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Trauma to the spinal cord often results in the deterioration of cell membranes, which then results in cell and tissue death, often leading to paralysis. One way to help eliminate loss of body functions is to seal the deteriorating cell membranes, researchers suggest.

Crab shells

Chitin -- the main component of crustacean exoskeletons and fungi cell walls, previously used to build scaffolding for tissue growth -- has recently been suggested to stimulate spinal cord regeneration in rats.

As many as 400 megalodon teeth were found at the sites, giving rise to this theory. The size of most of the teeth, about 0.6 to 2.8 inches, suggests that the majority had come from juveniles and embryonic sharks.

Juvenile teeth are different from the small teeth from adults or the dwarf species of the megalodon. In all, it is estimated that the teeth came from 21 juvenile megalodons and seven adults, possibly the mother sharks.

The discovery of the new deep-sea vent is remarkable because the area in which it was found has been intensively studied during previous research cruises. The vent with chimneys as high as one meter and fluids with temperatures up to 300 degrees Celsius was found at one thousand metres depth in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Marine life samples collected and new maps created from the mission will guide management of important deepwater coral habitats and provide insight into environmental changes.

During the NOAA mission “Extreme Corals 2010,” scientists used the Jason II remotely operated vehicle from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to survey deep-sea coral sites from the Florida Keys to Jacksonville, Fla., and collect invertebrate and fish samples from depths over two thousand feet beneath the Gulf Stream.

But according to a report from the University of Guam, soil science professor Mohammad Golabi’s research shows that using vetiver grass to shield reefs in Guam’s Pago Bay helps protect them from the effects of construction-induced run-off.

After a seven-year campaign by Australian Federal and State governments, Western Australia’s Ningaloo Reef has been awarded World Heritage status at UNESCO’s June meeting in Paris. Australian Environment Minister Tony Burke heralds the inscription as a major achievement. “The Ningaloo coast’s striking land and seascape tells a dramatic story about the formation of oceans, movement of continents and changes in our climate,” he said.

This is just one of the fascinating results from research using acoustic tags which has yielded new insights into what cod get up to below the surface of the sea.

According to an analysis of the Atlantic cod’s genome, scientists have discovered the fish have evolved to survive without a set of genes thought essential to the immune system. It is hoped the finding will lead to better vaccines for farmed cod and even open new avenues of medical research for human disease.

The Bluestreak cleaner wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) helps other fish species by eating parasites from their skin. The cleaner's favourite food is, however, the nutrient-rich mucus layer that covers the client fish.

Bluestreak cleaner wrasse eat parasites that have attached themselves to the client fish – but sometimes the cleaner fish can't resist the temptation to take a bite out of the client's mucus layer.

The wreck lies in an area of approximately 100 square meters several nautical miles southwest of the lighthouse island of Harmaja at a depth of 18 to 20 meters. The site consists of the bottom of the hull, its sides (which have collapsed), parts of the upper structure of the ship, cannons, cannon balls, two big anchors and a variety of loose objects. There are usually no strong currents and the visibility is between one and ten metres.

No special permission by the Maritime Museum is needed for diving at the park during daytime in the summer.

AB 376 was authored by Assemblymembers Paul Fong (D-Cupertino) and Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael). AB 376 passed the Assembly by a vote of 65 to 8 on May 23rd and the Senate on September 6th with a vote of 25 to 9. Both of the votes were bipartisan. We thank Assemblymen Fong and Huffman for fighting so long and hard for this bill.