Achilles Tang

Darwin was a brilliant observer and described everything he could perceive with the naked eye. However, the micro-organisms from the beginning of evolution remained hidden from him. He came unsuspectingly close to them in his essay on reefs. View the full article

Leatherbacks are the largest turtles on Earth with evolutionary roots that go back more than 100 million years. But their numbers, particularly in the Pacific, are declining at an alarming rate due to egg harvest, fishery bycatch, coastal development, and highly variable food availability. Researchers have attached satellite transmitters to track them in the Great Turtle Race. View the full article

There is a new tool for those developing conservation strategies for threatened species and landscapes: museum specimens. Richard Pearson and Christopher Raxworthy of the American Museum of Natural History dusted off a number of collections from Madagascar and used the location information associated with each species to test different ideas regarding the evolution of locally distributed endemism (unique species confined to small regions). (2009-04-17) View the full article

Scientists have established a new conceptual framework which identifies the indicators of the fishing and tourist industry, evaluating the effectiveness of the Protected Marine Areas. The model applied to three marine zones reveals the existence of many deficiencies, due to legal loopholes and the lack of scientific information. View the full article

Low-oxygen "dead zones" in the ocean could expand significantly over the next century, according to marine chemists. These predictions are based on the fact that, as more and more carbon dioxide dissolves from the atmosphere into the ocean, marine animals will need more oxygen to survive. View the full article

New evidence gleaned from CT scans of fossils locked inside rocks may flip the order in which two kinds of four-limbed animals with backbones were known to have moved from fish to landlubber. View the full article

A reservoir of briny liquid buried deep beneath an Antarctic glacier supports hardy microbes that have lived in isolation for millions of years, researchers report in the journal Science. The discovery of life is in a place where cold, darkness, and lack of oxygen would previously have led scientists to believe nothing could survive. View the full article

A study of gene expression in chickens, frogs, pufferfish, mice and people has revealed surprising similarities in several key tissues. Researchers have shown that expression in tissues with a limited number of specialized cell types is strongly conserved, even between the mammalian and non-mammalian vertebrates. View the full article

How will plant cells that live in the oceans and serve as the basic food supply for many of the world's sea creatures react to climate change? Biologists came one step closer to answering that question in an article in the journal Science. View the full article

The Hawaiian flame fairy wrasse is an awesome aquarium fish. View the full article

Terry introduces a new column coming to the magazine. View the full article

Various videographers document the amazing behavior of the cuttlefish. For more information about each video, visit the linked YouTube video. View the full article

Currently, 99% of the live stock in the marine ornamental trade is harvested from coral reefs in the wild. Therefore, aquarists should take every precaution to protect their livestock and keep it thriving in captivity. View the full article

In general, the fluorescence of DsRed pigments is not difficult to maintain in captivity. As you're probably aware by now, this subject has my interest and I'll keep researching this subject. View the full article

The reward may well be a heightened appreciation for the diversity and adaptability of the plants and animals we so admire. View the full article

Once thought to be only the realm of the blue-ringed octopus, researchers have now shown that all octopuses and cuttlefish, and some squid are venomous. The work indicates that they all share a common, ancient venomous ancestor and highlights new avenues for drug discovery. View the full article

In an experiment spanning over 20 years, researchers have found that vulnerability to being caught by anglers is a heritable trait in largemouth bass. View the full article

Four years ago researchers discovered a new species of seaweed in the Baltic Sea. New studies reveal that this species may have formed only 400 years ago, making this seaweed species unique. View the full article

Most fish rely primarily on their vision to find prey to feed upon, but biologists have demonstrated that a group of African cichlids feeds by using its lateral line sensory system to detect minute vibrations made by prey hidden in the sediments. View the full article

Researchers in California are reporting for the first time that metals are key ingredients that give the coatings of anchoring byssal threads of marine mussels their amazing durability. The study could lead to the design of next-generation coatings for medical and industrial applications, including surgical coatings that protect underlying tissues from abrasion and also life-threatening bacterial infections, the researchers say. View the full article

What to do about a kalkwasser overdose. View the full article

Results of a new study shed light on how threats to the world's endangered coral reef ecosystems can be more effectively managed. (2009-04-08) View the full article

Many people now take fish oil in supplements or foods, convinced of the benefits shown in a number of medical studies. However, there are also dangers associated with fish oils because the fish which are high in omega-3 fatty acids, such as mackerel, trout, tuna and salmon, often accumulate toxic substances in them because of their position in the food chain. View the full article

Biologists used DNA tagging to show that whale sharks, the world's largest fish, show little genetic variation across widely separated tropical oceans, underscoring the need for wider protection against over-fishing. View the full article

Waterdogs, they're called, these larvae of tiger salamanders used as live bait for freshwater fishing. With tiger salamander larvae, anglers hope to catch largemouth bass, channel catfish and other freshwater fishes. They may be in for more than they bargained for: salamanders in bait shops in Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico are infected with ranaviruses, and those in Arizona, with a chytrid fungus called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). View the full article