Q & A

Like I said yesterday, I’ve got a lot of suggestions for topics. Because some of them have pretty short and sweet answers, I’m going to post them all here.

“How does ink come out of pens?”

Depends on the pen! I have calligraphy styluses that draw ink up grooves in their metal tips via capillary action (motion of liquid in a tube as a result of surface tension) and then pressing them to paper (which is at least a little absorbant) similarly draws ink out.

Ballpoint pens on the other hand, have a tiiiny ball at the tip that rolls as you write or draw. It brings a little air into the ink reservoir as you push the tip against paper. Then, some of the ink in the reservoir sticks to the ball and is rolled out and onto paper. Ta da!

“Have you done bioluminescence?”

BAM: Bioluminescence.

“Do jellyfish dream?”

There’s no way to know for sure, considering they don’t talk or even make sounds  (besides SQWSSSH when you step on them), but I highly doubt they dream, or even sleep. Jellyfish have no true organs, so instead of a brain, they have a simple nerve net that allows them to react to their environment. Besides box jellies, most don’t even have eyes.

“Bananas. They constantly confuse me.”

What about them?

“Everything! WHY ARE THEY YELLOW?!?!? AND BANANA SHAPED?!?!”

BECAUSE THEY’RE BANANAS. PLEASE STOP YELLING.

EXHIBIT A. WILL YOU STOP YELLING NOW.

“Volcanism!”

Volcanism is anything involved in the processes or formation of volcanoes. Volcanoes are formed as a result of subduction, in this case, the movement of oceanic tectonic plates beneath continental plates. This occurs near underwater spreading centers, where magma from the earth’s core moves up, is cooled by the water and spreads out to form new section of plate. The subducted plate pushes magma toward the surface and explodes from volcanoes formed by the buckling of colliding plates. Mt. St. Helens is one such volcano.

You can also find volcanoes at “hot spots”, non-moving magma chambers away from plate margins where magma has risen to the surface and explodes out, rather than form a spreading center (Ex: Hawaii). Subduction of oceanic plates can also lead to volcano formation, as in the Aleutian and Japanese island volcanoes.

“Vulcanism!”

Another word for volcanism. Not a Star Trek reference, sorry.

“What are the most common chemical reactions in cooking?”

The chemistry of cooking merits a long post, if not an entire class. However, there are a few common chemical reactions I can think of right off the bat: denaturation of proteins (with heat or acid), osmosis, diffusion and controlled burning (of non-proteinatious things). Also controlled spoilage, as with cheese.

Hope this answered all y’all’s burning questions that keep you up at night. I know I will rest easier.

Sources

“volcanism”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 09 Jan. 2014
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/632078/volcanism>.

Laidler, Keith. 2009. Animals: A Visual Guide to the Animal Kingdom. Quercus Publishing Plc, London.

Yancey, Paul. “Environmental Factors- Tectonic Factors.” Marine Biology. Whitman College. Walla Walla, WA. 5 4 2011. Lecture.

A Glowing Review of Bioluminescence

So my good friend had the bright idea of bioluminescence as a blog topic and I had the less bright idea of making stupid puns. Anyway, bioluminescence! Nature’s neon light show is most popular with organisms in the deep pelagic and deep benthic where sunlight is foreign concept. Bioluminescence may be produced intrinsically (by a given organism) or extrinsically (by symbiotic bacteria colonizing the given organism). Regardless of how the light is produced, bioluminescent marine life possess photophores, light-producing organs that take advantage of luciferin oxidation to create light. This light is usually blue or green, because most fish can’t see red light (which means they’re terrible drivers). Luciferins are actually a class of molecule that, when exposed to oxygen and luciferase enzymes, produce light (for all you word nerds out there, the name is actually derived from Lucifer, the “Light-Bringer”). Light production via the luciferin-luciferase-oxygen complex (together called a photoprotein) is triggered through the introduction of calcium to the photoprotein.
However, the photophores of organisms with intrinsically and extrinsically produced light differ greatly. Photophores in marine life with intrinsically produced light are very eye-like, complete with lense, cornea-ish thingy and reflector. But instead of a retina, the photophore possesses light-producing cells containing photoproteins. In marine life with extrinsically produced light, the photophore is a chamber filled with the symbiotic bacteria. Scientists are still trying to figure out how exactly the animals signal the bacteria, but smoke signals and texting have been ruled out.
Uses for bioluminescence are many and varied. Of course everyone who’s seen Finding Nemo can name lures as one use (eg. anglerfish, dumbo octopods), although some deep pelagic predators (eg. headlight fish, dragonfish) find red headlights effective for finding red light-blind prey without being found themselves. Outside of feeding/hunting uses, bioluminescence contributes to communication and predator avoidance. Copepods (zooplankton) not only flash messages to other copepods, but will also discharge bioluminescent goop when startled. The goop coats their predators and lights them up for that thing’s predators to find even better than if they had an “Eat Me” sign pinned to their back. Cause fish can’t read signs. Or pin things. Anyway, anyone that lives on the coast can see this in action; go to a dock at night and you will notice flashes of light from copepods that have risen to the surface to feed and are avoiding feeding themselves. Pinwheel jellyfish and some cukes have a “burglar alarm” like this as well, but they’re significantly harder to find (unless you’re James Cameron and/or own a sub). Go out in a canoe and you can see ctenophores (jellyfish-like things) light up as the paddles disturb the water around them. Green bomber worms will similarly light up the night when startled, but they use time-released packets of goop to mislead predators (or prey). Finally, fish like the cookie-cutter shark and hatchetfish possess photophores that match the ambient light and make them effectively invisible to all but the most discerning eye.
Humans are starting to take advantage of bioluminescence too. Photoproteins like GFP (green florescence protein, found in jellyfish) are already used for staining cell proteins in research, but I think someone needs to look into jellyfish globe lamps. Wake up in the middle of the night and trip out because there are jellyfish floating around your room; it’s either the best idea or the worst. I’m going to go with best.

Source
–. “The Deep.” Blue Planet. BBC: 19 Sep 2001. DVD.
Schrope, Mark. Nov 2007. “Lights in the Deep”. Nature. 472-474.
Yancey, Paul. 2011. “Deep Pelagic.” Marine Biology. Whitman College. Walla Walla, WA. Lecture.