Scientists discover how deep-sea, ultra-black fish disappear

Deep in the ocean, where sunlight barely reaches, Smithsonian scientists and a team of collaborators have discovered one of the blackest materials known: the skin of certain fish. These ultra-black fish absorb light so efficiently ...

Shedding light on the brown color of algae

For many people, algae are just an odorous nuisance on their vacation beach or unwelcome guests in the garden pond and aquarium. This does not take into account, however, the enormous effects these mostly microscopic aquatic ...

Catch and release: Collagen-mediated control of PEDF availability

Cells are like tiny self-contained machines that are constantly fine-tuned in response to both internal and external signals. Some of these signals are induced by extracellular ligands, specialized proteins that bind to specific ...

How did the old masters make their ultramarine?

Researchers at the Rijksmuseum, the University of Amsterdam, VU Amsterdam and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) have developed a method that reveals how the costly pigment ultramarine was prepared from the ...

Researchers investigate how squid communicate in the dark

In the frigid waters 1,500 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, hundreds of human-sized Humboldt squid feed on a patch of finger-length lantern fish. Zipping past each other, the predators move with exceptional precision, ...

Squid pigments have antimicrobial properties

Ommochromes, the pigments that colour the skin of squids and other invertebrates, could be used in the food and health sectors for their antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. This is confirmed by analyses carried out ...

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