Ocean Discoveries
The ocean is a huge, fascinating place, with just 5% having been explored (which I find slightly unnerving). What has been explored though, is deeply fascinating, slightly creepy and also a little bit magical. This article will look at four fabulous ocean discoveries.
1. The Jellyfish that may hold the cure to cancer
This jellyfish which has been given the nickname ‘the immortal jellyfish’ has the ability to revolve back to a polyp (a growth of tissue that projects from a surface in a body) when it is in danger. Some scientists even believe that because of this it may hold the cure for cancer! Cool right?
2. The Marianas trench
Only two people have ever descended to the Marianas Trench. It can be found near the Phillipines, east of the Mariana Islands. It looks a bit like a scar and forms when two tectonic plates collide. The trench is extremely dark and it’s temperature only reaches a few degrees above freezing. It’s quite difficult for scientists to fully discover what lives in its depths. However, in the 1960s Picard spent 20 minutes at the bottom of the trench and spotted what he thought was a flatfish. This is fascinating as scientists had always wondered whether life could be possible at such a depth. It has also been theorized that the trench may have provided the right conditions for some of earth's first life forms. It will forever be fascinating to me that there is so much of the undersea world that no one can fully explore or understand.
3. The Twilight zone
The twilight zone is one of the areas of the earth's ecosystem that is most poorly understood. There could potentially be up to one million undiscovered species living there, many of which are tiny. This habitat also plays a role in the earth's climate because it helps to remove carbon from the atmosphere.
4. The Football Fish
This weird (kinda creepy) fish, with razor sharp teeth has been washing up onto America’s beaches this year. It was identified as an atlantic football fish but it is very rare to see one, intact and onshore. Its mouth is so big that it is able to suck up prey that is the size of their body, again kinda terrifying.
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So there we have it, four of the coolest ocean discoveries. From a jellyfish that could cure cancer to some of the world's deepest depths, the ocean is amazing.
Written by Heather Nicholls
My name is Heather and I’m currently a second year Criminology Student! I’ve recently been getting into journalism because I am really interested and passionate about politics, telling people's stories and other current affairs. I also love making youtube videos, reading, baking and playing the flute.
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