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In the RVEL's 'wet' lab, researchers sort, number and log samples from recent scuba and submersible operations.
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The branches of this soft coral will soon be pulverized and tested to determine whether this species produces promising medical compounds.
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It is critical to work while the specimens are fresh, and it is important to get everything right: all the logs, all the numbers...everything. As they sort, number, and photographically log the samples, the researchers wear surgical gloves to guard against contamination of the specimens.
Once all the samples are in order, the silver table becomes more like a dinner table for a large science family. Small pieces of promising organisms are hacked off and distributed among the scientific disciplines represented aboard the ship: microbiology, chemistry, cell biology, aquaculture. Each scientist contributes their particular disciplinary techniques toward answering the larger question: might there be a new cure in here? Samples and information flow freely between the groups, each offering thoughts and ideas to the others.
Previous research and (extremely) educated guesswork is suggesting that compounds generated by certain organisms collected today may have great medical potential. But, only time and lots of experimentation will tell for sure. In the coming days, these researchers will analyse the organisms' tissues, cells, and molecules with techniques that run the gamut of technical complexity. And every day, they will encounter the unique benefits and limitations of working at sea. |
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