530: A Living Highlighter
Summary
Hosts Alicia and Christopher White interview marine biologist Steve Haddock about his book, The Radiant Sea, which explores deep-sea organisms' optical adaptations like bioluminescence and transparency. Haddock discusses the technological advancements in underwater imaging and genomics that enable these studies, highlighting how living specimens reveal behaviors lost in dead samples. The conversation covers the evolutionary costs of these traits, their biomedical applications like GFP, and the mysterious functions of phenomena such as disco clam displays.
Topics discussed
Introduction: Jellyfish, eel pout, and disco clams
Lightning round: Disco clams, Star Wars droids, and tips
The Radiant Sea book: Real photos vs. CGI and optical properties
Bioluminescence evolution: Why jellyfish glow and eyes come first
Deep sea tech: ROVs, low-light cameras, and stimulating flashes
Deep sea weirdness: Transparency, counter-illumination, and ink
Bioluminescent escape tactics and GFP in medical research
Fluorescence, structural color, and the mystery of disco clams
Costs of transparency and bioluminescence in deep sea creatures
Blacker than black, anglerfish stealth, and blackwater diving
Jellyfish blooms, navigation, and biomimetic robotics
Writing The Radiant Sea and Practical Computing for Biologists
Surprising discoveries: Octopus guards and giant jellyfish
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