Now We Have Answers We Can Cure It

[-----------]

"Glass Sponge" or Hexactinellid

Hexactinellid

Hexactinellid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Hexactinellid sponges are sponges with a skeleton made of four- and/or six-pointed silaceous spicules, often referred to as glass sponges." The two on the bottom left.

I have two different sets of photos that resemble what is depicted in the lower left hand corner of this diagram:

"Hexactinellids are relatively uncommon and are mostly found at substantial depths, although the species Oopsacas minuta has been found in shallow water. There are big differences between hexactinellids and other sponges."

This sounds familiar:

"One ability they do possess is a unique system for rapidly conducting electrical impulses across their bodies, making it possible for them to respond quickly to external stimuli."

"Hexactinellids like "Venus' Flower Basket" have a tuft of fibres that extends outward like an inverted crown at the base of their skeleton. These fibres are between 50 and 175 mm long and about the thickness of a human hair. They work as optical fibres that are surprisingly similar to those used in modern telecommunication networks."

[Katinka]

Hey Kammy,
that bottom left one looks just like the one I've made a picture from. Well almost.

[-----------]

Originally Posted by Katinka

Hey Kammy,
that bottom left one looks just like the one I've made a picture from. Well almost.

Yeah, I've got one photo of something that looks like that... like a snake wrapped around a fiber or stick?

What did Sarothra see in the above photo?

[-----------]

"Venus' Flower Basket"

Venus' Flower Basket - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"The Venus' Flower Basket, or Euplectella aspergillum, is the only Hexactenellida in the phylum Porifera to be used in hobbyists' aquariums. This is because Hexactinellid sponges are mainly deep ocean sponges that are not suitable for domestic aquarium environments. In traditional Asian cultures, this particular sponge was given as a wedding gift because certain bioluminescent shrimp tend to form a symbiosis with them.

Bio-inspiration

Optical fibers and solar cells

The glassy fibers that attach the sponge to the ocean floor, 5-20 cm long and thin as human hair, are of interest to fiber optics researchers. The sponge extracts silicic acid from seawater and converts it into silica, then forms it into an elaborate skeleton of glass fibers.

Other sponges such as the orange puffball sponge can also produce glass biologically. The current manufacturing process for optical fibers requires high temperatures and produces a brittle fiber. A low-temperature process for creating and arranging such fibers, inspired by sponges, could offer more control over the optical properties of the fibers. These nano-structures are also potentially useful for the creation of more efficient, low-cost solar cells.

References
[1] "Glassy sponge has better fiber optics than man-made", William McCall, AP, August 20, 2003

[2] "Biological glass fibers: Correlation between optical and structural properties" Joanna Aizenberg et al. PNAS 2004

[3] "Silicon and Sun," Kevin Bullis, Technology Review Nov./Dec. 2006
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus%27_Flower_Basket"

[-----------]

Katinka - our friend is here again... did you notice this is an aspergillum family member?

Haven't our fibers been compared to or reported to be made of 'silica'?

[Katinka]

Yes Kammy I saw that.

I was just thinking if we all got this by eating fish? I ate alot salmon last summer before this all started. Could be the fish are "contaminated" with these aquatic organisms?

It wouldn't wonder me...everything is polluted. The ocean too due to global warming. Some aquatic organisms that usally live in deep water reach nearly the surface due to overwarmth of the sea.

On another post I read someone said he/she got Morgellons Disease after eating fish.

hmmmm, don't know...somethings going on.

Katinka

[sarothra]

I think that's the remains of a nematode that has been devoured by the hyphae fibers in the mycelium of arthrobotrys. The colored fibers are remnants of the body part of the aquatic organism, who shall be nameless at this point.
Somebody help me find that (Morgellons) site about the lady who took a picture of the green tadpole thing that came out of her skin in the bath.
This will help identify it.
I think it is crucial to identify. Just saying it's an aquatic organism won't be enough to rid ourselves of it. We have to know if it has an external or internal skeleton, is it a crustacean/invertebrate - all that good stuff. What is its life span. For that matter, can the fungus keep reproducing indefinitely - it's eating us to, not just the nematodes - it is what they call FACULTATIVE rather than obligatory, meaning it can eat whatever is available (facultative)- rather than having to rely on one specific host (obligatory). Since these are carnivorous, it seems they are just having a field day on our bodies, catching nematodes, making sticky traps, and if not enough nematodes and/or aquatic organisms are around, well, it can just dine on us...
Oh, this is just not OK.

[sarothra]

Explain to me why you think there is a sponge involved. Pictures, signs/symptoms, etc.

signed,
spongebob

[-----------]

Here's some that look like what's growing in the dish. Indicated by the arrows:

[Katinka]

...Haven't our fibers been compared to or reported to be made of 'silica'?...

Yes I have read that somewhere today.

Isn't there a similarity? like human hair, glass fibers, fibre optics, creating fibers, nanostructure??

Is this itching we all have due to glass fibers..like glass wool or fiber glass?

Fiberglass - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Katinka