NOAA discovers a new, beautifully weird sea creature
Exceptionally high-quality videos allow scientists to formally introduce a remarkable new comb jelly.
30 November, 2020
- Gorgeous simplicity characterizes the comb jelly recently discovered by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries.
- The small denizen of the deep was spotted three times beneath the waters off Puerto Rico.
- Though it's unusual to formally identify an animal strictly based on video observations, the quality of NOAA's video made it possible in a case where there's no better alternative.
<p>Usually, when scientists announce the discovery of a previously unknown animal, they have a specimen of the new arrival in hand. That's not the case, though, with <em>Duobrachium sparksae</em>, an amazing and beautiful <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ctenophora" target="_blank">ctenophore</a> encountered 3,910 meters beneath the ocean surface about 40 kilometers off the coast of Puerto Rico. No one has met <em>Duobrachium sparksae </em>in person — we know of its existence only through several high-definition videos. ("Ctenophore" is pronounced <em>teen-a-for</em>, by the way.)</p><p>Says NOAA Fisheries' Marine Biologist Allen Collins in a <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/noaa-scientists-virtually-discover-new-species-comb-jelly-near-puerto-rico" target="_blank">NOAA press release</a>, "It's unique because we were able to describe a new species based entirely on high-definition video."</p><p>It's also unique because it's such an exquisitely elegant organism.</p>
Meet cute beneath the waves
<p>The first encounter humanity had with the jelly<em> </em>occurred on April 10, 2015, when Deep Discoverer (a remotely operated vehicle or ROV) came across the gelatinous wonder. Fortunately, the ROV sports cameras that were sufficiently high-definition to clearly capture <em>Duobrachium sparksae's</em> fine details.</p><p>The animal was first noticed in a video feed by Mike Ford of the shoreside science team working in NOAA's Exploration Command Center far away, outside of Washington, D.C. The ROV was working the Arecibo amphitheater canyon. What Ford saw was, in his words, "a beautiful and unique organism."</p><p>Deep Discoverer's cameras produce externally high-resolution images, and are capable of measuring objects as small as a millimeter.The comb jelly's body is about 6 centimeters in size, and its tentacles are about 30 cm long.</p><p>While video-based animal identification can be controversial, there was little choice in this case. "We didn't have sample collection capabilities on the ROV at the time," says Collins. "Even if we had the equipment, there would have been very little time to process the animal because gelatinous animals don't preserve very well; ctenophores are even worse than jellyfish in this regard."</p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDg0ODEwNy9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2NjA0MjMxMH0.X3YXqsUtddtArtXOz7z5w-Zli0Z2vCE1UoSRLU63898/img.jpg?width=980" id="fffe5" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5b42f13f528c33eeaeb512320cac7f23" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1232" data-height="1440" />Artist's illustration
Credit: Nicholas Bezio/NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research
Describing Duobrachium sparksae
<p>All told, three individuals were observed by the scientists in three separate encounters with the ROV. The image at the top of this article is from the second encounter. The fact that three separate examples were easily spotted leaves scientists hopeful that the creature is not a rarity in the seas.</p><p>Ford describes what they saw:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"The ctenophore has long tentacles, and we observed some interesting movement. It moved like a hot air balloon attached to the seafloor on two lines, maintaining a specific altitude above the seafloor. Whether it's attached to the seabed, we're not sure. We did not observe direct attachment during the dive, but it seems like the organism touches the seafloor."</p><p>The role that <em>Duobrachium sparksae</em> plays in its ecosystem is not yet understood.</p><span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="83f6005db2fc4b5e7ec6fc207ff70639"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/o0nkwCKpaRA?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>Finding a place in the family
<p>The manner in which light refracted prismatically off the jelly's cilia combs immediately placed it in the ctenophore family as a start.</p><p>Collins explains, "We don't have the same microscopes as we would in a lab, but the video can give us enough information to understand the morphology in detail, such as the location of their reproductive parts and other aspects."</p><p>"We went," says Ford, "through the historical knowledge of ctenophores and it seemed clear this was a new species and genus as well. We then worked to place it in the tree of life properly."</p><p>The videos—the only "specimens" there are of <em>Duobrachium sparksae</em>—are now publicly accessible as part of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Collection.</p>
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Zebrafish give new insight to sound sensitivity in autism
These tiny fish are helping scientists understand how the human brain processes sound.
24 November, 2020
Credit: peter verreussel / Adobe Stock
- Fragile X syndrome is a genetic disorder caused by changes in a gene that scientists call the "fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1)" gene. People who have FXS or autism often struggle with sensitivity to sound.
- According to the research team, FXS is caused by the disruption of a gene. By disrupting that same gene in zebrafish larvae, they can examine the effects and begin to understand more about this disrupted gene in the human brain.
- Using the zebrafish, Dr. Constantin and the team were able to gather insights into which parts of the brain are used to process sensory information.
<p>Associate professor Ethan Scott and Dr. Lena Constantin <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/11/201110102527.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">recently carried out a study</a> using zebrafish that carry the same genetic mutations as humans with "Fragile X" syndrome and autism. During their research, they discovered the neural networks and pathways that produce hypersensitivities to sound in both zebrafish and humans. </p><p><strong>What is Fragile X syndrome? </strong></p><p><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/fxs/facts.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Fragile X syndrome</a> (commonly referred to as FXS) is a genetic disorder caused by changes in a gene that scientists call the "fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1)" gene. This gene typically makes a protein called fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) that's needed for typical brain development. The brains of people with FXS do not make this protein, and if it is there, it's abnormal. </p><p><strong>What is autism? </strong></p><p><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/facts.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Autism spectrum disorder</a> (ASD) is a developmental disability that can cause significant social, communication, and behavioral challenges. People with ASD may communicate, interact, behave, and learn in different ways than most other people. A current diagnosis of ASD now includes several conditions that were previously diagnosed separately such as autistic disorder, pervasive developmental disorder, and Asperger syndrome.</p>
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDgwMzcyNC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NDA1NDMyMn0.pHKAuK2ziH1Nkb2VgPbXxRnvFx8R8QrL5HqmuU8xP8I/img.jpg?width=1245&coordinates=0%2C432%2C0%2C432&height=700" id="6565d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d966113bd917d2b6503e2b86dc1c5632" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="zebrafish swimming in a tank" data-width="1245" data-height="700" />
By disrupting a specific gene in Zebrafish, we're able to better understand the same disruption of that gene in humans with FXS or autism.
Credit: slowmotiongli on Adobe Stock
<p>"Loud noises often cause sensory overload and anxiety in people with autism and Fragile X syndrome -- sensitivity to sound is common to both conditions," <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/11/201110102527.htm" target="_blank">Dr. Constantin explained to Science Daily</a>.</p><p><strong>How do zebrafish relate to humans with autism? </strong></p><p>According to the research team, FXS is caused by the disruption of a gene. By disrupting that same gene in zebrafish larvae, they can examine the effects and begin to understand more about this disrupted gene in the human brain. </p><p>The thalamus, according to Dr. Constantin, works as a control center, relaying sensory information from around the body to different parts of the brain. The hindbrain then coordinates different behavioral responses. Using the different sound tests, the team was able to study the whole brain of the zebrafish larvae under microscopes and see the activity of each brain cell individually. </p><p>According to Dr. Constantin, the research team recorded the brain activity of zebrafish larvae while showing them movies or exposing them to bursts of sound. The movies stimulated movement, a reaction to the visual stimuli that was the same for fish with the Fragile X mutation and those without. However, when the fish were given a burst of white noise, there was a dramatic difference in the brain activity of the fish with the Fragile X mutation.<br></p><p>After seeing how the noise radically affected the fish brain, the team designed a range of 12 different volumes of sound and found the Fragile X model fish could hear much quieter volumes than the control fish. </p><p>"The fish with Fragile X mutations had more connections between different regions of their brain and their responses to the sounds were more plentiful in the hindbrain and thalamus," <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/11/201110102527.htm" target="_blank">said Dr. Constantin</a>.</p><p>Essentially, the fish with Fragile X mutation had more connections between the regions of their brain and so their responses to the sounds were more notable. </p><p><strong>Understanding how this gene disruption works in zebrafish will give us a better understanding of sound hypersensitivity in humans with FXS or autism.</strong> </p><p>"How our neural pathways develop and respond to the stimulation of our senses gives us insights into which parts of the brain are used and how sensory information is processed," Dr. Constantin said.</p><p>Using the zebrafish, Dr. Constantin and the team were able to gather insights into which parts of the brain are used to process sensory information. </p><p>"We hope that by discovering fundamental information about how the brain processes sound, we will gain further insights into the sensory challenges faced by people with Fragile X syndrome and autism."</p>
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Isolated island group is now one of the world's largest animal sanctuaries
One of the world's most isolated island groups has just been made one of the world's largest ocean reserves.
18 November, 2020
Credit: RICHARD A. BROOKS/AFP via Getty Images)
- The small island group of Tristan da Cunha has created one of the world's largest ocean sanctuaries.
- Neither fishing nor extractive activities will be allowed in the area, which is three times the size of the United Kingdom.
- Animals protected by this zone include penguins, sharks, and many seabirds.
Tristan da Cunha, a group of volcanic islands with a mere 245 permanent residents situated between South Africa and Argentina in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, has recently become one of the largest wildlife sanctuaries on the planet. The marine protection zone is three times the size of the United Kingdom and will protect a wide variety of animal species and prevent unsustainable fishing and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/tristan-da-cunha-rockhopper-penguins-39c5e5d74120972e871327b04f823114" target="_blank">extraction operations</a>.
Tristan da where now?
<p> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tristan_da_Cunha" target="_blank">Tristan da Cunha</a> is a British Overseas Territory consisting of an archipelago in the south Atlantic. The titular island is the largest in the group at about 100 square kilometers. Those hoping to visit will have to get there by a week-long boat ride from Cape Town. The island's government gleefully notes that it takes longer to get there than it takes astronauts to get to the Moon. <br> <br> The marine protection zone will cover 627,247 square kilometers (over 242,000 miles) of the ocean around the islands. It will be the "gold standard" in ocean conservation, with neither fishing nor other extractive activities allowed, often referred to as "no-take." It will be the largest no-take zone in the Atlantic, and the fourth largest anywhere in the world. <br> <br> The zone includes small areas just off the inhabited islands in which sustainable fishing will be allowed, but these areas are a small fraction of the no-take area's size. Given the historical reliance of the island's economy on the sea, this consideration is quite understandable. <br> <br> These protected areas join many others covered by the United Kingdoms' <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-blue-belt-programme" target="_blank">Blue Belt Programme</a> of marine protection, which aims to preserve 30 percent of the world's oceans by 2030. </p><iframe width="730" height="430" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yObCpYLLJSk" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><p> <strong><br> </strong>In a <a href="https://www.tristandc.com/government/news-2020-11-12-mpzgov13nov2020.php" target="_blank">press release</a> issued by the government of Tristan da Cunha, the chief executive of the <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/" target="_blank">Royal Society for the Protection of Birds</a>, Beccy Speight, left no doubt as to the environmental significance of this protection zone:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"This is a story two decades in the making, starting with the RSPB and Government of Tristan da Cunha commencing a conservation partnership, and culminating in the creation of this globally important protected area," Speight said. "The waters that surround this remote UK Overseas Territory are some of the richest in the world. Tens of millions of seabirds soar above the waves, penguins and seals cram onto the beaches, threatened sharks breed offshore and mysterious whales feed in the deep-water canyons. From today, we can say all of this is protected."</p><p>Speight added that in 2020, the need for these protections is greater than ever. "While Tristan da Cunha may be far away in distance it is still close to our hearts and protecting it is still the UK's responsibility. Closer to home, the crisis facing nature is also huge. So huge that our wellbeing, our economic future, and our very survival depend on the choices we make now about the natural world." Speight also used the statement to issue a call to action. "We need politicians to emulate the leadership of this small community to help us build the world we all want to live in. We hope today's fantastic announcement is the first of many more that help revive our world."</p><p>For the less romantic, there are also human-centered reasons why we ought to protect the oceans. A recent <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/117/45/28134" target="_blank">study</a> suggests that keeping fishing boats out of a mere five percent of the ocean can raise catches everywhere else by a 20 percent. As it turns out, protecting the planet we live on provides benefits.<br></p>
Most important of all, what animals are protected by this?
<p> The now protected fish that inhabit the waters are a vital food source for many kinds of animals, all of which will benefit from not having to share their food supply with humans. </p><p>The vast area is home to many species of whales, sharks, and seals. Endangered species of albatross also drop by. Many birds that live on the islands and cannot be found elsewhere, such as the Wilkins bunting and the Inaccessible rail, also stand to benefit from the new protections. </p><p>Most adorable of all, the endangered northern <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockhopper_penguin" target="_blank">rockhopper penguins</a> make a home on one of the archipelago islands. With luck, they may not be endangered much longer. </p>
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Scientists discover why fish evolved limbs and left water
Researchers find a key clue to the evolution of bony fish and tetrapods.
27 October, 2020
Credit: Karen Carr © The Field Museum
- A new study says solar and lunar tide impacts led to the evolution of bony fish and tetrapods.
- The scientists show that tides created tidal pools, stranding fish and forcing them to get out of the water.
- The researchers ran computer simulations to get their results.
<p>Tides influenced by the sun and the moon were likely the reason why fish developed limbs and early tetrapods evolved, found new research.</p><p>The groundbreaking study took a look at tides during the Late Silurian—Devonian periods, which happened between 420 million years ago and 380 million years ago.</p><p>The scientists built their work on the theory that the Moon's mass and specific location along its orbit can greatly affect vast tidal ranges across Earth and can create tidal pools. Because they are isolated from each other, the pools provided the biological motivation for fish stranded by high tides to eventually grow limbs. </p>
<p>The study involved researchers from UK's Bangor University and Oxford University as well as Uppsala University in Sweden. They devised very detailed numerical simulations that proved the existence of large tides during the period they studied. They are first to tie tidal hydrodynamics to an evolutionary biological event, states the <a href="https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2020-10-23-large-tides-may-have-been-key-factor-evolution-bony-fish-and-tetrapods" target="_blank">press release</a> from the University of Oxford.</p><p>To come up with the simulations, the scientists employed <em>paleogeography</em>, the study of historical geography, to reconstruct the Earth's continents within the numerical model. The calculations showed tides over four meters happening around the South China block. That area holds the known origin site of the earliest bony fish we know and has been a treasure-trove of the earliest fossils of that nature. Geological evidence also supports changes in tides to be lined to these fossils.</p>
Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains the Tides
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9913a65f847775722d7c23d40d78938b"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dBwNadry-TU?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"Large tidal ranges could have fostered both the evolution of air-breathing organs in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osteichthyes" target="_blank">osteichthyans</a> to facilitate breathing in oxygen-depleted tidal pools, and the development of weight-bearing tetrapod limbs to aid navigation within the intertidal zones," states the paper.</p><p>The researchers believe further tidal simulations from early Earth can be used to recreate that far past with greater detail. The findings can help us understand more what roles tides played in diversifying early vertebrates or in causing extinction events. </p><p>Check out the study published in <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspa.2020.0355" target="_blank"><em>Proceedings of the Royal Society A</em>.</a></p>
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Beyond Meat: Are you ready for lab-grown salmon?
An overfished planet needs a better solution. Fortunately, it's coming.
14 October, 2020
Photo: tenkende / Shutterstock
- Cell-based fish companies are getting funding and making progress in offering a new wave of seafood.
- Overfishing and rising ocean temperatures are destroying entire ecosystems.
- The reality of cell-based fish is likely five to 10 years away.
<p>The world does not have infinite resources. Yet as humans have exploded in population, from 1 billion in 1804 to nearly 8 billion today, we've treated the planet as our perpetual garden, leading to numerous problems, including <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/overfishing" target="_blank">overfishing</a>. Over one-third of fisheries worldwide are pushed beyond their limits. Tragically, we continue to decimate populations year after year.</p><p>If we remain at the current pace, in a few decades all we'll have left to eat is <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/01/how-an-explosion-of-jellyfish-is-wreaking-havoc/" target="_blank">jellyfish</a>—yet another consequence of climate change. Sure, some of the 200 species are edible, though there's a reason you don't see shortages of jellyfish poke. We need to be proactive and limit trawling and other environmentally damaging practices. We also need to innovate, as a few companies are doing. </p><p>Enter lab-grown fish. </p><p>Some recoil at the mere mention, yet that's what innovation entails. We've gotten ourselves into this problem through technology—giant ships that drudge up entire ecosystems in a matter of hours—and technology might just help keep one of the most nutritious food sources on the planet in our diet. In the last half-century, oceanic "<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jan/04/oceans-suffocating-dead-zones-oxygen-starved" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">dead zones</a>" have quadrupled due to human intervention. That practice cannot last. </p><p>While in countries like America, fish are a healthy option but not a necessity, many other countries rely on seafood as a main staple in their diet—according to the UN, <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/I9540EN/i9540en.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">3.2 billion people</a>. Beyond trawlers, <a href="https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/seafood-climate-change-dying-temperature-seas/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">warming ocean temperatures</a> are destroying fish populations. This trend isn't only destroying diets but entire economies as well. </p>
Future of Food: This genetically engineered salmon may hit U.S. markets as early as 2020
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="466fe20063a2292a48789f370c04ea13"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bco7rPyKwec?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>While cell-based beef is getting all the press, companies like BlueNalu recently raised $24.5 million in funding. The San Diego-based start-up <a href="https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/story/2019-12-25/lab-grown-fish-just-got-real-san-diego-startup-shows-off-first-slaughter-free-yellowtail#:~:text=A%20San%20Diego%20foodtech%20startup,many%20researchers%20only%20dream%20of" target="_blank">extracts</a> muscle cells from an anesthetized fish, treats the cells with enzymes in a culture, places the mixture in a nutrient solution in a bioreactor, spins it all around in a centrifuge, and finally 3D-prints the new concoction into the desired shape.</p><p>The goal isn't to perfectly replicate a fish that you'd find on ice in your local market. No brain, skin, organs, or even possibility of consciousness are in this creature. In a strange twist, this makes cell-based seafood a potential food source for vegetarians and vegans, since the Adam fish can be returned to the waters unharmed. </p><p>One current solution to overfishing—fish farms—comes with it a host of problems, including the proliferation of sea lice, which have a tendency to escape the porous boundaries to infect wild fish. Bonus: with cell-based fish, you won't run into any issues with mercury or <a href="https://bigthink.com/surprising-science/microplastics-soil" target="_self">microplastics</a>. </p><p>What you'll (hopefully) purchase is a good-tasting product, which has thus far been elusive. BlueNalu CEO, <a href="https://apnews.com/5327a2c3a8e74adab0cc63d5994ffc72" target="_blank">Lou Cooperhouse</a>, is confident his company's product will eventually meet standards set by your taste buds. </p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"Our medallions of yellowtail can be cooked via direct heat, steamed or even fried in oil; can be marinated in an acidified solution for applications like poke, ceviche, and kimchi, or can be prepared in the raw state."</p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDUxOTExOC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1Njg1MDkxMH0.TS2YYnNuflGdGoni1t2c-nrXcfH8JeWZTZmhEkgmgWE/img.jpg?width=1245&coordinates=0%2C248%2C0%2C248&height=700" id="d99b7" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5642a3c020bd0664751705a3ddf0c255" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1245" data-height="700" />
Photo: aleksandr / Shutterstock
<p>There are barriers, of course. As with pluripotent meats, cell-based fish are expensive. A spicy salmon roll produced by the start-up, Wildtype, <a href="https://singularityhub.com/2020/09/16/this-startup-is-growing-sushi-grade-salmon-from-cells-in-a-lab/" target="_blank">cost $200</a> to make. It's going to take a while for the price to drop and consumer demand to rise; estimates are five to ten years.</p><p>Another issue is indicative of solar power and wind energy trying to cut in on Big Oil: the seafood industry doesn't want to lose its profit margin. Of course, like oil companies, Big Seafood is betting on a finite resource. The sooner they realize that, the better. </p><p>Then there's production, which is where education comes into play. Former BlueNalu Chairman Chris Somogyi tries to <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/05/05/720041152/seafood-without-the-sea-will-lab-grown-fish-hook-consumers" target="_blank">demystify</a> the laboratory process. </p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"We aren't using CRISPR technology. We aren't introducing new molecules into the diet. We're not introducing a new entity that doesn't exist in nature. The approval will be about whether this is safe, clean and are the manufacturing processes reliable and accountable."</p><p>If there's an ick factor to cell-based fish, remember that most processed foods are already created in laboratories. There are no Oreo trees or ketchup plants to harvest. </p><p>For now, these start-ups and others like them will have to figure out how to create non-energy-intensive and cost-prohibitive solutions for spinning up seafood inside of a petri dish. Novelty alone will create enough demand to get them going, as <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/04/beyond-meat-bynd-q2-2020-earnings.html#:~:text=Net%20sales%20rose%2069%25%20to,since%20many%20are%20temporarily%20shuttered." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">precedent</a> in the lab-grown meat industry shows. </p><p>The reality is that we need to go down this path. There are too many humans and not enough resources. While we can hope (as David Attenborough does in his <a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80216393" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">new Netflix documentary</a>) that national governments will create more no-fish zones, there's no guarantee that will happen. We need science to win this one. </p><p>--</p><p><em>Stay in touch with Derek on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/derekberes" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DerekBeresdotcom" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Facebook</a>. His new book is</em> "<em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08KRVMP2M?pf_rd_r=MDJW43337675SZ0X00FH&pf_rd_p=edaba0ee-c2fe-4124-9f5d-b31d6b1bfbee" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hero's Dose: The Case For Psychedelics in Ritual and Therapy</a>."</em></p>
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