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In the black depths of the frigid Arctic Ocean, scientists on a 2005 expedition found a splash of color: The brilliant, blood-red Crossota norvegica jellyfish (pictured). The creature was spotted by a remotely operated vehicle 8,530 feet (2,600 meters) underwater during a two-month National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) expedition to the Canada Basin, the deepest and least explored part of the Arctic waters. Though C. norvegica is not a new species, several new deep-sea animals were discovered during the expedition--some of which were announced in recent research papers in 2009.

Sorry, kids—scientists have not discovered the first known bubblegum-blowing sea creature. But they have found the only known corals to eat adult jellyfish, a new study says. Opening wide--yes, that's a mouth--a mushroom coral ingests a roughly 4-and-a-half-inch-wide (12-centimeter) moon jellyfish (pictured) in the Red Sea in March 2009. And this coral wasn't alone. The study, led by scientists from Israel's Bar-Ilan University and Tel Aviv University, witnessed other corals dining on the jellyfish. Marine ecologist Jennifer Smith, who wasn't part of the study, agreed the find was unique, though she's "not entirely surprised." Mushroom corals, which have soft bodies,...

KOKONOGI, Japan – A blood-orange blob the size of a small refrigerator emerged from the dark waters, its venomous tentacles trapped in a fishing net. Within minutes, hundreds more were being hauled up, a pulsating mass crowding out the catch of mackerel and sea bass. The fishermen leaned into the nets, grunting and grumbling as they tossed the translucent jellyfish back into the bay, giants weighing up to 200 kilograms (450 pounds), marine invaders that are putting the men's livelihoods at risk. The venom of the Nomura, the world's largest jellyfish, a creature up to 2 meters (6 feet) in...

A 10-ton fishing boat has been sunk by gigantic jellyfish off eastern Japan. -snip- The crew of the fishing boat was thrown into the sea when the vessel capsized, but the three men were rescued by another trawler, according to the Mainichi newspaper. The local Coast Guard office reported that the weather was clear and the sea was calm at the time of the accident.

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Jellyfish tossing helps land Madeira Beach man in jail By Brant James, Times Staff Writer Posted: Sep 08, 2009 02:27 PM MADEIRA BEACH — A 41-year-old man who witnesses said had been drinking since 9 a.m. was arrested Monday afternoon after authorities say he created a disturbance by pretending to drown and throw jellyfish on teenagers. Keith Edward Marriott, of 100 154th Ave. in Madeira Beach, faces charges of disorderly intoxication and carrying a concealed weapon after a pocketknife was found in his shorts, Pinellas County sheriff's deputies said. Marriott repeatedly submerged himself and floated to the surface, "causing concern...

Eat your heart out, Godzilla. A massive menace from the sea seems poised to invade Japan anew this summer, experts predict. In 2005 Japanese waters were inundated with swarms of Nomura's jellyfish--like the pair seen above cruising off the coast of Fukui Prefecture in November 2007. The giants clogged fishing nets and poisoned potential catches with their toxic stings, costing coastal fishers billions of yen. Scientists have since been racing to unlock the mysteries of this giant jellyfish species in an attempt to forecast invasions and prevent damages. This June researchers at Hiroshima University made some of the first surveys...

Giant jellyfish descend on the Sea of Japan, causing untold devastation to coastal villages and leaving a trail of destruction and human misery behind. Sounds like a great sci-fi flick. But it's not. It's real and it's a nightmare for Japanese fishermen. The massive sea creatures, called Nomura's jellyfish, can grow 6 feet in diameter and weigh more than 450 pounds. Scientists think they originate in the Yellow Sea and in Chinese waters. For the third year since 2005, ocean currents are transporting them into the Sea of Japan. Monty Williams, a marine biologist at Alabama's Dauphin Island Sea Lab,...

A 4ft jellyfish - one of the biggest to be found in Britain - washed up on a popular beauty spot on the coast of north Devon. Experts say the 4ft (1.21m) Rootmouth Jellyfish - nicknamed the Dustbin lid or Sea Mushroom - can cause a painful rash on human skin if in contact with tentacles. The jellyfish was caught on camera by photographer Peter Stapleton who is keeping the exact location secret to avoid panic. "A woman came up to me and said there was a huge jellyfish over on the other side of the beach," he said. "It...

A photographer caught video of a crab hitching a ride on the back of a giant pink meanie jellyfish off the Gulf Coast of Florida. Pat Clyne made the video of the underwater spectacle off the coast of Sanibel Island, WKMG-TV, Orlando, Fla., reported. The video shows the crab moving underwater on the pink meanie jellyfish, which have tentacles 100 feet long and are rarely seen in the Gulf of Mexico.

Look on the bright side—this luminous new jellyfish species doesn't sting. Jellyfish expert Lisa Gershwin caught the unnamed species in early March while swimming near a jetty off the Australian island of Tasmania with a "phototank"—a small aquarium that makes it easy to photograph sea life. The jellyfish does not emit its own light, as bioluminescent creatures do. Rather, its rainbow glow emanates from light reflecting off the creature's cilia, small hairlike projections that beat simultaneously to move te jellyfish through the water.

A potentially "immortal" jellyfish species that can age backward—the Benjamin Button of the deep—is silently invading the world's oceans, swarm by swarm, a recent study says. Like the Brad Pitt movie character, the immortal jellyfish transforms from an adult back into a baby, but with an added bonus: Unlike Benjamin Button, the jellyfish can do it over and over again—though apparently only as an emergency measure.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is denouncing Republican attempts to link President-elect Barack Obama and disgraced Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.

Stockholm, Sweden (AHN) - Another trio of scientists were recognized by the Nobel Foundation for their discovery of the mystery behind the green glow of jellyfish. The past two days saw trios also being awarded the Nobel laureates for Medicine and Physics. For this finding, Osamu Shimomura of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Massachusetts, Martin Chalfie of Columbia University and Roger Tsien of the University of California at San Diego will be awarded the Nobel Laureate in Chemistry.

Earth's first animal was the ocean-drifting comb jelly, not the simple sponge, according to a new find that has shocked scientists who didn't imagine the earliest critter could be so complex... scientists analyzed massive volumes of genetic data to define the earliest splits at the base of the animal tree of life... The new study surprisingly found that the comb jelly was the first animal to diverge from the base of the tree, not the less complex sponge, which had previously been given the honor... Unlike sponges, comb jellies have connective tissues and a nervous system, and so are more...

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - Scientists who conducted the most comprehensive survey to date of New Zealand's Antarctic waters were surprised by the size of some specimens found, including jellyfish with 12-foot tentacles and 2-foot-wide starfish.A 2,000-mile journey through the Ross Sea that ended Thursday has also potentially turned up several new species, including as many as eight new mollusks.

Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman MK Avigdor Lieberman said at a Knesset plenary meeting on Monday, addressing Arab MKs, that "a new administration will be established and then we will take care of you." The statement came three days after Lieberman made another inflammatory statement directed at Arab MKs, shortly after an Israeli Arab terrorist gunned down students at the Mercaz Harav yeshiva in Jerusalem on Thursday, killing eight people. Lieberman had said following the incident that the attack had been a result of incitement to violence propagated by Arab MKs. (edit) Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman MK Avigdor Lieberman. (Daniel Bar On/Jini) Lieberman...

Pink 450-Pound Blobs Clog Nets but Spur New Recipes; Pointing Fingers at China (OKI, Japan) -- Fisherman Ryoichi Yoshida pulled in his nets before dawn one morning, hoping for lots of yellowtail and mackerel. But the fish were overwhelmed by a heaving mass of living pink slime. The creatures, called Nomura jellyfish, can measure six feet across and weigh up to about 450 pounds. They have been drifting en masse to places like Oki, a small island 40 miles off the coast, bobbing beneath the surface of the water like pink mines. They rip holes in fishermen's nets, and they...

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland (CNN) -- Israel is "ready now for a deal," said an Israeli official attending Tuesday's U.S.-brokered Mideast summit aimed at laying the groundwork for future peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have "very good chemistry," the official said, adding that he is hopeful a document "will be finalized before we leave Washington Wednesday night." -snip-

HEADLINE: Israel May OK Division of Jerusalem Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (AP Photo)Summary of Six Day war from BBC: After a period of relative peace in the Middle East(?), Palestinian guerrilla groups, supported by Egypt and Syria, started a series of attacks on the Israeli border in 1965. These were followed by Israeli reprisals and a gradual build-up of Arab military forces around Israel's border. The Second Arab-Israeli war that began on 5 June 1967 ended on 10 June and became known as the six-day war - it changed the face of the Middle East conflict. At the end...