The Philippine Online Chronicles

This week, scientists discovered the oldest living thing on earth, a man suits up to dive from the edge of space, and a shark eating another shark was photographed for the first time.

Mediterranean seagrass: The oldest organism on earth

Expansive patches of seagrass may be the oldest living thing on the planet, according to a study published in PLoS One.

The New Scientist reports that researchers estimate the age of the Posidonia oceanica to be over 200,000 years old, through DNA sequencing at over 40 sites spanning 3500 km of sea floor, from Spain to Cyprus.

Like all seagrasses, Posidonia oceanica reproduces via cloning, so even though meadows span several kilometers, they are genetically identical and considered one organism.

Lead researcher Carlos Duarte of the University of Western Australia in Perth, says that despite its longevity, the patches of seagrass are threatened by climate change.

“As the water warms, the organisms move slowly to higher altitudes,” he said. However, the plant “cannot move”, as “the Mediterranean is locked to the north by the European continent.”

A supersonic skydive from space

Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner is planning to be the first person to skydive at supersonic speed when he jumps from a height of over 36 km (22.73 mi) later this year.

Baumgartner, who will wear a specially-equipped suit similar to that of astronauts, will ride a modified weather balloon to 36,576 m above the ground and jump off. After 35 seconds, he will break the sound barrier (1110 km/h, due to the slower speed of sound at high altitudes).

He will deploy his parachute at 1524 m, and hopefully land safely near the launch point in New Mexico. All in all, Baumgartner will fall for approximately 10 minutes in temperatures as low as -70 °C.

The previous jump record was at 31,333 m, made in 1960 by US Air Force Colonel Joseph Kittinger.

In a different high-altitude jump in 1959, Kittinger lost consciousness after an equipment malfunction caused him to spiral to earth at 120 revolutions per minute. Blacking out due to spinning is also the greatest danger Baumgartner faces.

Baumgartner, who is sponsored by Red Bull, will announce the date of the jump by the end of the week.

It's a shark-eat-shark world

We've always known that the tasselled wobbegong shark (Eucrossorhinus dasypogon) eats other sharks, but this marks the first time the phenomenon has been photographed by researchers.

Wobbegongs, also known as carpet sharks, live around the Great Barrier Reef. They lie camouflaged, waiting for prey to swim by. The photographed wobbegong is eating a brown banded bamboo shark, which is being swallowed whole (the process is aided by the wobbegong's dislocating jaw, large gape, and rearward-pointing teeth).

During the 30 minutes the researchers observed the meal, the wobbegong did not ingest the other shark further. The researchers assume that it would have taken the wobbengong several more hours to completely consume the bamboo shark.

Wobbegongs are responsible for 13% of shark bites on humans, usually due to being stepped on.