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DNA research has shown that Mycobacterium pinnipedii, which today causes tuberculosis (TB) primarily in pinnipeds, infected human populations living in the coastal areas of Peru prior to European colonisation

The earliest cases are found in Peru and northern Chile and are dated to ~700 CE, with possible cases occurring as early as 290 CE.

The researchers also discovered TB in the skeletons of people who lived nowhere near the coast some 400 to 1,000 years ago — a scenario incompatible with TB transmission directly from infected pinnipeds or their tissues.

The great hammerhead shark is categorized as “critically endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. That’s the designation just before “extinct in the wild.” The species is highly threatened with extinction.

To that end, the Center for Biological Diversity has submitted a petition urging the National Marine Fisheries Service to protect the great hammerhead shark under the Endangered Species Act.

Large, perennial, seagrass meadows of the Poseidon’s ribbon weed and the wire weed (Amphibolis antarctica) dominate much of the marine ecosystem in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Shark Bay, Australia.

Two years ago, scientists discovered some of the seagrass there was a clone of a Poseidon’s ribbon weed (Posidonia australis) that had 40 chromosomes instead of the typical 20. They think half those chromosomes may come from the ribbon weed and half from an unknown species.

My 28 years as a dive industry professional have taken me to 130-140 dive shows, events and conferences. So perhaps it is understandable that I sometimes feel a little jaded or unenthusiastic about heading out for yet another one.  Many of the dive shows become same-same-ish and the dealings routine.

There are but a few left that I genuinely look forward to and the upcoming Diving Talks, held in Portugal in October, is one of them.

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Hudson Canyon is the largest underwater canyon along the U.S. Atlantic Coast, and is about 100 miles off the coast of New York and New Jersey. The canyon ⁠— about 2 to 2.5 miles deep and up to 7.5 miles wide ⁠— provides habitat for a range of protected and sensitive species, including sperm whales, sea turtles and deep sea corals.

The canyon’s rich biodiversity is integral to the region’s economy, underpinning commercial and recreational fisheries, recreational diving, whale-watching and birding. 

After the recent elaborate diving expedition at a depth of 950 meters (3,117 feet), the Colombian Navy has published new footage of the legendary ship and its treasures.

Found in Montana’s Bear Gulch limestone formation, the unassuming 12cm (4.72inch) fossil was subsequently donated to the Royal Ontario Museum in 1988. And there it lay quietly in a drawer in the Invertebrate Palaeontology collection for decades while scientists fussed over fossil sharks and other creatures from the site.

Until, one day, palaeontologists noticed the fossil’s 10 limbs and took a closer look.