[extropy-chat] frozen lobsters thaw to lob another day

[Mike Lorrey]

--- "Robert J. Bradbury" <bradbury at aeiveos.com> wrote:
> 
> On Tue, 16 Mar 2004, Spike wrote:
> 
> > Is this fer real?  spike
> 
> It could very well be -- the maximal lifespan of lobsters
> remains a matter of some debate.  It could be several hundred
> years (though those long-lived big ones have mostly been
> harvested now).
> 
> One can easily compare lobsters with tortises -- top of their
> local food chain, protected from external harm, etc.  Allows
> one to evolve a very robust genome -- which may include
> being able to be frozen from time to time (the North Atlantic
> *does* get very cold).
> 
> (I had several grand-uncles whose professions were in the
> Maine lobster trade so this is something I'm reasonably
> informed about.)

Ya, lobsters just keep growing year in and year out. The world record
catch is something like 6 feet long (wouldn't want to meet that sucker
while diving).

The lobster, being a crustacean, is able to maintain a more freeze
resistant interior, such that it's key organs likely do not fully
freeze, even if its exoskeleton is trapped in ice. The survivors of the
published experiment likely had significantly higher saline levels in
their interior than the ice they became encased in.

Being descended from survivors of the Cambrian explosion, it likely
carries genes that evolved to survive through periods of earth's early
history where it was under truly Ice House conditions.

=====
Mike Lorrey
Chairman, Free Town Land Development
"Live Free or Die, Death is not the Worst of Evils."
                                       - Gen. John Stark
Sado-Mikeyism: http://mikeysoft.zblogger.com

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