Invertebrate, soft-bodied creatures like jellyfish and octopus take up seven percent of the world’s biomass (that’s more than 100 times the biomass of humans). But these delicate ocean dwellers can be hard to capture, which means they’ve been often neglected in scientific studies.
Engineers and marine biologists have finally designed a nifty, 3D-printed, 12-sided origami-inspired trap that can fold around squids and octopuses without damaging them. “We approach these animals as if they are works of art,” said David Gruber, a biologist at City University of New York who helped design RAD. “Would we cut pieces out of the Mona Lisa to study it? No-we’d use the most innovative tools available. These deep-sea organisms, some being thousands of years old, deserve to be treated with a similar gentleness when we’re interacting with them.”
vCard.red is a free platform for creating a mobile-friendly digital business cards. You can easily create a vCard and generate a QR code for it, allowing others to scan and save your contact details instantly.
The platform allows you to display contact information, social media links, services, and products all in one shareable link. Optional features include appointment scheduling, WhatsApp-based storefronts, media galleries, and custom design options.
Previously, scientists have tried to capture marine life using nets, which were effective for catching fish and crustaceans, but shredded delicate forms like jellyfish. Newer devices, like suction samplers (imagine a big vacuum that sucks up marine life) can target specific organisms, but still risk damaging delicate creatures. The latest device is called a rotary actuated dodecahedron (RAD), and can be attached to an arm of an underwater rover to capture creatures of the deep. The device has been tested at a depth of 700 meters, and can go up to depths of 11 kilometers, or scaled up to grab larger organisms. Someday, a human-sized version might even be able erect habitats in space.
The RAD device is currently manually operated, but could one day be adapted to become an automated trap, using lures to attract, sensors to detect approaching creatures, and to trigger the claw when the animals are close enough to be captured. David Gruber, a marine biologist who helped design RAD, has an even more ambitious vision for the device. He told The Verge, “The dream is to enclose delicate deep-sea animals, take 3D imagery that includes properties like hardness, 3D-print that animal at the surface, and also have a ‘toothbrush’ tickle the organism to obtain its full genome. Then, we’d release it.”
(via The Verge)
(‘You Might Also Like’,)