Podcast Summary
Discovering the beauty and mystery of bioluminescence: Simplifying complexities in business, like bioluminescence in nature, leads to efficient and effective operations.
Simplicity and focus are essential for successful business operations, just as the complexities of nature, like bioluminescence, hold valuable secrets. Edie Witter, a marine biologist, discovered the beauty and mystery of bioluminescence during her deep-sea dives, inspiring her to spend her career unraveling its importance in underwater life. Similarly, Mercury simplifies financial workflows for businesses, enabling them to perform efficiently and effectively. The art of making the complex feel simple is crucial, whether it's understanding the intricacies of the deep sea or managing financial operations. Edie's journey underwater, filled with breathtaking sights and new questions, parallels the continuous pursuit of knowledge and innovation in business.
Deep-sea creatures and their bioluminescence: Over 75% of deep-sea creatures use bioluminescence, often for camouflage, but the purpose remains a mystery for many. Researchers face challenges studying elusive deep-sea organisms, like the gulper eel, which can change color and shape to hide.
Bioluminescence, the production of light by living organisms, is a widespread phenomenon in the deep ocean. Over 75% of deep-sea creatures exhibit some form of light production, often for purposes of camouflage. However, for many other organisms, the function of their bioluminescence remains a mystery. Researchers have encountered challenges in studying these animals up close due to their elusive nature and the rarity of observing them alive. An intriguing example is the gulper eel, which was thought to display bioluminescence along its side, but when researchers finally encountered a live one, it was discovered to have the ability to change color and shape, effectively hiding from observation. These discoveries highlight the complexity and intrigue of the deep ocean and the ongoing quest to unravel its mysteries.
Gulper Eel Transforms into a Balloon: Researchers discovered a new behavior in a gulper eel - it can transform into a balloon, and observing it in its natural habitat revealed brighter bioluminescence. To study animals without disturbance, researchers aim to create unobtrusive underwater cameras.
Researchers Edie Widder and Phil Santos made a groundbreaking discovery while studying a gulper eel in its natural habitat. The eel had the ability to transform itself into a balloon, a behavior never before seen. Upon bringing the eel to the surface, its bioluminescence was brighter than ever, leaving researchers with questions about its purpose. However, observing animals in their natural environment is ideal for researchers, but the obtrusive nature of submarines with their thrusters and bright lights makes it challenging. To overcome this, Edie decided to create an unobtrusive underwater camera to study animals without disturbing them, potentially uncovering more secrets of the deep sea.
Revolutionizing Deep-Sea Exploration with Red Light: Marine scientist Edie Widder transformed deep-sea exploration by using red light to film creatures, revealing new insights about their behavior and leading to a better understanding of deep-sea ecosystems
Edie Widder, a marine scientist, revolutionized deep-sea exploration by using red light instead of white light to film deep-water creatures. The reason for this shift was that most deep-sea creatures produce and can see blue light, while red light travels further in water and is less common. Edie discovered a unique predator, the stoplight fish, which uses red light for hunting and has a filter to block out other colors. Inspired by this, Edie developed an underwater camera system, named "the eye in the sea," which used red light and an electronic jellyfish lure to attract predators. This innovative approach allowed her to observe deep-sea creatures in their natural environment without disturbing them, revealing new insights about their behavior. Despite initial skepticism from funding agencies, Edie's perseverance paid off, and her groundbreaking work led to a better understanding of deep-sea ecosystems.
Revolutionizing Marine Research with the Eye in the Sea: The Eye in the Sea camera expanded our knowledge of marine life through non-intrusive observations, revealing new species, behaviors, and feeding habits, including bioluminescence used for mating, hunting, and defense.
Edie Widder's groundbreaking underwater camera, the Eye in the Sea, revolutionized marine research by providing a non-intrusive window into the ocean world, revealing new species, behaviors, and feeding habits, such as giant sixgill sharks sieving food from the muck. This discovery expanded our understanding of how animals use bioluminescence for mating, hunting, and defense. However, Edie acknowledges that the camera won't answer all her questions, as some bioluminescence doesn't originate from observable animals. The Running Sucks docuseries, on the other hand, celebrates women runners and their communities, showcasing the transformative power of running, especially for postpartum mothers like Abby Ayers.
Ocean bioluminescence caused by marine snow and bacteria: Discovering marine snow's role in bioluminescence reveals its importance in the ocean's food chain and carbon cycle, and sheds light on how animals locate and consume it, benefiting the bacteria
Bioluminescence in the ocean might be primarily caused by marine snow, which is essentially poop from tiny organisms that sinks to the bottom and gets lit up by bioluminescent bacteria. This discovery is significant because it's a crucial part of the ocean's food chain and carbon cycle, and understanding how animals find and consume this marine snow could help us fill a major gap in our knowledge. The bacteria on the marine snow use their light as a beacon to attract prey, and getting eaten actually benefits them because they're introduced into an animal's gut, where there's an abundance of food. This theory could also explain why glowing organisms are effective at attracting prey in the ocean. Edie Witter, a researcher who has studied this phenomenon, is excited about the potential implications of this discovery and the mysteries it still holds.
Studying the role of marine snow in bioluminescence: Marine snow, the sinking debris in the ocean, may contain cyanobacteria that react to light and create oxygen, allowing bioluminescent bacteria to emit light. Anglerfish may mimic this glow to attract prey. Understanding this phenomenon is crucial for understanding life in the deep ocean, but studying it is challenging.
Researchers are studying the phenomenon of marine snow, which is the sinking debris in the ocean, and its potential role in bioluminescence. The anglerfish uses its glowing light to attract prey, potentially mimicking the glow of marine snow. This marine snow may contain cyanobacteria that react to light and create oxygen, allowing bioluminescent bacteria to emit light in response. This hypothesis could explain why marine snow only glows when an animal is nearby. However, studying this phenomenon is challenging due to the difficulty of capturing and observing it consistently. Marine snow is the foundation of the ocean's food chain, and understanding how it is detected and consumed is crucial for understanding life in the deep ocean. Despite decades of research, many questions remain unanswered.
Exploring the Deep Sea with Biologist Edie Widder: Biologist Edie Widder encourages exploration of the natural world, especially the deep sea, emphasizing the importance of embracing questions and the thrill of discovering new things. Nature makes exploration fun to encourage learning and growth.
There's a vast amount of knowledge to be gained from exploring the natural world, especially the ocean, and the excitement of discovering new things is a fundamental human trait. Biologist Edie Widder, who has spent decades exploring the deep sea, emphasizes the importance of embracing questions and the thrill of delving into the unknown. As Alison Gopnik, a psychology professor, notes, nature makes exploration fun to encourage us to learn and grow. Edie's passion for discovery and her belief that everyone should experience the joy of exploration is encapsulated in her desire for a bumper sticker proclaiming "Exploring is better than sex." In this episode, we've only scratched the surface of Edie's adventures, but the hope is that you'll be inspired to go out and explore the world around you. For more about Edie's work, check out her book "Below the Edge of Darkness." This episode was produced by Bird Pinkerton, edited by Catherine Wells, with help from Meredith Hodnott, Brian Resnick, and Noam Hassenfeld, who also scored the episode. Richard Sima fact-checked, Christian Ayala handled mixing and sound design, and Tory Dominguez was our fellow. Manning Nguyen now lives with both a pigeon and a parrot.
Connecting with the Unexplainable Community: Engage in meaningful conversations and contribute to the community by sharing thoughts, ideas, and reviews to deepen understanding of the world around us.
Key takeaway from this episode of Unexplainable is the importance of engagement and connection. The hosts welcomed listeners to share their thoughts, dreams, and ideas about bioluminescence by emailing unexplainable@fox.com. They also appreciated reviews and ratings, which could make their day. Furthermore, they encouraged listeners to tune in to Vox Conversations the following week to learn about the role of indigenous peoples in the global conservation movement. This episode was a reminder that being part of a community and engaging in meaningful conversations can lead to new discoveries and a deeper understanding of the world around us. So, whether it's through email, reviews, or podcasts, find ways to connect and contribute to the conversation.
