![]() Researchers from the University of Copenhagen have discovered that the Greenland Shark can live to be over 400 years old! These sharks are now known as the longest-living vertebrate known to mankind. Professor John Steffenson and former student Julius Nielsen led the study on the Greenland Sharks. They wanted to research the sharks because little was known about these reclusive fish, including their life expectancy. To find out the average age of these sharks, they looked into their eye lenses. In some shark species, like the Greenland shark, inactive transparent tissue in the eye lenses becomes replaced by new layers. The researchers peeled back the layers to find the one from the shark’s infancy and used it to analyze its age. They used radiocarbon dating (a process in which they burn the shark’s innermost layer of eye lens to see how much carbon it contains). They studied 28 sharks, most of which had been accidentally caught in trawling nets meant to catch other fish. The oldest shark in the group was 392 years, the youngest was 272 years old. However, given that radiocarbon dating doesn’t always provide accurate results, the scientists estimate the sharks could live up from 272 - 512 years. "Even the lowest part of the age range - at least 272 years- still makes Greenland sharks the longest-living vertebrate known to science." -Julius Nielsen, co-leader of the study. The reason these sharks can live so long is due to the fact that they live in such cold water. Research shows that the colder temperatures help slow down the growth and biochemical activity of these sharks, expanding their lifetimes. I think it’s very interesting that these sharks can live to be so old. It’s incredible to think that some of these sharks were alive before America became a country. It’s also amazing that there’s a way to determine an animal's age by looking at its eye lenses. Source: http://www.dogonews.com/2016/8/24/its-official-the-greenland-shark-is-the-longest-living-vertebrate-known-to-science
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Engineers at the University of Washington just recently developed technology that allows a person’s contact lenses and/or brain implants to send data to the person’s smartphone/smartwatch. This new technology, called “Interscatter Communication,” functions by converting Bluetooth Signals into Wi-Fi signals. "Instead of generating Wi-Fi signals on your own, our technology creates Wi-Fi by using Bluetooth transmissions from nearby mobile devices such as smartwatches.” -Vamsi Talla, study co-author To demonstrate this new technology, the engineers designed a small contact lens with a tiny antenna. The antenna on the contact lens transmitted data to a smartwatch, effectively converting the Bluetooth signal into a Wifi signal that could be read by another device. Interscatter Communication is an important advancement in technology because it can help monitor a person’s blood sugar levels using contact lenses (blood sugar levels can be monitored through a person’s tears). It can also be used to transmit data from brain implants that could help people with paralysis someday be able to move unassisted. Source: http://www.livescience.com/55816-smart-contact-lenses-talk-to-your-phone.html |
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April 2017
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