Our Mastery Of Whale Snot & Robot Helicopters Will Lead To World Conquest! Newslink

[Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor]

Yes, robot helicopters and whale snot ARE related.

Helicopters Collect Whale Snot from Blowholes

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?

[Mangetout]

Show her you really love her with the gift that’s rarer than the finest star-cut diamonds, and ephemeral as a fragile blossom. Helicopter-collected whale snot.

[Terrifel]

However, Acevedo-Whitehouse refused to comment when questioned about the disturbing number of grey whales spotted recently with tiny robot helicopters embedded in their faces.

Clearly flustered by these allegations, the researcher reached into her handbag and sprayed the assembled reporters with a can of whale sputum; then activated the robot helicopter concealed in her umbrella and took to the air, cackling madly as she fled the scene.

Meanwhile, the Japanese Institute for Cetacean Research has enthusiastically embraced this new non-intrusive technology in their whale studies, deploying remote helicopters to more efficiently direct their explosive sampling harpoons, and evaluating entire whale populations from a distance for tenderness and flavor.

[Sage_Rat]

@Mangetout

Show her you really love her with the gift that’s rarer than the finest star-cut diamonds, and ephemeral as a fragile blossom. Helicopter-collected whale snot.

So what do you figure would be the going price for a gram of whale snot?

Figure you have to get a sea going vessel with full crew, a radio helicopter pilot, a couple of radio helicopters, a lot of petri dishes, and several days if not weeks of collection time including fuel, food costs, potential repairs, etc.

$1000 a gram?

[MEBuckner]

:dubious:

Hmmm…

[ol][li]Use remote-controlled helicopters to collect whale snot.[/li][li]???[/li][del]Profit![/del] World conquest![/ol]

[Terrifel]

First of all, it’s not “whale snot;” it’s sea-scented aerophlegma. Or “sweetbreath.”

[Meurglys]

There’s footage of it in episode one of this new BBC documentary series, Oceans, and also some footage of it one their news pages here.
Fun stuff!

[Boyo_Jim]

That must be some pretty massive snot, given that there’s basically a big fan (the rotor blades) blowing directly down and and away from the collection dishes.

[Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor]

@Boyo_Jim

That must be some pretty massive snot, given that there’s basically a big fan (the rotor blades) blowing directly down and and away from the collection dishes.

Tiny helio, though.

[Boyo_Jim]

@Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor

Tiny helio, though.

Well, yeah, but if the meter reference in the story refers to rotor diameter, it’s probably bigger and and more powerful than your average home fan.