Exploration of Deepwater Habitats off Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands for Biotechnology Potential

Features

Expedition features provide reflections on experiences, science, technology, and other elements of Exploration of Deepwater Habitats off Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands for Biotechnology Potential. Stay tuned, more features will be added this summer.

Using Shrunken Styrofoam Cups for Outreach

October 3, 2024

Subjecting decorated styrofoam cups to the intense pressure of the deep ocean has been a tradition among deep-sea explorers for decades. This pressure causes the cups to compress, resulting in fun keepsakes. Learn about how shrunken styrofoam cups were used for outreach in association with a recent expedition.

Biological Collections: The HBOI Sponge Biobank

October 1, 2024

During the Exploration of Deepwater Habitats off Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands for Biotechnology Potential expedition, the team collected 136 samples. What happens to these samples after an expedition? Some of them are archived in biological collections, like the sponge biobank at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute.

Culturing the Sponge Microbiome for Natural Product Discovery

September 24, 2024

The ocean, with its wealth of marine organisms, has proven to be an advantageous place to look for new medicines, with over 20 marine natural product medicines approved globally, to date. A priority of a recent expedition was to isolate microbes from mesophotic sponges so they can be screened for bioactivity and potential drug discovery.

Natural Products and Why We Love Them So Much

September 19, 2024

About half of the medicines we currently use are based on a natural product. Marine organisms, like sponges and corals, produce natural products or use them to help find a good place to settle, find a mate, avoid being eaten, gain more territory, or fight infections. Some of these natural products have also proven useful in fighting human diseases.

My First Expedition Experience

September 17, 2024

One often doesn’t know what to expect when they accept an invitation to go to sea for an ocean exploration expedition for the very first time. In this expedition feature, Courtney Brooks describes her first expedition experience and what made it so special to her.

Wanted for Killing Parasites: Hunting for Sponge Treasure and a Treasured Sponge

September 9, 2024

Over the years, my research team has found organisms that make very exciting natural products that are beneficial to human health, such as selectively targeting cancer cells or killing parasites.

All in a Day’s Work

July 24, 2024

During this expedition, every day was focused on collecting samples and were largely the same tempo. Here, I describe a day’s work on F.G. Walton Smith during Exploration of Deepwater Habitats off Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands for Biotechnology Potential.

The "Perfect" Dive

July 24, 2024

As a scientist, we often think of the perfect dive as a beautiful, biologically diverse site where we find and collect amazing organisms. The remotely operated vehicle (ROV) then returns to the deck with bioboxes full of new and exciting samples!

Diversity and Representation at Work at Sea

July 24, 2024

In a crew of 17, 10 are women! Seven of the eight science crew members are women; two of the three remotely operated vehicle crew members are women; and the ship’s second mate is a woman. This means women represented 59% of the expedition team, which is higher than the national average.