MANILA, Philippines, Oct. 16, 2007
Rare Creatures Found In "Coral Triangle"
Tentacled Worm, Black Jellyfish Among Rare Marine Species Discovered Off Philippines
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Photo
A1 centimeter-long juvenile boxfish was collected by a diver in the surface waters off Celebes Sea in southern Philippines on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2007. (AP/Ocean Geographic Magazine/Aw)
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Photo Essay
Under The Sea
Colorful creatures surface during an exploration of the Celebes Sea
Project leader Dr. Larry Madin said Tuesday that U.S. and Philippine scientists collected about 100 different specimens in a search in the Celebes Sea south of the Philippines.
Madin, of the Massachusetts-based Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, said the sea is at the heart of the "coral triangle" bordered by the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia -- a region recognized by scientists as having a high degree of biological diversity.
The deepest part of the Celebes Sea is 16,500 feet. The team was able to explore to a depth of about 9,100 feet using a remotely operated camera.
"This is probably the center where many of the species evolved and spread to other parts of the ocean, so it's going back to the source in many ways," Madin told a group of journalists, government officials, students and U.S. Ambassador Kristie Kenney and her staff.
The project involved the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and National Geographic Magazine in cooperation with the Philippine government, which also provided the exploration ship.
The expedition was made up of more than two dozen scientists and a group from National Geographic, including Emory Kristof, the underwater photographer who was part of the team that found the wreckage of the Titanic in 1985.Photos: Images From The Exploration
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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
The group returned to Manila on Tuesday after spending about two weeks in the Celebes Sea off Tawi-Tawi, the Philippines southernmost provincial archipelago nearly 700 miles south of Manila.This is probably the center where many of the species evolved and spread to other parts of the ocean, so it's going back to the source in many ways.
Dr. Larry Madin, project leaderWoods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Madin said the specimens they collected included several possibly newly discovered species. One was a sea cucumber that is nearly transparent which could swim by bending its elongated body. Another was a black jellyfish found near the sea floor.
The most striking creature found was a spiny orange-colored worm that had 10 tentacles like a squid, Madin said. "We don't know what it is ... it might be something new," he said.
He said it would take "a few more weeks" of research to determine whether the species are newly discovered. He expects to release a report by early next month.
Madin said the Celebes Sea, being surrounded by islands and shallow reefs, is partially isolated now and may have been more isolated millions of years ago, leading scientists to believe that "there may be groups of organisms that have been contained and kept within" the basin since then.
"That makes it an interesting place to go and look to see what we might find," he said.
© MMVII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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See all 77 CommentsGreat... They found the last remaining Bush supporters !!
("How sad for you. Can"t you have a discussion on anything without bringing Bush into it? You sound a bit obsessive to me. You"re going to have to find a new obsession once Bush is out of office. I see our President has such a profound impact on you."
- Posted by rohink at 05:26 PM : Oct 16, 2007
Most likely because it does not fit in with your religious beliefs.
over about 5 billion years.
Gentlemen, let''s all be civil here. No need to curse eachother''s beliefs (or disbeliefs). I''ve never understood why theism and evolution aren''t compatible. Isn''t it possible that God simply created the laws of evolution? I mean, come on, rushman, you don''t actually believe that Noah''s ark story do you? That''s a fairy tale. That doesn''t mean, however, that there isn''t a God(s).
I must, however, say that when people come on here trying to convert people - which they usually think is their duty - they should expect a debate. It might help them understand why we without religion don''t believe it. We are not bad people...most of us just see no reason or evidence to believe in it. When someone says the word god I only have a very vague idea of what they are talking about if any. I wish the world all the best and do my best to promote a non-violent ideology. Morals can come from other perspectives besides religion too.
Sorry for my abrasiveness.
Survival of the fittest. (Darwin reference)
Why on Earth would I kill an innocent person - I would feel like *** afterwards. I have to admit I even find it offensive that you think I would maybe do something like that. I am by the way completely against the death penalty because I find it immoral. Are you? I sure hope so. I''ll spare directly quoting Luke 19:27 here but it would seem to be in favor of the death penalty.
It makes me feel good to give something to other people - not to take away things. We are not, as you seem to think, a bunch of raging lunatics just because we do not believe in religions - agnostic atheists are generally very deep thinkers and often very caring people.
Why does your life "mean nothing" if there is no God? I don''t follow your logic. Your life effects other people . . . doesn''t that "mean" something? For example, if I committed suicide right now, my family would be grief stricken. Would my suicide also have cosmic implications for my soul . . . perhaps. But I know for certain that it would be very meaningful for the people around me.
So what exactly is your definition of "mean."
Missed a couple questions. I''d like to be understood better here and not thought of as a raging lunatic.
I think I can help you understand why we have morals. A question like "what is the point of having morals at all if there is no God?" seems to imply that the second you found out there is no god (if that were possible, which it isn''t), you would go on a murderous spree. Some nice person - I don''t believe you are like that at all. Set religion aside just for one second to try to understand us - I''m sure you have other reasons for not doing this besides fear of punishment by the police or god, don''t you? I think that should help you understand it. I definately understand why you would feel bad if you killed someone on purpose. That is clear enough...I''d fear that too if I were Christian. Please do me a favor and try to understand my perspective too. You are welcome to ask more questions...I am absolutely certain we are a bit harder to understand because there are no books we believe in to show you besides science books, and morals is clearly a tough area for science, isn''t it? Does not mean science is for the most part wrong - very intelligent people working very carefully, unbiased and independently from one another came to the same conclusions in almost every case.
"If you were born an accident, why can''''t you die an accident?"
I wasn''t born by (not an) accident, it was my parents lovely idea and has physiological nature too.
Peace!
I don''t think you sound like a lunatic. You make good sense. I''m more confused by your opponent''s position. It sounds to me like she is a sociopath, who is only capable of functioning in society because of her fear of retribution from God! It''s rather frightening actually.
Wow! What was the museum like? I read a New York Times story about it. Seemed pretty weird. I live in Michigan. Do you think it''s worth making a pilgrimage down to see it? I like bizarre oddities? Do they have any dioramas with hominids petting dinosaurs?
The world according to them was much smaller than the world actually turned out to be.
I am not an atheist and I do believe in God - but I put the Bible into perspective and realize that God did not write the Bible...
Some very wise "MEN" of the time wrote the Bible according to their view on the world and morality - and may have had "messengers" to help them in the writing - not to mention the language that the Bible was written then is not spoken today.
The interpretations of the authors'' "interpretations" of the word of God have been twisted and turned to the beliefs of the most powerful political leaders'' thinkings of the times that it has been "translated" into a language of our time.
MHO... No disrespect meant to anyone - but that is my objective opinion - and I do believe God gave us our minds to explore all possibilities.
It is probably not nearly as big as the other one. They say on a website for the museum "...and for that matter, don''t blur your vision. These exhibits will already scramble your preconceived, faulty world view (for this report, if you''re not a secular humanist or pantheistic evolutionist, just pretend...)." A bit forward aren''t they?
There seems to be a fundamental flaw in your reasoning. What one''s conscience tells you to do varies greatly from individual to individual and from society to society. Think about it. Does the conscience of a cannibal bother him when he eats another man. No, because in his society it is acceptable. If you or I were to eat someone, however, we would likely go mad from the guilt. Ultimately, this leads us to one of two conclusions:
1. Our "conscience" is socially constructed
or
2. God''s laws which he writes into our conscience are flexible and change based on social context.
Either way, the simple fact that each person has a conscience is not an argument in favor of a belief in Christianity.
1 On that day, The LORD will punish with his sword that is cruel, great, and strong, Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the coiled serpent; and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.
It''s quite possible that the "dragon in the sea" is a reference to a dinosaur.
Posted by global_chick at 06:14 PM : Oct 17, 2007
Nope, I don''t think you''re a lunatic. That was the word that fibonacci used to describe himself.
Posted by global_chick at 06:17 PM : Oct 17, 2007
Why? You keep making these mass generalizations. Please explain. Personally, I think it is pretty hard to believe either scenario.
14 Who can open the doors of his face,
With his terrible teeth all around?
15 His rows of scales are his pride,
Shut up tightly as with a seal;
16 One is so near another
That no air can come between them;
17 They are joined one to another,
They stick together and cannot be parted.
18 His sneezings flash forth light,
And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
19 Out of his mouth go burning lights;
Sparks of fire shoot out.
20 Smoke goes out of his nostrils,
As from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
Regarding creation..when was the last time intelligent life formed together from nothing? It is completely implausible that we could have emerged from mud puddles. It''s like throwing a bunch of metal in the air and expecting a fully-designed spaceship to emerge.
Of course the conscience is not the only evidence for the existence of God. Regardless of social context men exhibit depraved indifference. This is why as it is written: %u201CThe law is powerless because it is weakened by the sinful nature. The mind of sinful man is death and it is hostile to God. It does not submit to God%u2019s law, nor can it do so.%u201D It is also written that: %u201CThe wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God''s invisible qualities%u2014his eternal power and divine nature%u2014have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.%u201D %u201CFurthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.%u201D For what the Law was powerless to do, God did through his Son. See needGod.com
Riddle me this, Global, do YOU believe the Earth is 6000 years old?
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Posted by global_chick at 06:29 PM : Oct 17, 2007
+ report abuse
**************
creation is a result of eons of movements. it is not as easy as throwing metal up in the air...it has to go through test via environment then adapting, then evolving..test via environment then adapting. it is a neverending cycle.
This "Beginning of Life" occured during the late Proterozoic Eon. Roughly about 2.5 billion years ago.
Thank you for your input! I feel that we will have truly evolved when all the religious zealots kiss a book entitles "On the Origin of Species". They will disavow organized religion and give all those tithes to more worthy orginizations. See bonobo.org.
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