Category Archives: In the News

Blaschka Glass Menagerie Inspires Marine Expedition – NYTimes.com

This is an article describing an amazing collection of glass invertebrates and how biology can inspire art, which can inspire biology. Blaschka Glass Menagerie Inspires Marine Expedition – NYTimes.com.

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Harvard Gazette: Marine biology mystery solved

This was published in 2005 but only recently came to my attention.  The narwhal’s tusk is a sensor that can detect changes in water temperature, pressure, and chemical gradients. Harvard Gazette: Marine biology mystery solved.

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Quest to build a heart gets lift from jellyfish – Boston.com

Quest to build a heart gets lift from jellyfish – Boston.com. This is a great article describing how researchers at Harvard and Cal Tech, inspired by the movements of jellyfish, created a “pseudo-organism” using rat heart cells seeded onto an … Continue reading →

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Rescuers free humpback whale off the coast of Chatham – Metro Desk – Local news updates from The Boston Globe

Fishing lines and nets can create hazards for marine mammals.  This story describes the disentanglement of seven year old humpback whale of the coast of Chatham, MA. The story has a happy ending – the whale suffered only minor injuries … Continue reading →

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Organisms ride debris to the US – Boston.com

Organisms ride debris to the US – Boston.com. As a result of last year’s tsunami, a portion of a large, floating dock made its way from Japan to Newport Oregon carrying with it, a diverse marine fouling community.  Unfortunately, the … Continue reading →

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Changes imperil Gulf of Maine’s food chain – The Boston Globe

Changes imperil Gulf of Maine’s food chain – The Boston Globe. Researchers from Bigelow Labs and USGS documented a five-fold decrease in phytoplankton growth, which may be linked to record levels of rainfall.  Increased rainfall contributes to increased sedimentation in … Continue reading →

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39 Right Whale Calves Born

The New England Aquarium announced 39 right whale calves were born in this year setting a new record and a great improvement over 2000, when only one calf was reported.  Right whales give birth off of Georgia and Florida and … Continue reading →

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New Fishing Guidelines

The Boston Globe reports that the new fishing guidelines issued by NOAA will create economic hardships for the regional fishers, but should provide an opportunity for some of the severely impacted fish stocks to rebound.  The number of days that … Continue reading →

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Shellfish Harvesting Banned in MA

The Boston Globe reports that shellfish harvesting will be banned along the Massachusetts coast from the New Hampshire border to the Bourne-Sandwich town line due to the presence of a red tide. The term “red tide” refers to periods of … Continue reading →

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