthquake crying for relief, but precious few of the people who are working around the clock to try to bring that relief. Don't get me wrong, there is real need, but the slant on the story is that we are not doing enough to help.

Want to know what the hold up is?

Yeah. Haiti is broken.

So we have to fix it first.

You can't dock a ship to a pier that is underwater (although apparently France tried), so you have to improvise. And our military is good at that.

We are awesome. Even if no one wants to admit it.

Prayers to all our military and those devastated in Haiti.

Thanks to the Bayou Renaissance Man for pointing it out. Check out his post for a much more detailed description of what our men and women are dealing with.

Pictures are from the US Navy Website.

US Navy Drill Team

Okay, so this isn't exactly about the ocean. But the Navy spends time in the ocean, right? I think that counts.

US NAVY SILENT DRILL TEAM
About three years ago, our US Navy Ceremonial Guard Silent Drill Team was invited to compete in an International Tattoo in Norway. The Navy competed against military units from all over NATO and won first place.

Once you see the video you'll understand why they won.

This is amazing.

Need Some Extra Credit???

The Deep Sea News blog, is insane. It's like up-to-date ocean information for those with ADD. You should follow it.

Knot Wednesday is your challenge. Every Wednesday, a new knot is posted. Learn the knot and bring it into class and you will receive extra credit. NOTE: the knot MUST be tied correctly for credit to be awarded!

Thieving Slugs

In the salty marshes in New England and Canada, there are some pretty awesome slugs. And believe it, for me to refer to a slug as "awesome", it must have done something amazing.

These slugs have actually stolen the genes from algae they have eaten and incorporated those genes into their own. The algae, of course, are photosynthetic and contain the green pigment chlorophyll. And as I am sure you remember from your biology class, chlorophyll is what absorbs sunlight so the plant can make its own food. The chlorophyll itself is not enough, however, for the slugs to perform photosynthesis, so they have also developed a way to steal the chloroplasts from algae as well.

Scientists have isolated a few of these critters and observed them in tanks. Apparently, the genes for chlorophyll can be passed on to the youngins', (Can anyone say "evolution"?) but the chloroplasts cannot. Algae, for now, must be eaten by the young slug in order to get the chloroplasts to perform photosynthesis. But once that has been accomplished, not more searching for food!