A Very Marine Xmas!
At the very bottom of the marine web of life, are tiny plankton that drift seemingly aimlessly with the ocean’s currents. Phytoplankton are responsible for 50% of the earth’s photosynthesis, and fix a 100 million tons of CO2 each day. Remarkably, every 2-6 days, the entire biomass of plankton is consumed by filter feeders, from barnacles to baleen whales. Did you know that the distinctive smell of “sea air” is from chemicals given off by decomposing phytoplankton?
Micro Marvels: In homage to these remarkable creatures, scientist Dr. Richard Kirby made this composite Christmas card entirely from plankton: paddle worms, sea angels, protozoa and jellyfish (read more here: http://goo.gl/GAv5lG).
Delightful Doggerel: My Christmas jingle is just for fun, inspired by Chemistry Carols from the Wesleyan University page (http://goo.gl/QKTjfX). More fun Lab Carols from the staff of ASBMB can be found here: http://goo.gl/rkxW7s .
Over to You: Go ahead, be a sport. Share your science-y holiday verse here 🙂
#ScienceEveryday #merrychristmas
madame scientist's not-so-mad musings 
Thx
Semper Fi to you, Rajini Rao!
OH! That kind of marine! 😉
Haha, thanks for a good laugh Mark Thomas . The other type of marine are pretty remarkable too 🙂
थंक्स।
Hey Peter, good to see you here. Cheers!
MU-Peter Shimon
Cool 😀 Happy Holidays 🙂
Happy Holidays, Panah Rad 🙂
I found this and thought it was apropos.
What do you call a bunch of chess players bragging about their games in a hotel lobby?
Chess nuts boasting in an open foyer.
Hat tip to +samuel smith and +annabel townsend
LOLOL! Thanks, Gary Ray R .
On the first lab day of bio, my teacher showed me: saliva glands of chironom worm.
I killed 15 before getting it.
Olivier Malinur my nemesis was dissecting the pedal ganglion of a mussel. By the time I found it, it was busted and so was my lab grade.
Merry Christmas Rajini; and to all thee here on Science on G+, one of my favorite places to learn, and to spend free time.
May ye all be blessed by friendship and family, and whatever ye hold dear…
Peace, to all
~RA
I have been an unlucky biologist. For the mouse dissection, I fell on a situs inversus. My sea dog was so parasited by worms some organs were destroyed. And in biochemistry, I swallowed a bit of the starch solution and spit in back in the bottle. So the dosage of the activity of amylase were totally erratic.
I am now geologist…
Truly a pleasure to count you in my circles, rare avis ! Thank you for your comments and engagement with the science community here on G+. All the best of this festive season and more to come in the new year.
Hah, surely a win for the earth, Olivier Malinur 🙂
Merry Christmas, Rajini Rao
Merry Christmas Denis Labelle ! Hope you are enjoying the holiday season as much as I am 🙂
Peter Lindelauf thank you, it took some effort for me to start posting again. It’s been a difficult end of the year- my dad passed away 3 weeks ago. Looking forward to a new beginning in 2015. All the best to you and Jenny.
That’s a great jingle! 🙂
All the best RR, looking forward to lots more posts in the new year 🙂
Same to you, Buddhini Samarasinghe . We’re going to have to look out for each other re. posting 🙂
Yes please, I am all in favour of a mutual nagging system like we used to have!
Photosynthesis should be difficult to get in Mars.
We Earthlians must reach a Type II level of energy production, as soon as possible.
My fav: “Six sessile sponges”
Bob Calder mine is the line I began with, that rhymes with partridge in a pear tree 🙂
A great rendition! Happy holidays all!!
Season’s greetings to you too, James Benson 🙂
Sorry to hear about your Dad, Rajini. We went through that a few years ago. He was regulated to a nursing home finally because we just couldn’t handle it anymore. So it was a release of a life he could never get back. I did bust him out of a hospital in Corpus Christi where they were trying to kill him and gave him another pretty decent ten more years.
good work
Wonderful jingle! Happy Holidays Rajini Rao!
Thanks, Tau-Mu Yi . Enjoy the few days off and all the best for 2015!
Jim Carver thanks for sharing your experience. You know how it feels. All the best.
Rajini Rao All the best, and you know we don’t last forever either. So let’s make the most of it. 🙂
I truly love this thread!! No trolls, just people wishing each other good tidings. A very good thing indeed! Best wishes 2 all!
James Benson Oh, you need a troll?…let’s see, where’s my troll hat…ah, here it is…oh, uh oh, that one’s made out of tin foil. Well give me a minute and I’ll find the right one…
Bah Hum Bug to you, Merry Christmas.:>
Hah, trolling passes have been used up and new ones won’t be issued until the next year 🙂
Jim Carver, LOL!! Looking 4 my tin foil hat as well! Merry Christmas! Not a troll! 😉
Hey guys, couldn’t find it…I think my old lady threw it away before she left…but there’s good news. I found the Aluminatti hat, it’s cheaper, way cheaper:
http://youtu.be/w-0TEJMJOhk
Merry Christmas 🎄
—–Original Message-
—Jim Carver Now that was good!! Thank u sir!!
LOL, thanks for the late night comedy 🙂
Um, comedy? Really? ;D
Hey, it’s Christmas! 🙂
And all this time I thought it was an infomercial on how to keep your food fresh.
LOL, n since I cooked way more than I can eat 2 day…um, never mind. 🙂
James Benson All I did was make some dressing and steam some rice in my new bamboo steamer. It really is the only way to make Thai sticky rice. I’ve tried to substitute with all kinds of things and this is the first time it came out right. And of course I’m saying this to Rajini too. She knows more about this than I will ever, but this really worked. So that was my Christmas….buy myself an Oriental steamer! haha
Here’s another “Weird” Al short. It’s really short, but it’s funny. Btw, H/T to Filippo Salustri on both.
http://youtu.be/Ib2Vl7JEjfc
Salam is peaceful for you
You are intelligence so say me what are you know everything ?
Example: your whole body, brain heart & other .
Do you know after 2 second what are you doing ?
Do you know your creator?
Do you know your praying book ?please compear with the holy Quran .
We are the son of Adam A: you & I .
I want best luck for you.
Thanks
Merry Christmas Rajini … 🙂
All the best to you and your beloved !!
Hey, Rajini Rao !
Hey you, Nick James . How have you been?
Magnus Fahlén , thanks, and Viking wishes to you for a happy new year!
^______________________________^
Thanks a lot Rajini Rao … =D
A Happy and Exciting 2015 to you !!
Hai
En la antártica parte de mi país hay mucho placton millones y mas millones , para los cetáceos y mamíferos marinos es un manjar, saludos
Just a small correction, a starfish is called sea star. Happy Yuletide
En realidad es la estrella de mar, tan simple y claro su objetivo. A todos Uds. saludos y bendiciones para este nuevo año 2015. Sobre todo a Rajini que gracias a este canal puedo conocer parte de sus acciones como investigadora.