It was just a week ago that the month-long Sampling the Abyss marine biology expedition ended.  While they found thousands of rare deep sea creatures, about a third of which are new to science, they created a major internet sensation and got the most attention when they revealed just one – the Peanut Worm:

And that is NOT a typo – it is Peanut Worm (Sipuncula) – so you should not confuse it with the already discovered Penis Worm (Priapulida).

And of course as a physician, I took it right in stride with an ever so mature reaction:

The Sampling the Abyss mission was comprised of 40 scientists under the auspices of Australia’s Museums Victoria and CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation).  It set out on the ship Investigator to explore Australia’s Abyss off its eastern coast down to a depth of 4km (2.5 miles) – some of the most remote and unexplored area on earth in some of its most treacherous waters.

The lead scientist on the mission, Dr. Tim O’Hara, said, “Australia’s deep-sea environment is larger in size than the mainland, and until now, almost nothing was known about life on the abyssal plain.”

He added: “The abyss is the largest and deepest habitat on the planet, covering half the world’s oceans and one third of Australia’s territory, but it remains the most unexplored environment on Earth. We know that abyssal animals have been around for at least 40 million years, but until recently only a handful of samples had been collected from Australia’s abyss.”

To corral new creatures, the team lowered nets to a depth so deep that it took seven hours to reach the ocean floor.  And in addition to looking for new life-forms, the team also used “high-tech multi-beam sonar” for mapping purposes to the previously unexplored area.

One can imagine the environment of the Abyss: crushing pressures, no light, little food and close to freezing temperatures.  So the creatures that call this home have developed extraordinary attributes to survive – from having no eyes, to producing their own light through bioluminescence.  Many are jelly-like, most likely to endure the pressures, while others have partially calcified skeletons and spines.  But they all have one thing in common: they are without a doubt some of the strangest creatures ever discovered.

So let’s meet a few of these new finds, and I’ll try to do them alphabetically.

Bamboo Coral

The delicate bamboo coral skeleton is made up of calcium carbonate with joint like nodes giving them the appearance of bamboo. They are incredibly long-lived with some having been recorded as old as 4,000 years.  And they have growth rings like trees, so it’s hoped they’ll be able to provide a past history of major oceanic events.

Blind Cusk Eel – or Faceless Fish

It has no eyes, and its mouth is underneath.  It’s actually a cusk eel with the scientific name Typhlonus nasus, which is derived from Greek, meaning “blind hake.”

 

Blobfish

The blob fish was collected at a depth of 2.5km and has soft watery flesh.  It nestles in on the ocean floor, lies very still and then ambushes unsuspecting prey as they pass by.

It’s a close cousin to Mr. Blobby, the social media phenom we’ve all probably seen that was collected in the Tasman Sea in 2003 and was voted the World’s Ugliest Fish in 2013.

Brittle Star – Game of Thrones

This was a new find, so Dr. O’Hara named it the Game of Thrones Brittle Star, Ophiohamus georgemartini, because of its sharp thorns similar to those depicted on the Game of Thrones crown.  It has no eyes and no brain – so I’m sure it’s a republican.  It’s just a protoplasm of pure nerves.

Cookie-cutter Shark

It has perfectly aligned serrated teeth and strange eyes that glow in the dark.  It preys on preys on pretty much anything including dolphins, whales and the occasional unfortunate human, latching onto them before gouging out cookie-sized chunks of flesh.

Dumbo Octopus

Dumbo Octopus flaps its ear-like fins to “fly” or glide through the deep abyss – just like the Disney movie Dumbo elephant.

Lizard Fish

The lizard fish (Bathysaurus ferox) is pretty much just a mouth with sharp hinged teeth.  They live at depths of 1,000-2,500 metres (3,280-8,202 feet) where there is very little food, so they tend to be sparse in number.

At that depth, it tends to be even harder to find a mate than a meal, so they have evolved to become hermaphrodites: they have male and female reproductive organs.  So when they do come across another one they’ll be able to mate – and have cute little baby lizard fishes.

Peanut Worm

They actually do look like a peanut – but it only happens when they are threatened and then assume a defensive posture.  The worm retracts its head inside itself, and so really does look similar to a peanut.

Sea Pigs

They found a herd of sea pigs on the ocean floor.  They act like little vacuum cleaners by using their tube-like feet to move across the floor, hoovering up microorganisms.  They are the only type of sea cucumber with ‘feet’ and tend to gather in large numbers where food is abundant.

Zombie Worm

Zombie worms are 1 to 3 inches long and were first discovered in the bones of a rotting gray whale on the ocean floor.  They have no functioning mouth, digestive tract or anus, but have bacteria that digest whale bone marrow.

They burrow into bones to feed, and according to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, they secrete an acid from their skin that dissolves that bone, freeing up the fat and protein.  They then use the symbiotic bacteria living inside the worms to digest the fat and protein.

You can find lots more information at a number of sites – or just Google “Peanut Worm” in the last month, and you’ll find lots more!  But you may want to start w/ the expedition’s own blog site:

https://www.nespmarine.edu.au/abyss-landing-page

https://www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery/news/2017/06/21/weird-and-unseen-fish-discovered-in-australian-abyss/103063292/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/sciencefair/2017/06/21/australian-deep-sea-researchers-find-peanut-worm-other-creatures/415980001/

http://www.newsweek.com/faceless-fish-weird-underwater-creatures-626836

http://www.torontosun.com/2017/06/20/australian-deep-sea-expedition-dives-into-the-abyss-and-discovers-sea-creatures-from-your-nightmares

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4619510/Photos-deeps-ea-creatures-Australia-s-coast.html

 

We have discussed many times that that the Reich on the Right, the Republican Reich, is virtually always wrong.  On the other hand, the Reich on the Left, Robert Reich, is virtually always right.  In this case, Robert is right that there is already sufficient evidence to impeach the Orange Obstructer for Obstruction of Justice.

Obstruction of justice was among the articles of impeachment drafted against both Presidents Nixon and Clinton. The parallel between Nixon and Trump is almost exact. White House tapes revealed Nixon giving instructions to pressure the acting FBI director into halting the Watergate investigation.

Two weeks after Trump told Comey privately “I need loyalty. I expect loyalty,” he had another private meeting with Comey in the Oval Office. After shooing out his advisers – all of whom had top security clearance – Trump said to Comey, according to Comey’s memo written shortly after the meeting, “I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go.”

Then on May 9, Trump fired Comey. In a subsequent interview with NBC Trump said he planned to fire Comey “regardless of [the] recommendation” of the Attorney and Deputy Attorney General, partly because of “this Russia thing.” Trump also revealed in the interview that he had had several conversations with Comey about the Russia investigation, and had asked Comey if he was under investigation…

From <Robert Reich>

Here’s the video.

I fully agree, with the caveat that things will have to get much, much worse, before House Republicans will act.  Probably, Democrats will have to flip the House first, hopefully in 2018.  Then they can impeach Pence at the same time.

RESIST!!

Back in the day when Democrats could actually run as Democrats, we never had to ask questions like the ones we are looking at today:  How can we get Democrats elected to offices since a Teflon President has apparently passed on that mantle (now usually referred to as IOKIYAR) to an entire guilty party, for whom people CONTINUE TO VOTE?

While the whole country has been focusing on the special election for Georgia’s Sixth, it has kind of gone under the radar that South Carolina’s Fifth also has an election today, for the same reason – the previous Rep, Mike Mulvaney, accepted a position with the Trump Administration.  Here, Archie Parnell (D) is hoping to take it away from Ralph Norman (R).  So I think I should address him while he is still a candidate.  I’ve cut (and I do mean cut, including whole planks) information on his biography and issues from his website.

A South Carolina native, Archie graduated from Sumter High School and earned bachelor and law degrees from the University of South Carolina. He worked as a tax attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice and for the House Ways & Means Committee under Democratic leadership.  Archie then accumulated business and international experience while working for some of the biggest American companies.

 1.  Taxes and Big Corporations

Archie will use his decades of experience and detailed knowledge of the tax code to make big corporations pay their fair share. He knows how to close the loopholes that allow big companies to stash trillions of dollars overseas, and will use that revenue to strengthen our infrastructure and create jobs here at home.

2.  Education

As a product of South Carolina public schools, Archie knows the life-changing power of teachers. This Congressional district is home to 95 Title I schools – schools that are a majority low-income and are recipients of Federal funds. Archie will stand up for all South Carolina public schools, and will fight to keep the US Department of Education funded and in existence. Our schools must give every child in every zip code the opportunity to succeed and fulfill their potential.

3.  Jobs and Infrastructure

While much of the economy has improved since the crash of 2008, real wages have not gone up for many working Americans in over three decades…. Archie believes that infrastructure enables small businesses to grow locally and attracts larger businesses to move here from elsewhere in the US and abroad. Archie knows that expanding and modernizing broadband infrastructure and cell coverage will create more economic opportunities for South Carolina as well.

4.  Healthcare and Medicare

Archie will stand up for families and defend healthcare and Medicare from Washington’s attempts to weaken them. Archie believes that if you have paid into Social Security and Medicare, you have earned it — it should never be taken away from you. He opposed the Republican bill to replace the Affordable Care Act, which would have raised premiums on older Americans and weakened Medicare, and has called on all candidates in the race to do the same.

6.  Veterans and Military Families

Archie grew up in a military family. After his father grew up in an orphanage, he entered the Army and, later, the Army Air Corps and the United States Air Force. Like many others, his father’s military service offered a stepping-stone to a better life for Archie’s family.

South Carolina is full of active duty personnel, reserve forces, members of the National Guard, and veterans of all ages. Those brave men and women have earned access to not only to world quality healthcare, but also to educational and professional opportunities that will allow them to be successful after their service. The Department of Veterans Affairs not only owes top quality care to veterans of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, but long-term preventative care and wellness to younger veterans of more recent conflicts. Archie believes that no one who sacrificed blood for their country should ever have to worry about the quality of their healthcare.

8.  Energy and the Environment

South Carolina has been at the forefront of renewable energy for more than a century. The power of the Catawba and Broad Rivers has been harnessed for hydroelectric power since 1904, providing clean energy to thousands of customers. Nuclear power plants in York and Fairfield Counties employ thousands of people and provide electricity to millions of homes. Archie supports the expansion of these renewable resources as we continue to decrease our dependency on fossil fuels that damage our water and air. He opposes the dismantling of Federal environmental regulations that allow corporate polluters to get away with poisoning our community’s drinking water, soil, and air. He believes that it is possible for industry to thrive without abusing our air and water, and he looks forward to giving the EPA back the enforcement capabilities that keep South Carolina workers and families safe.

9.  Equality and Opportunity

Our nation is built on the idea that all people are created equal and our Constitution guarantees equal protection under the law. We are bound by these legal principles, but more than that, we are bound by a shared hope and vision for our country and our children.

Our fellow citizens fought and died for their right to cast a ballot, but many also sacrificed in their righteous pursuit of all kinds of equality. Women fought for the right to vote and the right to work; Archie will push to ensure that equal work receives equal pay, and he will fight for an expansion of medical leave laws that allow families to feel secure, whether they suffer from an illness or are blessed with a child. He supports the protection of civil and marriage rights for all Americans, and rejects prejudice of every description.

OK, I am not so sure hydroelectric (and certainly not nuclear) power quite make it to sustainable energy.  But, as TomCat said of Jon Ossoff, Archie “has tailored [his] agenda to the needs of his own constituents.”  And I guarantee he will be better for both South Carolina and for the country than Ralph Norman.

Cross posted to Care2 at http://www.care2.com/news/member/101612212/4058654