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Scuba News..because we can’t be underwater all the time
Archive for August, 2008Researchers find cancer-inhibiting compound under the seaMonday, August 11th, 2008
University of Florida College of Pharmacy researchers have discovered a marine compound off the coast of Key Largo that inhibits cancer cell growth in laboratory tests, a finding they hope will fuel the development of new drugs to better battle the disease.
The UF-patented compound, largazole, is derived from cyanobacteria that grow on coral reefs.
Divers plunder wrecks in the ‘graveyard’ of the AtlanticThursday, August 7th, 2008
Divers are plundering the wrecks of vessels sunk during the Second World War in an area known as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic". The stretch of seabed off North Carolina and Virginia contains up to 90 wrecks, most lying at relatively shallow depths, offering divers and maritime historians unique opportunities for exploration.
However, experts have warned that the wrecks are increasingly being disturbed by divers, some of whom are removing items to keep as souvenirs.
Weapons and other artefacts have been looted and divers are even said to have removed the skeleton of a German sailor from a sunken U-boat in the area.
Scientists Use Naval Exercises to Learn More About How Marine Mammals React to SonarWednesday, August 6th, 2008
Using satellite-linked and underwater listening tags to monitor movement and behavior, NOAA and partnering scientists tagged more than thirty individual marine mammals of four different species. They measured how deep-diving marine mammals feed, interact with one another, dive and respond to sounds in their environment in this pioneering pilot project carried out in conjunction with the Navy's Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2008 exercises.
Red Sea in Egypt to be Plastic Bag FreeTuesday, August 5th, 2008
The Governor of the Red Sea in Egypt has decreed that the Red Sea will be the first plastic bag free Governorate with effect from 1st January 2009. This decree represents a considerable step forward in tackling the issues caused by excess rubbish and in particular plastic bags in the Red Sea.
Plastic bags pose a massive hazard to birds, turtles, dolphins and other marine creatures that are killed in alarming numbers each year after swallowing or becoming entangled in plastic bags blown out to sea. Turtles easily mistake plastic bags for yummy jellyfish. Once in the stomach, the indigestible plastic wraps itself around the intestines of the creature and it slowly starves to death.
Update: Diving IndiaTuesday, August 5th, 2008
More on the diving around India, especially the Lakshadweep Islands, is now on the SCUBA Travel site. Lakshadweep is an archipelago of 36 islands, 200-300 miles off the west coast of India in the Arabian Sea.
Randy male fish try to dupe the competitionMonday, August 4th, 2008
Atlantic molly fish go for less fertile females if another male is present, in a bid to trick the other male into choosing a poorer-quality mate.
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