mission
Thursday Afternoon Live
Thursday, September 29, 2005Carol Dundorf and Janet Beckmann
Daily Report
In the morning the weather started out foggy with the ship’s deck wet from large waves and rain through the evening. By late morning the sun was poking out of the clouds and the winds slowed down to 27 knots. The waves had a mind of their own, causing the ship to pitch and yaw throughout the day. Several times, the call came from the bridge to tie down items.
While scientists continued to work on their projects, the camera crew prepared for the second day of High Definition live broadcast. By early afternoon the cruise participants gathered eagerly in the Thompson’s main lab to explain their role in Endeavour Segment research to the camera. Topics included in today’s broadcast were mapping of the seafloor and the macrofauna, like the spider crab and tubeworms found around the vents. Scientists also explained their studies of the microfauna, bacteria and archea, which live in and on the vent systems as well as in symbiosis with other organisms. There was an introduction to the chemistry and gasses of deep sea vents and a discussion of flow cytometry experiments on board the ship. Peering into a smaller world, there are now plans to culture organisms on the nano-scale on the sea floor!
REVEL teachers were also featured in today’s broadcast as they were asked to discuss how this fantastic opportunity to work side-by-side with pioneering scientists has impacted their thoughts about the process and the teaching of science. Dave Randle, a mentor for the new REVEL teachers, expressed how his approach to teaching science has evolved into true inquiry. Students in his classroom were encouraged to ask questions and develop testable questions that go beyond what’s in their textbooks. Theresa Pinella noted her experience on this cruise has shown her real interdisciplinary cooperation between scientists and it has changed the way she thinks her classes will look in the future. She hopes to engender these great traits and teach processes of science to her students and her fellow teachers.
Impressions
Janet P. Beckmann, R.N., Ph.D,
Marine Derived Pharmaceuticals
Traditionally, the majority of the medications we use to treat disease come from such sources as plants and microbes. However, we are running out of new terrestrial-based plants and microbes. Today, for example, the production of new antibiotics to fight infection is at an alarmingly low level.
The ocean, the least explored part of our Planet, is full of unique eukaryotes (plants, animals, protests and fungi), bacteria and archaea. In spite of this, there are very few marine derived pharmaceuticals because we know so little about the ocean. In addition, procuring eukaryota, bacteria and archaea from the depths of the ocean is difficult. The Neptune project has the potential to facilitate this process. The research being done on this VISIONS 2005 expedition will greatly expand our knowledge base and could one day be vital to the advancement of new medicinal compounds from the ocean.
The development of a new drug is a long process. It involves among other things the isolation and purification of the compound, synthesis of the substance, animal trials and finally three phases of human clinical trials (Phase I - Is the compound safe?; Phase II - Does the compound do what it is expected to do?; and Phase III - How effective is the compound compared to the standard treatment?).
A few marine derived pharmaceuticals are under development and appear to be quite promising. Various compounds isolated from sponges, bryozoans, tunicates, mollusks, marine bacteria and soft coral exhibit anti-neoplastic (anti-cancer), anti-inflammatory, and/or immunosuppressive properties. The chemical mechanism of action for many of these substances is quite unique when compared to terrestrial counterparts. Anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-malarial properties are exhibited by marine bacteria, sponges, mollusks and/or tunicates. A new drug, just approved by the FDA, Ziconotide (Prialt), is a very effective analgesic for severe chronic pain. This drug is derived from a secondary metabolite (a toxin to ward off predators) of the cone snail (Conus magus). It blocks the transmission of pain signals to the brain at the level of the spinal cord (N-type calcium channel blocker). The medication is at least 100 times more potent than morphine sulfate.
It is my firm belief that the ocean will be the medicine chest for the next millennium.
Daily Question
Nathan Conder Twin Falls High School, Twin Falls, ID
Nathan, Mrs. Dodds waves her hello to you while she is diligently mapping the Endeavor Segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge. To answer your first question, the average depth the scientists visit the vent fields with Jason II is around 2200 meters deep. To understand the type of pressure they encounter, first think about air pressure on land. The air pressure at sea level is 1 kilogram per square centimeter, also known as 1 atmosphere. For instance, for every square centimeter of surface area on your body there is 1 kilogram of force pressing on your body. However, when you enter the water, the pressure increases because the water is added weight pressing down. In water the pressure is 1 atmosphere for every 10 meters of depth. So, if you could swim down to the depth that Jason II is working, the pressure on your body would be 220 kilograms for every square centimeter of your body! Fortunately, Jason takes care of the scientist by diving to those deep depths for them.
Spencer Nyholm, a marine biologist from Harvard University, who is currently working on board the RV Thompson, noted that vent biologists discover new species every year. He explained that as we begin to look at organisms on a micro-scale that the diversity is even greater and we can expect to discover hundreds of new species.
Wenonah Abdilla , 7th grade, Hershey Middle School, Hershey, PA
Hello Wenonoah! Hope all is well in Hershey. After talking with one of the Jason II pilots, Jim Varnum, the story of Jason II is an interesting one. It seems that the making of Jason II actually begins with the making of Jason I, which actually began with the tests on a vehicle called a DSL 120. The DSL 120 is an underwater vehicle, tethered to the ship via a fiber optic cable that uses sound to map underwater terrain. After producing Jason I, engineers experimented with new electronics, mechanics, and software on both the DSL 120 and Jason I. An example of a new design implemented on Jason II is a navigation program called auto X - Y that was first tested on Jason I before they built Jason II. Overall it was a 4-5 year process of developing and building Jason II. The production began in 2001 and Jason II was sea tested in the spring of 2002.
