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American Effort to Ban Shark Dives

The initial purpose of the bill, called The Access for Sportfishing Act of 2016, was to prevent national parks from trying to protect fish in waters within state jurisdiction, and in June, Senator Bill Nelson, from Florida, added the ban on shark feeding diving in federal waters. The bill specifies that it is all right to feed sharks for the purpose of killing them, but not if you want to watch the shark. Thus it is the motive for the act of shark feeding, rather than the act itself, that is at issue.

Some fish 'farm' their food

Working on Palmyra atoll, around 1,000 miles south of Hawaii, a team of researchers from the University of California Santa Barbara became aware of the fish's farming habit when they noticed many bite marks in specific areas of algae growing on dead coral.

They followed these patches through time and found parrotfish were feeding heavily in each patch for a short period of time. Then, the fish would allow that exact location to recover before returning to harvest the algae again.

Antarctic sea snail. To build up their shells, these animals extract raw materials from the seawater in a process called biomineralisation.

Why sea shells vary in size across different regions

Seashells come in various shapes and sizes. And it appears that the seashells from the tropics tend to be larger than those found in the temperate regions.

Far from being just a coincidence, it seems that there is a rational explanation for it. Simply put, this is because the sea snails in the tropics have to devote relatively less energy to shell growth, compared to those in the cold-water regions.

Snorkelling with whale sharks is one of the most popular activities for tourist divers.
Snorkelling with whale sharks is one of the most popular activities for tourist divers.

Study shows value of shark tourism in Australia

A study has revealed that shark dive tourism in Australia contributes at least AUD$25.5 million annually to the country’s economy. These findings highlight the importance of proper management of shark species to support a sustainable dive tourism industry.

Focusing on four main shark viewing industries in Australia, the study was a collaboration between Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), Flinders University, University of Western Australia, and Southern Cross University. It surveyed 711 tourist divers from May 2013 to June 2014.

AIMS' Dr Cherie Motti, beside a tank housing a Pacific triton sea snail.
AIMS' Dr Cherie Motti, beside a tank housing a Pacific triton sea snail.

Great Barrier Reef's saviour—a giant snail?

A giant sea snail may turn out to be another line of defense against the destructive crown-of-thorn starfish that is currently plaguing Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

Called the Pacific triton sea snail (Charonia tritonis), it can grow up to about 50 to 60cm and is indigenous to Australian waters. More importantly, the crown-of-thorn starfish happens to be part of its natural diet. However, the sea snail is currently endangered due to the consumer demand for their shells.

In the digital realm, “content is king” means creating authentic, original stories that have tangible value to the audience.

Content Creation

A writer paints a word picture and a photographer aims to tell a story with images rather than words. A Content Creator takes both mediums – words and imagery – and assembles them into elements suitable for a wide range of media products, from word-centric documents, image-centric posts, social media shares, audio and video files to searchable lists.

Researchers use squid ink to diagnose gum disease

To diagnose gum disease, dentists insert a thin metal probe between the tooth and gum to measure the amount of gum that has shrunk back from the tooth. The depth to which the tool can be inserted indicates the severity of the gum disease.

Apart from being invasive and uncomfortable, this method of diagnosis is sometimes painful for the patient. In addition, the measurements are viable, as the probe can measure only one portion of the tooth at a time.

Enter Jesse Jokerst.