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25 Years after the Exxon Valdez, Sea Otter Population at Pre-Spill Levels

ANCHORAGE — Nearly 25 years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill injured wildlife off the coast of Alaska, a new report issued today by the U.S. Geological Survey indicates that sea otters have returned to pre-spill numbers within the most heavily oiled areas of Prince William Sound.

Sea otters in the path of the oil incurred heavy mortality when 42 million liters of Prudhoe Bay crude oil were spilled in Prince William Sound in March 1989, with an estimated loss of several thousand otters. Through long-term data collection and analysis, scientists found that sea otters were slow to recover, likely because of chronic exposure to lingering oil. Other studies documented persistence of oil in the sea otter’s intertidal feeding habitats. (more…)

How Butterfly Wings Can Inspire New High-Tech Surfaces

By Guest PostNovember 11, 2012Nature, Scienceaircraft, bacteria, bharat bhushan, butterfly, butterfly wings, catheter, coated, crude oil, electron microscope, fluid flow, giant blue, gregory bixler, high tech surfaces, iconic butterfly, industrial powder, jo mcculty, medical equipment, micrometer scale feature, microscopic texture, morpho butterfly, morpho didius, nano channel, Nanotechnology, Nature, ohio, ohio state university, oriza sativa, pipelines, plastic surface, rice leaves, silicon carbide powder, south american, watercraft, wings

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A South American butterfly flapped its wings, and caused a flurry of nanotechnology research to happen in Ohio.

Researchers here have taken a new look at butterfly wings and rice leaves, and learned things about their microscopic texture that could improve a variety of products.

For example, the researchers were able to clean up to 85 percent of dust off a coated plastic surface that mimicked the texture of a butterfly wing, compared to only 70 percent off a flat surface. (more…)

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25 Years after the Exxon Valdez, Sea Otter Population at Pre-Spill Levels

How Butterfly Wings Can Inspire New High-Tech Surfaces