I always like to hear who got the Nobel Prize (well at least the one in medicine, anyway- I am definitely not a physics person), because lately it is almost someone who researched something that I remember learning about in school, when it was "new". 

This year, it's telomeres- the particular sequences on the ends of chromosomes that protect the actual genes from getting broken down.  It's also nice to see 2 women getting the prize.  Oh, and a man, too, don't want anyone to think I wasn't paying attention.

Some enterprising scientists at NOAA have studied the health of animals suffering from bacterial infections by studying shrimp running on a treadmill.

I don't think this is recent news, but I just heard about it today and the video is too cute to pass up if you haven't seen it before, so check it out.

Very cool news- a ROV recently dove to the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench.  Here's the basics over at Discover.

I can't wait until they release more images.  It's very exciting that technology is starting to catch up with our desire to know more about the oceans, and pictures of crazy ocean critters are good attention-getters, particularly for my students.  (Also, the kid inside me can't help but hope that the bottom of the Marianas Trench is kinda like this.)

I just saw over on Science Daily that they have found lots of new Green Flourescent Proteins in Amphioxus, aka the lancelet (which is the closest invertebrate relative to our phylum, Chordata).

The article, with a nice green glowing picture, is here.

That question, specifically, is: "What if a cuttlefish attacked an octopus?"

And the answer can be found here.  It's a pretty amazing video.

If you don't know the story of the cane toads, here's the short version: imported to Australia in hopes of controlling the cane beetle, which came to the continent with the sugar cane when *it* was imported (are you sensing an unfortunate pattern here?), they now run amok and wreak havoc on natural Australian ecosystems.  It's one of the best invasive species horror stories that I know.

was a SEA PIG!  (Sorry, giant squid. Maybe next time.)
This cool critter is an Echinoderm, which means it's related to sea stars, sea urchins, and sea cucumbers.  Despite several months studying invertebrates with my Marine Science class this year, I was stumped when trying to figure out which phylum this little critter belonged in- but the internets saved me, of course.

Here is another picture where you can see it more clearly.  It's the Scotoplanes globosa in the middle column about halfway down.

...and the depth vs. breadth argument in science education continues, even though .
This article chimes in with some updated information.  A new study shows that students who studied basic topics more in depth in high school did better in college introductory courses than those who had the "we must cram everything we can think of about this topic into your heads so that you can pass the state-mandated graduation exam" approach.

An octopus flooded the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium (note the link on the 2nd page to a video showing an octopus climbing through a very small hole- really cool if you haven't seen them in action before)!  And here's another take.

You guys....this is SO COOL!  Apparently this fish, which has a TRANSPARENT HEAD, has been known since the 1930's, but scientists just got video and photos of it for the first time.  It's scientific name is Macropinna microstoma.