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NEW SPECIES OF WORM FOUND ON OCEAN FLOOR
When Charles Fisher, a marine biologist, and pilot Phil Santos took a mini submarine for a 1,800-foot dive in the Gulf of Mexico on July 15, 1997, neither expected to find a new species. What they found were finger-sized centipede-like worms, crawling around in an environment believed to be inhospitable to all life, except possibly bacteria. The worms live on and throughout honeycombed mounds of methane ice, solid masses of methane and water that form at high pressureslow temperatures.
The new worms are polychaetes (p 538), segmented worms with two rows of paddle-like appendages on either side of their body. Fisher, a scientist at Pennsylvania State University, took photographs and captured live specimens, which are currently being examined in the laboratory of Allysa Arp. Since there is little light at 1,800 feet, the worms may rely on chemoautotrophic (p. 342) bacteria for nutrition--either grazing on the bacteria living on the methane ice or living symbiotically with bacteria that inhabit their tissues.
Methane ice is currently being investigated as a source of energy, but Fisher cautions that the role of this new species in its ecosystem needs to be explored. "If these animals turn out to be everywhere on shallow seafloor gas deposits, possibly worldwide, they could have a significant impact on how these deposits are formed and dissolve in seawater and on how we go about mining or otherwise harvesting this natural gas as a source of energy," Fisher said.
Here are some additional sources of information:
- A description of deep-water organisms from the Fisher Lab
- Cross-section of the ocean showing life at different depths
- An explanation of what methane ice is and its potential use
DESIGNER ENZYMES LEAD TO NEW FATS
John Shanklin imagines a world in which nylon is made from the canola plant instead of from petroleum, and where low-calorie margarines come straight from a plant instead of from a processing factory. Shanklin should know--he is one of the scientists who has discovered a way to re-engineer enzymes to produce new fats.
Fatty acids, long carbon chains that make up the bulk of fats, vary in length and in the number and position of double bonds. For instance, oleic acid, the fatty acid found in olive and canola oil, is 18 carbons long and has one double bond between the ninth and tenth carbon, a double-bond created by a specific enzyme. Shanklin and colleagues at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden altered this particular enzyme so that it created the double bonds between the sixth and seventh carbons of a 16-carbon fatty acid.
Shanklin believes that this kind of detailed control over a plant's fat production will lead to the creation of new fats useful in the food and chemical industry. He is applying for a patent on both the novel enzyme and the process used to create it. The results of his research are published in the July 27, 1997 issue of The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Here are some additional sources of information:
- A Science News article on Shanklin's research and its potential applications
- A Science News article on creating a better margarine
- A press release from the Brookhaven National Laboratory on John Shanklin's research
In the News
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