Researchers excited to study sea cucumber's bizarre defense
1 年前
The ocean is full of bizarre and fascinating animals that we barely understand. Even the seemingly defenseless creatures that slowly inch their way along the ocean floor are capable of defending against predators. This is a world where the balance between predator and prey is a fine line and it can change in an instant.
This is a species of sea cucumber with one of nature's most imaginative and baffling means of protecting itself. When threatened, it shoots strings of sticky material from its anus to tangle up and defeat would be predators. The cucumber squeezes its body to create a rip in an internal wall so that short threads, called Cuvierian tubules, can be ejected. But as soon as the threads are exposed to sea water, they stretch to more than 20 times their original length. The tubules become sticky when they are in contact with any surface, such as the body of an animal that is trying to eat them.
Researchers studied the cucumbers and made careful observations of the expelled tubules. They anesthetized sea cucumbers and surgically removed some of the shorter tubules that had not been expelled. They studied the cells and found some that were completely expected, such as the ones found in other echinoderms, like starfish. Other cells in the tubules were completely unexpected and they behaved in ways that surprised researchers.
Now, engineers are studying these cells in an effort to improve technology and create new substances that stretch and stiffen like the collagenous material found in the tubules. The goal is to create shape-shifting materials that change form when we need them to.
As we learn more about the ocean and the creatures that live there, we learn more about how to use the imaginative genius of nature in our own world to help us in many ways. Scientists and biologists are constantly applying new findings from the natural world to combat disease and illness, prolong life, and make our use of energy more efficient. A seemingly unimportant animal, like this sea cucumber, often plays a more complex and vital role than we realize in the health of our planet. Too often, we learn the importance of something only after it has been threatened or lost completely.
相關影片推薦
- 1:37虎山巖金針花開了!假日估湧2萬人 聯外道塞爆華視影音10,170 次觀看・9 小時前
- 1:41都更後變無家可歸! 住戶拿70萬怨:廁所都買不到東森新聞影音77,827 次觀看・1 天前
- 1:29殯葬大亨董娘車禍 新畫面曝肇事駕駛違規蛇行|#鏡新聞鏡新聞95,559 次觀看・1 天前
- 2:02停紅燈遭後車撞亡 業務員上班遇死劫獨留妻兒TVBS新聞網影音5,779 次觀看・1 天前
- 1:07王力宏難敵歲月摧殘顏值崩塌! 新造型網友不買單直呼:老態盡顯娛樂星聞6,835 次觀看・14 小時前
- 1:07台鐵舊自強故障臨時換車! 旅客控「買座票變站票」東森新聞影音2,096 次觀看・6 小時前
- 1:23【週末去哪玩】東北角到頭城~一路順玩海岸景點巡禮Yahoo奇摩旅遊編輯部(影音)12,097 次觀看・1 天前
- 1:45「刑事戰將」遭收押 同寢被告挑選背景單純|#鏡新聞鏡新聞917 次觀看・8 小時前
- 1:22《天外奇蹟》飛行屋免費住 8000個氣球還原經典畫面 還有X戰警、法拉利博物館主題房Yahoo奇摩(國際通)8,515 次觀看・14 小時前
- 2:10《八戒》:決戰未來 (正式預告) | 電影預告Yahoo奇摩電影戲劇(預告片)3,030 次觀看・2 天前
熱門必看
- 13:05雪力神分析INF人!精彩到連唐老師都忘了講星座!?Ep.216-3唐綺陽談星室25,246 次觀看・4 天前
- 14:06到京都別只衝伏見稻荷神社 想變美、求戀愛運來這才內行Yahoo創作摩人3,877 次觀看・4 天前
- 11:30【淚之女婿】突變劇情被罵爆... 原來賢祐就是白血球?眼淚是海仁找回記憶關鍵?七大《女王》解析&主演幕後故事Ki笑人生19,144 次觀看・2 天前
- 8:05拿水沖香奈兒!?90萬小廢包沒人帶?! 2024精品新趨勢 永續環保最時尚!!Sherry袁曼軒2,648 次觀看・5 天前
- 7:40花200萬存0056後悔了?4年定期定額0050與0056投報大公開!SHIN LI20,501 次觀看・4 天前