Researchers just published details of a massive undersea graveyard of whales deep in the Indian Ocean. Spanning about 1,200 kilometers (745 miles), it contains whale remains dating back more than 5 million years—and at least five active whale fall sites still teeming with life. Fossil whale expert Nick Pyenson joins Host Flora Lichtman to discuss these findings.Then, marine biologists Rachel Sipler and Sara Jobson join Ira Flatow to describe an unusual discovery in certain species of sea cucumbers: If a foot or tentacle becomes detached, the parts don’t wither up and rot away. Even without a stomach, these parts appear to directly extract nutrients from the surrounding seawater. “Zombie” sea cucumber parts have been observed surviving for more than three years.Guests:Dr. Nick Pyenson is curator of fossil marine mammals at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.Dr. Rachel Sipler is a senior research scientist in the Bigelow Laboratory in East Boothbay, Maine.Sara Jobson a PhD student at the Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. Johns, Canada.Other episodes you may enjoy:
Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See
pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
99% of people are being fed 'pop-science' garbage.
If you want the real intelligence without the digital tracking, you just found the exit. Bypass the system noise now.
🔴
INITIALIZE SECURE DOWNLOAD⚪
GET THE UNFILTERED ARCHIVE
