007 Worms

007 worm 1:

8.20.09 - by Science magazine

What sounds like a gadget that was developed by Q in a James Bond movie is actually a gadget that was developed by nature and is used by a newly discovered species of worms. Karen Osborn of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, California and colleagues discovered seven new species of worms that blind their predators when attacked.

By using remotely operated vehicles, researchers found seven previously unknown species of swimmd the attacking animal. By the time the predator's eyes adjust back to the darkness of the deep sea the wing annelid worms below 1800 meters. When in danger the worm throws "Green Bombs" that blinorm is long gone.

007 worm 2:

Ranging in size from three-fourths of an inch to nearly four inches, the worms live at depths of 5,900 feet to more than 12,000 feet. About 2 millimeters across, the glowing bombs are actually modified gills that consist of four chambers, likely holding apart fluids that react when they come into contact with each other to create light. Each worm has eight appendages for holding the sacs. When released, the sacs glow green for about a minute, Osborn reports. "It's a different chemistry than has been found in other polychaete worms in the same phylum," she says. She presumes the worms drop the bombs as a way of distracting predators.

Link: http://www.sciencecastle.com/sc/index.php/home/james_bond_like_worms_discovered_in_deep_sea