Karen Sullivan (viadesign)

Two events in the news on March 16^th, 2010 were a reminder of nature’s tenacious ability to find a niche for survival.  First I came across an article in the New York Times about the disappearance of the un-manned under water explorer ABE. (Autonomous Benthic Explorer)  While on a mission for Woods Hole to search for hydrothermal vents near Chile, two of ABE’s transponders quit simultaneously and ABE met some unknown fate at the ocean depths.  One of ABE’s many discoveries was the first sighting of hydrothermal vents on a slow moving ocean ridge.  Here strange creatures have evolved to survive in darkness and under extreme pressure.

 (Photo by NASA)

The same day the media announced NASA’s finding of a shrimp-like creature (Lyssianasid amphipod) and jellyfish 600 feet below an enormous slab of Antarctic ice.  They appeared in a drill site 12 miles from open seas.  These creatures are surviving remotely from expected habitat, and again demonstrate nature’s ability to find a route to survival, as well as operate in unexpected ways.  We have much to learn and appreciate.  This links to a captivating video of the ‘shrimp’ as it appears to explore the cable and drill shaft.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdyRcYDDZeM&NR=1&feature=fvwp

In both instances life has found a way to utilize free energy and adapt to extreme conditions.  Nature never ceases to provide ways to surprise and to spark the imagination!

 "...Science is what you know and what you do. 
The best art is founded on the best science in any given manner." 
          - William R. Lethaby, Form in Civilization 1922


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