Happy Shark Week?

Hello,

Well, it's the end of what some people consider to be the best week of the summer: Shark Week by the Discovery Channel.  Since 1987, one week in August has been dedicated to shark specials covering a wide range of topics from shark attacks to documentaries to reasons why sharks should be saved.  However, I've become very frustrated with the Discovery Channel and Shark Week in the past few years.  A quick search of comments on Shark Week material, their Facebook page, etc. will turn up hundreds of negative comments about what the week of specials has become.  Personally, I've been watching Shark Week for 14 years, and I grew up on a Shark Week full of education about some amazing animals and why we should protect them, not be afraid of them.

The issues with Shark Week started with me last year.  The opening "documentary" showed some first-person shooter footage combined with statements from scientists and eyewitnesses and photographs supporting the existence of Carcharodon megalodon, an ancient ancestor of the Great White Shark.  The doctored photos showed a shark with a length greater than 100 feet, and showed that the ancient predator is still alive and seeking out the blood of humans and has been responsible for attacking ships.  Right away, I was skeptical of the validity of this documentary, and a quick Google search found that the scientists and shark experts were merely actors, and that the photos and videos shown were doctored.  The only indication that this was in fact a "mockumentary" was a quick disclaimer in writing at the end of the program.

Even though this mockumentary was admitted to be fake, it wasn't enough to convince well over half of the viewers of Shark Week that year that Megalodon wasn't still around.  Viewers were polled, and many believe that Megalodon still roams the deep waters, looking for victims.  THIS IS NOT TRUE.  Megalodon lived during the time of the dinosaurs, and reached a MAXIMUM size of maybe 50 feet - about three times the size of their cousin, the Great White.  This number is based on estimations comparing the fossilized teeth found of Megalodon to the teeth of the Great White Shark.  However, a shark of this size would have made an appearance by now if it still existed, even in the deep ocean (which it wouldn't since while it was alive, it was an open-ocean predator.  It's also hard for a large predator like Megalodon to find enough food deep down past the 200 feet of ocean where sunlight reaches).

I was disappointed by Shark Week last year, and when I learned the date for the beginning of Shark Week this year, I was once again excited by the prospect of a week of entirely new shark footage and that maybe Discovery Channel had learned from the backlash they received for last year.  Almost forgetting my disappointment in last year's special, I invited friends over, got dressed up, make shark-themed snacks, and settled to celebrate the beginning of Shark Week 2014.  Within 10 minutes, I wanted to turn off the television.  Once again, fake videos, eyewitnesses, and scientists were shown preaching the existence of a massive Great White named Colossus.  Again, there was only a small disclaimer at the beginning of the mockumentary that I didn't read.

Yes, Colossus is an urban legend with hundreds of reported sightings off the coast of South Africa, and there are many websites and organizations dedicated to finding this fish.  No, it does not take down ships and push people out to sea and drag down massive buoys.  After this special was finished, I made the tough decision that I was to be done watching Shark Week until Discovery Channel learns from their mistakes and makes the week about education, not about bloodthirsty monsters.

Shark Week has now become the 2010-era version of the 1975 summer blockbuster Jaws.  It terrified people and made them not want to go in the water for fear of a man-eater.  Discovery is doing the same thing - but trying to make it more credible than a mechanical shark.  Scientists are interviewed (real scientists), shark facts are presented, and the whole thing seems much more believable.  However, many of the scientists interviewed for Shark Week have expressed that they were tricked into saying what Discovery wanted them to say or led into answering a question that they didn't want to.  No well-respected scientist would ever say some of the things that these scientists have said.  Discovery has warped their words to make a point that they want for the purpose of entertainment.

I think I'm going to stop myself here but I could easily go on for a while about my feelings regarding what Discovery Channel has become, especially surrounding Shark Week.  I would, however, like to leave you with some facts about sharks that Discovery doesn't seem to care about because they're not shark attack statistics.  Honestly, you could learn more from the following list than you can from 14 years of Shark Week.  I want you to make your own decision, but know that I, as a self-proclaimed shark enthusiast, and sharks were the reason why I became interested in science, will no longer be watching Shark Week, and just think about the validity of what you watch and question everything!

• Almost all sharks hunt solo, but there are a few species, like the scalloped hammerhead, that hunt in large groups (called schools).  They can swim together in numbers in the hundreds, but at night, some will break ranks and hunt by themselves.  Bottom line: some species of sharks can be surprisingly social, especially for fish, showing that they have a higher level of intelligence than expected.

• Every time a shark attacks a human, it's plastered all over the news and about what you can do to protect yourself from these bloodthirsty predators.  But this only happens maybe 5 times per year, and usually, all those attacked survive.

• No one mentions how many sharks are killed per year, because that is really the shocking number.  Humans kill over 100 million sharks EVERY YEAR.  And many of those killings are to feed the Asian shark fin soup market.  Shark fin soup is considered a delicacy and is often served at weddings and high-class events.  The fins don't have any flavour, they only add texture to the soup (which is stupid) and they aren't really safe to eat, since sharks have high mercury levels in their bodies.  Basically, tens of millions of sharks are killed every year for less than 1% of their bodies to add texture to only one dish, and that dish can kill you.

• Ever ridden on an airplane?  Then you have sharks to thank!  The design of the modern airplane was based off the streamlined figure of fast-swimming open ocean sharks.  The thought process was that because sharks are so streamlined swimming in water, why can't we have something like that streamlined for air?  And the modern airplane was born!  I'm sitting in the airport in Washington DC right now waiting to board a 13 hour flight to Ethiopia and that's exactly what I'm thinking about right now!

• Think all sharks are top-of-the-food-chain predators? Of the over 400 species of sharks, only a few even look like what we think of when we think of sharks. Another one of my favourite species of shark is the Cookiecutter Shark. This little guy is a total badass, they live in the deep ocean and come up to the surface at night to prey. They are less than a foot long, but attack (and win) against large open-ocean sharks, dolphins, whales, and more. How? The cookiecutter shark gets its name from its specially shaped jaws that form a perfect circle when fully open. Basically, they attach themselves to a large fish or mammal and twist their bodies to rip out a perfect circle of flesh - leaving scars like the ones pictured.

• When you think of blood and sharks, you probably picture a gruesome shark attack. Shark blood is actually super cool because it doesn't clot like our blood does. This might not sound cool, but their blood is being looked into to develop new, natural blood thinners for people with heart disease. And their thin blood is obviously working well for them, being the ocean's top predator and having been around for so long! And this is a picture of a preserved shark's blood vessels, compare that to a human's; sharks have a lot of blood!

• Thresher Sharks are one of my favourite species of shark because they have big eyes and a HUGE tail! Their upper tail fin can be the length of their body and it is used as a weapon. Thresher Sharks can whip their tails around their bodies and stun their prey, making it an easier catch. They're also known to launch themselves out of the water like dolphins!

• You think that dolphins are the only sea animals that like to play? Actually, Porbeagle Sharks (these little guys in the picture) like to toss seaweed chunks around to each other, much like American football.

• Did you ever hear about cartilage pills for treatment of cancer? Maybe your parents have? Those were all the rage a while back because there were no documented cases of a shark ever getting cancer. Science has now shown otherwise, but it was thought that sharks wouldn't get cancer because their skeletons are made of cartilage, the stuff that makes up our ears and nose, and not bone. Sharks were further hunted for their skeletons, that were then crushed up and put into pills as a treatment for cancer in humans. Not surprisingly, they didn't work. But you can actually still buy them as a dietary supplement - but those don't really do anything either.

• So you've all probably seen pictures of fishermen with huge shark catches - did you ever realize that there aren't really many of these pictures that look old? That's because recreational shark fishing didn't become popular until the movie Jaws was released in 1975. The scene where fishermen catch a Tiger Shark inspired thousands to go out on the water to snag their own "man-eater". While the sport of catching sharks has become a great thrill ride for many fishermen, it's decimating the populations of the big sharks. Basically, everyone wants to look like a badass.

• If you thought that the jaws of a shark have a lot of teeth, think again! Their skin is made up of what are called "denticles", which are tooth-shaped and run from nose to tail. So if you stroke a shark from nose to tail, their skin is super smooth, but if you stroke it the other way, you'll cut your hand open. Why have these? They're super good at reducing drag while swimming, and are being used as a template for suits for professional swimming and professional skiing. So yeah, sharks' bodies are literally COVERED IN TEETH.

• Sharks have been around on this planet for at least 400 million years (since before the dinosaurs!) and since then, they have evolved very little considering. This makes them basically evolution's perfect ocean predator! We're still discovering sharks similar to the ones that lived hundreds of millions of years ago (but no megalodon).


^if these look familiar, then you remember my Facebook posts leading up until Shark Week 2014

Thanks for reading!

Kim

SCIENCE of the Mantis Shrimp

Hello All,

So some of you may have seen the following infographic from The Oatmeal about the amazing eyesight of the Mantis Shrimp.  This infographic subsequently made the Mantis Shrimp my spirit animal.

Upon reading this infographic, I immediately wasted hours on the internet seeing how much of this was true.  Actually, there is a lot we don't know about mantis shrimps, mostly because they are solitary and spend most of their lives in crevasses, but there are about 400 species of them currently described.  And the name "Mantis" came from their similarities in hunting to the praying mantis insect.  And now I'm breaking down this infographic into myth and reality.

1. The Mantis Shrimp has SIXTEEN color-receptive cones (Humans have three), so they must see an amazing spectrum of colors that we can't even imagine.  

Yes, their biology shows that they do in fact have 16 receptors, this hasn't been shown to translate into extremely precise color distinction.  A study done at the University of Queensland in Australia trained a species of mantis shrimp to recognize a particular color.  They were then given the opportunity to choose between a burrow of that color and a color similar to it on the spectrum.  When the colors were different (think teal versus turquoise), the mantis shrimp were able to discern the color, but when the colors got closer and closer in similarity, the shrimp did no better than just making random guesses.  Humans can distinguish between as small as 1 nanometer of color, but the mantis shrimp wasn't able to accurately discern between 15 nanometers.  However, they can see ultraviolet (UV) light, something we will never see.  So basically, they can see a wider spectrum of color, but not each color individually.  But wait, UV light should be damaging, right?  Not for mantis shrimp!  They have a biological sunscreen that both allows them to see UV light and protects their eyes and the rest of their body.  They are also the only animals that can detect circularly polarized light (light waves that form a spiral pattern.  I don't know what it is either).  But check out its eye movements!

     

2. They're actually super colorful.

I'll let you decide (hint: if you think no, then you're wrong)

3. The mantis shrimp is an undersea nightmare.  

Actually, they spend most of their lives by themselves.  They are very smart animals, able to recognize their neighbors and display defense mechanisms against those neighbors.  They can go through over 20 breeding episodes, and both sexes take care of the eggs.  In some species, the shrimps mate for life, and can stay with their partner for over 20 years (mantis shrimp have a very long lifespan).  So I would say that they make good parents, only kill for food, and are smart enough to stay away from predators, so I would give this a rating of "myth".  

4. Its front appendages can accelerate at the same velocity as a rifle.  This makes the water boil at several thousand Kelvins.  

There are two hunting techniques of mantis shrimps depending on the species: smashing and spearing.  Smashing involves using their clubs to crack the shells of their prey and eat the insides, while spearing involves using barbs to stab soft animals like fish and allow the shrimp to cut their meat.  The hit of the smashers may reach the power of a .22 bullet.  They are called "thumb splitters" because they can inflict deep cuts into fingers when handled.  No concrete evidence as to the water boiling, temperatures that high, or sparking water.  And there are plenty of videos and articles to show this (lack of) evidence.

5. The mantis shrimp primarily kills via dismemberment.  

Watch this cool video that shows how a mantis shrimp attacks a crab to find out!  After the initial few strikes, you can skip forward to 2:00 to watch more.  And while it's definitely not the diabolical soul-crushing death that was described in the infographic, but still cool to watch.

6. Their armor is a template for building new body armor.  

Recently, a material based on the exoskeleton structure of mantis shrimp has been created, and it's stronger than what is currently used in airplane frames!  What's so cool about its armor?  It is of particular interest because it can withstand thousands of intense impacts (the appendages of death).  The structure of the cells of the exoskeleton is a new design, and the special stacking of the cells that is seen in the armor is what is being copied.  Who knows?  We already ride in planes modeled after sharks, maybe we'll soon fly in planes made of mantis shrimp armor.

7. They break glass in aquariums.  

While mantis shrimp seem to have the power to do so, they don't seem to want to.  They are held in aquariums often, and even sold as pets.  Mantis shrimp seem to only use their appendages of death when directly threatened, by someone poking at it with a stick or when there is food present.  They don't just attack, as what it seems like in the infographic.  A simple YouTube search can find that mantis shrimp are kept in aquariums all around the world with no issue.  

So that's my breakdown of The Oatmeal's infographic.  They definitely hit on the amazing things about the mantis shrimp, but there are some areas where they should have done their research first before posting.

Also, you can buy mantis shrimp plushies!  I don't have $40 to buy one, but maybe for Christmas?

So although the mantis shrimp isn't all it was cracked up to be by The Oatmeal, it's still my favorite animal, and I hope you enjoyed reading!

Kim

Works Cited

http://life-sea.blogspot.com/2012/06/life-of-mantis-shrimp.html

http://wildthings.sarahzielinski.com/blog/what-the-oatmeal-might-have-gotten-wrong-about-mantis-shrimp/

http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/mantis-shrimp-use-natures-sunscreen-tune-uv-vision

http://www.iflscience.com/technology/mantis-shrimp-inspired-material-stronger-airplanes

Dude, SCIENCE.

Hello All,

So this past week, I stumbled across a really powerful advertisement.  It was for Verizon Wireless, and was entitled "Inspire Her Mind".  According to the advertisement, 66% of female 4th graders say that they like science and math, while only 18% of college engineering majors are female.  While I'm not an engineer, I am a female in science, and these numbers speak to me as well.  The advertisement shows a young girl growing up to be of high school age, all while being told that she shouldn't do things are are not particularly considered "female".  She is told not to play with dirt, not to continue a science project, not to handle tools, all things that are encouraged in males.  She is told these negative things by who we can assume to be her parents (we don't actually see a parental figure in the advertisement, just hear their voices), so by the time she reaches high school, she is much more concerned with her looks than with the science she used to love.  Below is the advertisement:

I sincerely relate to Samantha.  I've always lived very close to the ocean, and my love for science started there.  Playing in the waves, observing the tide pools, and even collecting a few specimens of my own were some of my fondest memories as a little girl.  However, those moments are not captured in photographs.  The photographs I have from being a child are all from when I looked particularly cute or had a favorite dress on.  While I do look adorable in those pictures (just sayin'), I don't remember any of those experiences.  But if you look back and try to tell me the story of my life based on pictures, I should be this princess who loves glitter and thankfully plays sports (there are plenty of pictures of me from when I first started to play softball and ski).

^glitter face paint - those of you who know me now know that I would never let glitter get this close to me

Of the many times I'm sure this has happened to me, there is one that I remember quite distinctly.  I remember being probably around 8 or 9, when I found a dead fish in the lake I always hung out at in New Hampshire, and my first thought was to dissect it - I had never seen the insides of a fish before, and I had seen plenty of diagrams in books so I figured I should be able to do it no problem.  The first issue after I announced my intentions to my parents and their friends was that they weren't going to let me use a real knife - I had to use a plastic one.  And that I understand, I was young, but I could have just had some supervision.  After using my 8-year-old muscles to try to saw through this fish, I spilled some of the guts on the sand, and was then reprimanded for getting some fish blood on the beach.  Soon after that, before I even had the chance to look inside, I was made to throw it back into the lake.  I never wanted to dissect anything again until college.  I would be willing to bet that if I were a boy, I would have been allowed to cut the fish open.  

In the society we have grown up in, it has been the man's job to love sports, fix cars, play with computers, grill, build things, and partake in science (all of which I do, except for the fixing cars - but I do know how an internal combustion engine works and that has to count for something, right?).  This was mentioned in my sociology class, and it is a challenge I ask you to extend to every little girl you meet: When you first meet a little girl, refrain from letting the first words out of your mouth be "Well, isn't she pretty!".  We would never say this to a little boy, it would be something more along the lines of what he likes to do, or what sports he's playing.  Telling little girls they are pretty just extenuates the social idea that "pretty" is all girls need to strive to be.  Try telling that little girl that she is smart instead.  Even now, when my parents show their friends a picture of me, the person will comment on how grown-up I look, or how pretty I became, but not about what my college major is or what I plan to do as a career - my parents have to offer that information in addition to "Isn't she pretty?".  

^thankfully, I was signed up to play sports - and I learned quickly how to be the only female in a group (only girl on my team - also the only one smart enough to wear sunglasses in direct sunlight)

Basically, to be a woman in science, I feel like I have beaten the odds, which is not what it should feel like.  I shouldn't feel out of place when I am the only woman working in a genetics lab, or the one who has to help my male friends with chemistry.  I've grown tired of getting strange looks when I tell them what I want to do with my life, and the only comment they say is that "That's impressive for being a woman".  The biggest thing is, this doesn't just apply to the sciences, this applies to almost all the major types of work.  I had a friend who just graduated (graduated and employed) who was afraid to wear her favorite pink pants at work since she was working in a male-dominated field.  No woman should be afraid to express her femininity at work for fear of being scrutinized.  I hope she wears her pink pants often.  And in conclusion, please consider taking up that challenge I offered earlier that was offered to me in my sociology class: don't tell little girls that they are pretty.

Thanks for reading, as always,
Kim

Mind over Matter

Hi guys!

Been super busy with school, so I haven't posted in a while.  But the fact that I was so busy with school to write a blog post sparked an idea for my newest blog post!

After just freaking out about taking my finals (yay for the quarter system!) and just finishing them a few hours ago, I'm finally on Spring Break!  Since I've entered college, I've realized a noticeable shift in the ideals of students as it pertains to their classes.  All through high school, I was taught that it was more important to understand the information than to get a good grade in the class via memorization.  And that has been my mindset since then and through college so far.  What I've noticed lately is how obsessed college students are with their grades!  The want to know what they got on an exam immediately after they finished, they want to know what other people in their class got right away, they want to know their grade updated to-the-minute, they want to know how much the class will be curved, it doesn't end!

I couldn't tell you how many times I've been asked what I got on an exam by a stranger in my class right after I pick it up.  It's not your business to know my grade, that's between me and my professor.  I just calmly tell these people that I don't discuss grades, and they look at me like I have two heads or get defensive.  I don't need to know what this person got on an exam, why do they need to know what I got?  Because we are being brought up to value our grades above everything else, and to measure our self-worth via a letter, and in my opinion, this is exactly the opposite of how we should be handling education, especially higher education.
Learning should be exactly that, learning.  When I walk into class every day, I shouldn't be thinking about whether or not I need to know a vocab word or concept for the next exam, I should walk into class ready to learn about the topics and ask questions that further my understanding, not my pet peeve: "Do we have to know this for the exam?".

The point is, where is the want for learning in college students?  We are supposed to be the ones who are curious about the world around us and want to understand it, not just take exams, get a grade, and get trapped in a vicious cycle.  Grades are important, they do give us a good idea of how well we understand the information as presented in class through the professor's eyes, but they should be second to understanding the material.  Memorization, and not understanding, has been encouraged, and this has the potential to have a detrimental effect on the next generation of academics.

^just for fun :) here's an image of all the neural networks inside your brain!  Yay science!

That wasn't meant to be so dreary, but I really wanted to make a point.  I'm also considering intermittently blogging about cool and controversial science, so be on the lookout for that.  When you start your next round of classes, please go in with the mindset that you want to really understand the information, don't just mindlessly take notes and them memorize them for the final.  Now go and read something academic just because!  If you would like a suggestion, try http://www.iflscience.com/

Kim