The ocean is full of wonder, beauty, and immense opportunity. It’s also unfathomably dark, mysterious, and home to some of the creepiest sights on Earth.
Today, we’d like to share a spine-tingling story from the sea. In case you missed it in June, Bigelow Laboratory researchers published a study that documented the continued survival of amputated sea cucumber tissue for more than three years in seawater.
These real-life zombies might sound like the underwater cousins of Frankenstein’s monster or the disembodied hand “Thing” in the Addams Family. But in reality, these sea cucumbers could one day fuel biomedical advances ranging from anti-aging to nerve regeneration to immune response possibilities.
Tune into a tale of spooky science in this episode of Science Friday and hear about zombie sea cucumbers from Senior Research Scientist Rachel Sipler: https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/whale-graveyard-zombie-sea-cucumbers/
Happy Halloween! 🎃
📸: A progression of tube foot tissue one year (left) versus several years (right) after excision showing increasing wound closure and healing at the wound site over time. (Credit: Sara Jobson).
