Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor
11-13-2008, 05:37 PM
Yes, robot helicopters and whale snot ARE related.
http://www.livescience.com/animals/081113-whale-spit.html
Tiny, remote-controlled helicopters hovering above the blowholes of whales have collected snot samples that could help scientists learn which bacteria lurk in seemingly healthy cetaceans in the wild.
Here's how it works, if you want to do it yourself, & who wouldn't?
Her new technique involves using a 3.5-foot (about a meter) remote-controlled helicopter with Petri dishes attached to the craft's bottom. When the equipment is ready, Acevedo-Whitehouse and her colleagues work aboard a small boat, scanning the ocean for the whales' blows, which appear as a sprinkler mist shooting from the ocean surface. The mist contains the whale's exhalation of air, water vapor and sometimes mucus.
Once the whale is spotted, an operator directs the helicopter directly above and through the mist, which sprays up onto the Petri dishes. Back at the lab, the researchers analyze DNA from the samples to identify particular micro-organisms.
In 2006, the researchers obtained their first blue-whale samples. "That was fantastic when we were able to actually position the helicopter right on top of the whale and collect the sample," Acevedo-Whitehouse told LiveScience. "For me, it's one of the most memorable experiences."
I suspect Acevedo-Whitehouse of being a Whale Snot Fetishist, based on this comment, & don't we all know one or two of those?
Where's the love for the Whale Snot Fetishists, people?
How can we be so intolerant in Barak Obama's America?
http://www.livescience.com/animals/081113-whale-spit.html
Tiny, remote-controlled helicopters hovering above the blowholes of whales have collected snot samples that could help scientists learn which bacteria lurk in seemingly healthy cetaceans in the wild.
Here's how it works, if you want to do it yourself, & who wouldn't?
Her new technique involves using a 3.5-foot (about a meter) remote-controlled helicopter with Petri dishes attached to the craft's bottom. When the equipment is ready, Acevedo-Whitehouse and her colleagues work aboard a small boat, scanning the ocean for the whales' blows, which appear as a sprinkler mist shooting from the ocean surface. The mist contains the whale's exhalation of air, water vapor and sometimes mucus.
Once the whale is spotted, an operator directs the helicopter directly above and through the mist, which sprays up onto the Petri dishes. Back at the lab, the researchers analyze DNA from the samples to identify particular micro-organisms.
In 2006, the researchers obtained their first blue-whale samples. "That was fantastic when we were able to actually position the helicopter right on top of the whale and collect the sample," Acevedo-Whitehouse told LiveScience. "For me, it's one of the most memorable experiences."
I suspect Acevedo-Whitehouse of being a Whale Snot Fetishist, based on this comment, & don't we all know one or two of those?
Where's the love for the Whale Snot Fetishists, people?
How can we be so intolerant in Barak Obama's America?