Scientists Study Sea Creature Which Makes a Home of Body Fluid

 

Some very small, deep sea creatures are known as the master builders of the sea. They can build complex homes that provide protection and capture food. These structures are made from a fluid that comes out of their heads.

When the structures get used up, the creatures — called giant larvaceans — build a new one. Usually this takes place every day.

Some people call these homes "snot palaces" because they are like big houses made of mucus, a fluid produced by living tissue for protection.

Some people think studying larvaceans' homes could help the building industry if scientists can understand how they make them. One of those people is Kakani Katija, a bioengineer at Monterey Bay Aquarium¹ Research Institute in California.

Her team released its findings on the so-called "snot houses" in Nature magazine recently.

The creatures inside these houses are small — the biggest ones are around 10 centimeters, but they are important to the environment. They live in oceans around the world. Katija and other scientists said they are the closest relatives to human beings without a backbone².

"They are like an alien life form, made almost entirely³ out of water, yet crafted with complexity⁴ and purpose," noted⁵ marine⁶ biologist Boris Worm of Dalhousie University. He was not part of the study.

Worm said the creatures help the ocean environment also. When their homes are used up, the creatures drop millions of tons of carbon to the seafloor. It stays there preventing global warming, he said.

Larvaceans take microplastics out of the water and put it on the sea floor. In addition, the waste in their homes is eaten by creatures living at the bottom of the ocean.

What they build interests and remains⁷ a mystery to scientists. Because the mucus houses are so fine and easily broken, researchers are unable to take them to a laboratory for study. So, Katija and her team used a robot submarine, cameras, and lasers to watch the creatures in waters 200 to 400 meters deep near California's Monterey Bay.

These mucus structures are not simple. They include two heart-like areas that capture food. The mucus houses often are nearly clear and completely cover the larvaceans.

And the houses are 10 times bigger than the creatures themselves — reaching more than one meter in size. It would be the same as a person making a five-story house, Katija noted.

Water can flow through the structure so that, when it comes through the water, the larvacean stays hidden from fish that might eat it.

Katija said NASA engineers looking to build structures on the moon would probably like to learn about the larvaceans.

Katija's team used a laser to study the structure of the inside of the mucus houses.

Then, the researchers recreated it with computer software to model the inner workings of the structure. But she said the scientists are still far from understanding everything going on.

Biologist Jack⁸ Carroll of Providence⁹ College in Rode Island was not part of the study, but had good things to say about it. He said Katija's team did useful work.

"We have a lot to learn," Carroll said. "I'm in awe¹⁰ of these animals."

I'm Mario Ritter Jr.

Words in This Story

master – adj. having or showing great skill

snot – n. fluid that comes from the nose and other tissue

alien – adj. foreign

crafted – adj. something made with care, requiring a special skill

global – adj. related to the whole world

NASA – n. short for the National Aeronautics¹¹ and Space Administration; the U.S. space agency

awe – n. a strong feeling of wonder

1 aquarium   

n.水族馆，养鱼池，玻璃缸

参考例句：

• The first time I saw seals was in an aquarium.我第一次看见海豹是在水族馆里。
• I'm going to the aquarium with my parents this Sunday.这个星期天，我要和父母一起到水族馆去。

2 backbone   

n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气

参考例句：

• The Chinese people have backbone.中国人民有骨气。
• The backbone is an articulate structure.脊椎骨是一种关节相连的结构。

3 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

4 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

9 providence   

n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝

参考例句：

• It is tempting Providence to go in that old boat.乘那艘旧船前往是冒大险。
• To act as you have done is to fly in the face of Providence.照你的所作所为那样去行事，是违背上帝的意志的。

10 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

11 aeronautics   

n.航空术，航空学

参考例句：

• National Aeronautics and Space undertakings have made great progress.国家的航空航天事业有了很大的发展。
• He devoted every spare moment to aeronautics.他把他所有多余的时间用在航空学上。