A CURATED COLLECTION OF SCIENCE FACTS AND DELICIOUS FICTIONS !

6/12/26

THE GOLD ORB : SCIENTISTS FIGURE OUT WHAT THIS BLOB IT IS!



Excerpt: Scientists with NOAA Fisheries and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History used an integrative taxonomic approach combining a study of its physical structure with genetic analysis to identify the object. Initial examination found the object lacked typical animal anatomy but was a fibrous material with a layered surface packed with cnidocytes (stinging cells), suggesting it was a cnidarian (like corals or anemones). National Systematics Lab scientist Abigail Reft identified the cells as spirocysts, which are limited to the Hexacorallia group of cnidarians. The team also examined a similar specimen collected in 2021 during an expedition on Schmidt Ocean Institute’s Research Vessel Falkor and found similar cnidocysts.

6/3/26

YELLOW BRICK ROAD AT THE DEEP BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN?

Is this THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD?   LiliÊ»uokalani Ridge Seamounts

SCIENCE ALERT : YELLOW BRICK ROAD OFF HAWAIIAN ISLANDS

Excerpt: Trust/E/V/Nautilus/YouTube)

The formation has been identified as "a fractured flow of hyaloclastite rock (a volcanic rock formed in high-energy eruptions where many rock fragments settle to the seabed)."

On the radio, the team notes that the ground looks almost like a "baked crust" that could be peeled off.

In one tiny section, the volcanic rock has fractured in a way that looks strikingly similar to bricks.

"The unique 90-degree fractures are likely related to heating and cooling stress from multiple eruptions at this baked margin," reads a caption to the YouTube video.