Scientists have created a robot that will help study unknown species in the world’s oceans. VIDEO
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Scientists from the University of Rhode Island created a robot with which, during an expedition in the Pacific Ocean, marine biologists were able to obtain samples of the deep-sea siphonophore animal for DNA analysis.
The robot is part of a larger SuBastian system, which consists of two high-resolution cameras with the possibility of 3D visualization, as well as a system for safe preservation of samples, New Scientist writes with reference to an article by scientists in Science Advances.
Scientists emphasize that the development is extremely important – it will help speed up the identification of unknown species, because currently about 66% of the inhabitants of the world’s oceans are unexplored.
Brennan Phillips of the University of Rhode Island and his colleagues created the device with the hope that their development will help to better study the creatures than can be done using existing methods.
“We studied the genetic expression of sea cucumbers because we wanted to see what they do under stress, when they are affected by climate change or something like that. But just bringing them to the surface causes stress.
Obtaining tissue from them in a more natural way will potentially give us a clearer look at what happens when they are immersed in other circumstances, because we will know what their natural baseline is“, says Eva Stewart, a scientist from the University of Southampton.
| Photo: Brennan Phillips |
The device has already been tested during two expeditions. With its help, up to 14 tissue samples were collected daily at a depth of about 1,200 meters.
So far, scientists have received detailed pictures of 61 animals that live at a depth of 200-1200 meters under water. 32 of them were able to capture and obtain their biological material for research.
Read also: They can be compared to penicillin: in the twilight zone of the ocean, scientists have found mushrooms that survive in extreme conditions
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