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A broad study of cephalopods - more commonly known as octopuses, cuttlefish and squid - has shown that they all possessed toxic proteins that performed functions such as paralysing the nervous system of prey.

The scientists analysed tissue samples from cephalopods from Hong Kong, the Coral Sea, the Great Barrier Reef and Antarctica.

The different species' genes were then studied for venom protection and it was found that a venomous ancestor produced one set of venom proteins, but over time additional proteins had added to the chemical arsenal.

It's been a busy few years for Marine Quest, run by father and son team Jim and Iain Easingwood, and their latest find- the German U-Boat, U-40, is arguably their most impressive find yet.

A black deepsea coral found about 400 meters from Oahu and the Big Island in Hawaii is more than 4,000 years old — making it the oldest marine organism ever found, according to researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Stanford University and the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Using a manned deep-sea research submersible samples were collected at the Makapuu and Lanikai deep-sea coral beds off the coast of Oahu, Keahole Point deep-sea coral bed off the coast of the Big Island and Cross Seamount about 100 miles south of Oahu.

A new 4-million-year-old fossil from Peru described in this month’s issue of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology provides important evidence suggesting the shark’s origins may be more humble than previously believed.

Shark fossils very rare

Dana Ehret, Gordon Hubbell and Bruce MacFadden studied an exceptionally well-preserved fossil of a species of white shark (Carcharodon sp.) from Peru (estimated to be about 5 m long by the authors), consisting of a complete jaw with 222 teeth, and 45 vertebrae, in their paper.

This affliction etches a swath of pale-yellow or white lesions along the surface of an infected coral colony. The discoloured band is a mark of death, indicating where the bacterial infection has killed the coral’s photosynthetic symbionts, called zooxanthellae. The coral host suffers from cellular damage and starves without its major energy source, and usually does not recover.

The Department of Homeland Security is introducing the new system to replace the current Visa Waiver Program (VWP). All countries currently eligible to use the VWP will be legally required to obtain authorization before their departure.

Applications are free of charge and are processed in about four seconds. Approximately 14,000 people are currently registering with ESTA daily with an approval rating of 99.6%. Travelers should be aware that a number of websites that are not endorsed by the US government are charging a fee for ESTA information or application processing.

The Ocean Research & Conservation Association (ORCA) and its collaborators announced today the world’s first use of an acoustic underwater camera to survey juveniles of goliath grouper in mangrove habitats.

In the 1930s, the Soviet Union built a series of submarines called the S class, based on German designs.

In the summer of 1942, the S7 sank the Swedish cargo ships Margareta and Luleå, delivering iron to Germany. Shortly after, the sub was cruising on the surface at night, off the Swedish coast not far from Norrtälje, when she was spotted by the Finnish submarine Vesihiisi. The Vesihiisi fired one torpedo and the S7 sank quickly.

Researchers believe this quality could be harnessed to help slow the spread of diseases such as cancer.

Potentially, it could lead to a new generation of drug treatments.

The Australian team found that shark antibodies can withstand high temperatures as well as extremely acidic or alkaline conditions.

Sea Hunters, L.P., a division of the Portland Maine based shipwreck research and recovery company Sub Sea Research, embark to recover of one of the world's wealthiest wrecks.