1. New (SAD) Scientific Discovery by LABMATE
My officemate and a fellow researcher in Oxford's Ocean Research & Conservation Group, Dr Michelle Taylor, has found the first evidence of microplastic being ingested by deep sea animals. Read her paper at: You can read more about microplastics on this NOAA webpage. They first appeared in personal care products about fifty years ago. On December 28, 2015, President Obama signed the Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015, banning plastic microbeads in cosmetics and personal care products. Other countries are following suit. It was a major topic of discussion at the Our Ocean conference, which I attended last month (that story here). | Image credit http://brenmicroplastics.weebly.com/impacts.html |
2. SPEAKING IN LONDON, OPEN TO ALL
This Thursday (Oct 6) I'll be speaking at Kings College London about ocean exploration. Everyone is welcome. At 6pm in the Pyramid Room, the talk part of their Intrepid Explorers series and will most likely precede some sort of pub outing. Thanks Rebecca Farnum, author of Defending the Deep - Guardians of the Sea (!), for inviting me! |