About the Cover
The cover art depicts an I-Spy styled collage of different animals with a magnifying glass in the middle.
When we hear the word “niche” we may think of one of two things. For most, you may think of a niche interest, a hobby or passion that few people may partake in. For others, perhaps those more biologically inclined, they may think of ecological niches. Still, regardless of the applicable jargon, a niche encapsulates something personal. Whether in the context of liking something obscure, or a specific species that takes up a certain environment under certain conditions, both are equally meaningful to different people (and or species.) The different plastic animals are meant to represent these niches in both a literal and figurative sense. For the magnifying glass casting light in the middle, it signifies niches yet to be discovered or ones that deserve spotlight, attention, and to be shared, much like the toys featured. Overall, we live on a weird and wonderful planet and the beauty in our differences is something meant to be appreciated and celebrated rather than hidden away.
Cover art designed and conceptualized by
Anya Dimanlig Artist, HELIX Publications
A Letter from the Editor
The modern world is rife with these contradictions, of opposites that can never reconcile no matter the circumstance. One such fact is familiar to us: science is the antithesis of the humanities, fated to never mix like water with oil. Despite this, it is undeniable that science has made its home in society—its very own niche.
A niche has two stark definitions that are seemingly irreconcilable but are two sides of the same coin: a role played by an organism in an ecosystem or the specialization of a field. Although science may seem distant with its jargon and technicalities, it is undeniable that its vast and limitless fields have touched our world. However, just how many advancements have flown under our collective radar because of how niche it was?
In this issue, HELIX brings forth the many scientific contributions led by obscure disciplines. Steadily, society has begun to welcome and accept it. By bringing attention to the lesser-known fields of science, HELIX hopes to inspire its readers to dig deeper, learn more, and discover the numerous prospects in science. Through this, no longer will science be considered a dark horse, rather, it will become a light that permeates the modern world.
Francesca Danielle O. Suguitan Editor-in-Chief, HELIX Publications
Alfonso Bello Editor-in-Chief 2023-2024
The HELIX Team
Aug-Sep 2024
HELIX Editorial Board
Francesca Danielle Suguitan Associate Editor 2023-2024
Vince Albarillo News Editor 2023-2024
Mike Aaron Banguis Creative Editor 2023-2024
Alexis Bienne Montaller Explorer Editor 2023-2024
News
Annix Laude News Writer 2023-2024
Riz Balaga Explorer Writer 2023-2024
Lane Ringor Artist 2023-2024
Florence Nualla Artist 2023-2024
Betty Mercado News Writer 2023-2024
Explorer
Tim Dumlao Explorer Writer 2023-2024
Creatives
Anya Dimanlig Artist 2023-2024
Kayla Baang Artist 2023-2024
Derreck De Leon News Writer 2023-2024
Jacob Pagulayan Explorer Writer 2023-2024
Sophia Dumlao Artist 2023-2024
Jeremy Eviota Artist 2023-2024
1 Ateneo BOx Flourishes: Most Outstanding Advocacy Group Bloomed Aplenty
3 A Radical Domino
5 RenaICEssance: Cryobiology’s Frozen Answer to Resurrection
7 Humanity’s Last Stand
9 Here Be Sea Serpents…“Oar” Not?
Ateneo BOx Flourishes: Most Outstanding Advocacy Group Bloomed Aplenty
Written by Vince Albarillo
Following a strong start to the latter half of AY 2023–2024, the Ateneo Biological Organization (BOx) pulled through with successful implementations of multiple largescale projects from March to May of AY 2023–2024. Former BOx President Andrea Joyce Peñaflor (4 BS BIO) said that the second semester of AY 2023–2024 was about asking the bigger questions and looking past the usual superficialities in implementing large scale projects with the main advocacies of the organization.
“The general theme was [also] trying to zero in on what type of advocacies we can amplify,” she stated, highlighting this as a bigger pressure for the incoming term.
“Now that you have this foundation— members are very invested, they love what they’re doing—the next thing you have to think about is [the possible impacts] and how [these can be finetuned] for [serving specific] communities,” she finished.
Peñaflor stresses the necessity of bringing nuance to the three main advocacies and creating projects that reach out to other sectors, which was the general theme of this year’s projects.
Empowering young scientists
Within the 7th Philippine Biology Olympiad (PBO): SULONG, activities that were not necessarily part of the competitive aspect, such as Into the Wild, The Amazing Race and Socials Night, successfully provided a platform for building a community of younger scientists.
“PBO is very well delineated from other Olympiads because it does not just take into account the brutal aspect of testing these kids, but also [has] a formative aspect to it,” Peñaflor stated.
The core team, spearheaded by Olympiad Directors Oona Barnes (BS BIO ‘24), Isabelle Salazar (BS BIO ‘24), and Mia Agudo (4 BS LfSci) shared this vision of presenting participants with different perspect ives, giving them spaces to contemplate, make a stance, and realize their potential as upcoming scientists.
“[That] allows the participants to more critically assess [why they are studying biology without looking further than around them],” Agudo stated.
On March 15, the first day of semi-finals, the 55 qualified
participants had a dry laboratory workshop and theoretical exams. The following day, however, consisted not only of practical exams and a cell and molecular biology laboratory workshop, but also of the Amazing Race held on SEC FIeld and all SEC foyers.
As Theoretical Exams Head Andrew Tumulak (4 BS HS) had put it, there are only four winners at the end of the day. “[For everyone else], I feel like what they’re going to be taking away [is] that this is an Olympiad that doesn’t just care [about just the mental aptitude of participants], it’s also [one that] cares [about high schoolers] doing things [that they find] fun,” he stated.
Although PBO was about selecting the four people to participate in the International Biology Olympiad (IBO), it was also about proving they are more than just the numbers they get from the assessments.
At the end of it all, Andre Gerard C. Aw (MGC New Life Christian Academy) came out as the PBO Champion followed by first runnerup Lauren T. Reyes (Saint Jude Catholic School), second runner-up Francesca R. Muya (PSHS-Main), and third runner-up Chloe Marie L. Zampaga (PSHS-Main). Last July, the latter three, together with Angela Yabut who had to represent in place of Aw, brought home one bronze medal and three merit citations from Kazakhstan’s IBO 2024.
Mending mangroves
Continuing with the theme of more nuanced and targeted projects, BOx’s flagship event, BOx4Bakawan: Calatagan Rehabilitation and Community Engagement, was done in partnership with the Calatagan Reef Patrollers (CAREPAS), marking the first iteration of the Marine Rehabilitation project since November 2019.
The core team of BOx4Bakawan, spearheaded by Project Heads Elle Lavitoria (4 BS BIO) and Covy Angeles (4 BS BIO), wanted to give CAREPAS a platform to establish their presence in the Ateneo community and emphasize the advocacies of marine conservation and climate justice.
The first phase of the project, Ocean’s Week, was implemented from April 15 to 19, at the SEC B and C foyers. It was aimed at the promotion of collaborative rehabilitation efforts through interactive onsite activities.
CAREPAS provided primers describing the current situation of the Calatagan Wetlands, supplemented by the mangrove display installation and clean-up simulations held in the following days. Marine-ig ang Tinig was a series of talks given by representatives of SOSE Sanggunian, Ateneo Environmental Science Society, AGILA, and CAREPAS at the SEC C Foyer.
“All of the activities were hitting certain groups that are not necessarily just the Patrollers,” Peñaflor declared. “We tried to bring environmental conservation to elementary students, [who] were able to go to the SEC foyer.”
BOx4Bakawan concluded with the main event, Marine Rehabilitation, when 137 students went to Kuya Jessie’s resort at Brgy. Gulod, Calagan, Batangas–a majority of which are freshmen and sophomores. This was done on April 27.
Through the cleanup of the mangrove and seagrass areas, as well as engagements with CAREPAS, lifeguards and Bantay Dagat,
they were able to see firsthand and act alongside the beneficiaries of the project.
A visible, impactful organization
This streak of organizational successes have not gone unnoticed, with the organization becoming more visible to the greater community as the semester progressed.
For instance, Ateneo BOx’s participation in the week-long COAllective 2024, alongside other student organizations, allowed it to showcase the long line of merchandise from both past and present projects through LootBOx, including products from Metamorphosis, LaunchBOx, and LoveBOx ‘23 and ‘24. By the end, the organization was able to garner first place in two of three categories: Most Profitable and Most Creative.
At the end of the year, the organization also gained laurels and was officially recognized by COA-M during its Alab-themed Awards ceremony, winning Project of the Year through LoveBOx 2024: Aurora Amore and Organization of the Year. Peñaflor and Agudo were also able to win Organization Leader of the Year and Unsung Hero of the Year respectively.
Select members also gained renown in the People’s Choice awards: Jesh Quiambao (4 BS BIO) for the Blue Moon Award, Katarina Aala (3 BS LfSci) for the Blooming Award, and Kim Ronquillo (4 BS BIO) for the Early Bird Award. Notably, Bryan San Diego (4 BS BIO) was nominated for the Vince Jr. Award while William the Whale was nominated for Mascot of the Year.
The most prestigious of all was that Ateneo BOx was awarded as the Most Outstanding Student Group by the Ateneo Awards for Leadership and Service held last June.
Peñaflor, ecstatic for the wins, emphasized that the glory of Ateneo BOx is a win for all its members.
“Their contributions have, in a way, most likely influenced the way that other people inside the organization would want to participate and contribute to all the other projects and causes,” she stated, reiterating that she wants BOx to be an organization that members are proud of.
“We [gave] our best, [but not just for the merit], as nothing compares to the morale boost members feel when the organization they identify with is doing well,” she finished.
She hopes that this trajectory of working beyond the perceived limits of the core advocacies and reaching out to face uncomfortable realities outside the Ateneo is something that the next administration will continue to work on.
“Don’t be afraid to take risks and do well while you’re here,” Peñaflor concludes, urging present and future members to have confidence in themselves and holistically balance the commitments they have, knowing that the future in fighting for one’s advocacies will be turbulent but fulfilling.
A Radical Domino
Written by Enzo Bello / Illustrated by Mika Elfa
It was a rainy, late afternoon, heavy traffic along Shaw Boulevard. My father, sleeping in the front seat of our old Toyota, was approached by a beggar and her child. She tapped on his window, staring through the tinted glass and hoping to receive aid. Immediately, a crackling sound came out of my father’s pockets—it was Skyflakes. At the time, even my six-year-old self knew that my father was saving that for later, as part of his first meal for the day, yet he rolled down the window and gave his Skyflakes and a 50-peso bill away.
My six-year-old brain couldn’t really comprehend what had happened. Here he was, meeting with someone he had never met before or someone he would never meet if he had just ignored them. He could’ve just slept and eaten his Skyflakes later on. He gave away his only immediate food and the only bill left in his wallet. Put another way, he sacrificed a little of his for something so big for someone else.
It was one of the highlights of my childhood, and one that made me really understand how people worked: love shouldn’t be selective. That day, I learned that the “wisest” action isn’t always the most moral or compassionate, love isn’t black or white.
Love and Everything Nice
Scientifically, love could just be characteristic of mating. We think we love someone or someone loves us when they cuddle, kiss, or mate with us. Socially, it’s a little different. We define love by our actions and give it classifications. Kisses don’t necessarily have to be romantic if they are pecks on our cheek by family members nor are hugs romantic when it is received by friends. However, we still limit our capability to love when we define it as familial, platonic, or romantic. I like to believe love and its variants are embedded within us; no definitions.
That is, when you put compassion, empathy, and everything nice in the mix, we give ourselves the capacity to feel others even without physically touching them. In scientific terms, it is like an exquisite interplay of neural networks that enable us to perceive the emotions of others, resonate with them emotionally and cognitively, to take in the perspective of others, and to distinguish between our own and others’ emotions.1
In this way, we put human respect and concern for the other front and center into the interactions of our lives. By keeping this in mind, people should not ignore the possibility that something good might happen or grow off of your good, no matter how small that good is—how nice would that be?
It’s a domino effect. We do something good for ourselves without affecting others and, in turn, we might intentionally or otherwise do something good to someone else for them to then do something good in their life and perhaps affect another person as well. Some might call it “paying it forward.”
So, in as much as every little bad act can build up to be a bad habit, every subtle compliment and sign of affection also counts to be a good one that might’ve just prevented a bad one.
The world, however, does not work that way.
Love Anyway
Presently, we live in a world that is so divisive and full of violence, struggles, and defeats because it is built up from a lack of understanding and, with that, a lack of love. You hear it all the time that cruel dictators, corrupt politicians, and greedy businessmen have all grown to be selfish because of their experiences, most from a place void of love.
As foolish as it might be to say that we should love these “evil people”—no, we should not—we must nonetheless prevent more “evil people” from rising or “evil ideas” from brewing seemingly by spreading a little more free love and understanding. By loving, we contrast the all-too-often objectification and dehumanization of the human condition we see today, we unironically become the “bigger person” by doing so.
We don’t come from the same circumstances nor the same contexts. We do not know what people have been through to be in such circumstances in the first place and, even if we did, we don’t entirely know their entire thought process. After all, we weren’t built to understand and interpret every single person we come by and their every single decision that affects us—it is so much harder to do so. So would it not be better to understand them and temper our own emotions?
Scientists today still argue how our emotions are formed and, in turn, our emotion-oriented actions, but I believe it to be simple when it comes to love. Loving is part of our nature, and in the words of the monk Thomas Merton: our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. When you do so, it starts the domino.
Love to Live
We see this domino all the time. Love led to the bloodless toppling of a dictatorship in EDSA in 1986, led to the many rights we enjoy today, and led to the spirit of human decency formed over centuries of human existence. Love enables us to do the most amazing things.
Of these things is science! Science exists because humans are too curious and want to truly understand the world around us so that we may pay it forward to both the environment and the future of our race. While great scientists may have been hermits, their mere obsession and competition of understanding was also their love for it.
More specifically, medicine exists because people loved each other enough to want each other to live longer, healthier lives. Astronomy exists because someone loved the stars and planets enough to track them through their ever changing position in the darkest nights. This curiosity has sent cameras worlds away to sample planets, telescopes to know of the infinite galaxies and stars many light years away.
We sent the preserved sound of 55 languages, star coordinates, the sound of rain, laughter, pictures of people, 90 minutes of the world’s music because we figured out the physics and imagery of how to do so. We sent the most simple loving things we could find to potential life out there so that they would know that they were never alone. Most things that are good for us exist because of love. Quite literally, we exist because of love.
So, when I think back to my dad’s actions, I like to think that love was a natural response, that he knew that the one pack of Skyflakes and that 50-peso bill might brighten up that mom’s day. Just maybe that mom grew out of poverty, raised her baby well, and passed the good forward. If there’s even a slight chance that it could happen, then why not? In a world that feeds on hate, love— because it is far more normal to hate and feed on desires, and much more radical to love one another. Love and let the radical dominoes fall.
Written by Jhazzel Timothy Dumlao / Illustrated by Mika Elfa
From the classic tale of Rip Van Winkle, the futuristic adventures of Buck Rogers, up to the modern story of Captain America, these fictional characters have traversed epochs, awakening to find themselves in unfamiliar worlds shaped by the passage of centuries. Could there exist a world where frost-laden mechanisms intersect with modern day scientific inquiry?
Though from heroes that are frozen to preserve and all their biological processes, and whose abilities center around ice or frost manipulation, prompts intriguing speculation: could the utilization of extreme cold conditions offer a pathway towards reanimation? Beyond the realms of fiction lies a realm where the boundaries between imagination and reality blur—cryobiology.
A Freezing Miracle
Cryobiology, as a discipline, touches on the implications of low temperatures effects on living things, causing us to ponder ethical questions like the rebirth of a dead person. Many key areas here include cryonics, hibernation, and life preservation, which carries the exciting prospect of being able to extend human life and revolutionize medicine. With cryonic heroes, individuals who have been enrolled in cryopreservation come also being frozen in time with the hope that their bodies be eventually retrieved.
Freezing is lethal to most living systems, yet it can also preserve cells and may someday permit the long-time storage of whole viable organs.1 Although the freezing point of the cell’s cytoplasm is usually above -1°C, cells generally remain unfrozen and supercooled to -10°C to -15°C, even when ice is present in the external medium.
This indicates that the cell membrane can prevent the crystallization of external ice into the supercooled
interior, and further indicates that cells neither are, nor contain, effective crystallization agents of supercooled water.1 In this way, even though the surroundings of the cell are frozen to the core, its organelles or the working parts remain intact and functional, which paves the way for the plausibility of cryobiology.
Moreover, those engaged in long-term journeys could be in a state of suspended animation, thereby conserving fuel and life-sustaining supplies as well as exposing astronauts to minimal risks brought about by exposure to space deluges over a long duration.2 As Buck Rogers did inside his cosmic capsule and went into suspended animation to reach a distant centurvy, so could the future astronauts whose bodies will be inside artificial modules and be in a sick bay that will maintain them in the midst of space against illness and aging.3 However, future cosmonauts should take note that the risk for muscle atrophy and physical weakness may remain because of their stasis.
Cellular Magic
As mentioned, cryobiology—particularly in the realm of cryonics—offers a tantalizing prospect for real-life applications, potentially revolutionizing medicine and extending human lifespan. Extremely cold sub-zero temperatures completely stops the cells’ activity and keeps the tissues at a perfectly viable state until medical tools evolve. This is especially significant because cryonics allows for an individual to enter a state of stasis which allows for future medical advancements.
One such revolution that cryobiology holds promise to is in the field of organ transplantation.4 Current limitations in organ storage and transport often result in significant delays between donor retrieval and recipient transplantation.4 An earlier example of this concept
in action is the Static cold storage (SCS), a simple and effective way to preserve and transport organs and is the most commonly used method. However, given that it is only in its baby steps, tissue damage induced by prolonged hypothermic preservation, difficulty in assessing donor organ function and viability, and limited opportunity for organ repair hinders further success with
In effect, cryopreservation halts biological time and overcomes the limitations of existing low-temperature storage technologies—a powerful tool for achieving long-term storage of tissues and organs.5 This will not only lead to solving the organ shortage issue but also will improve transplant outcomes and patient survival.
At the heart of cryobiology lies the tantalizing prospect of resurrecting deceased individuals through the prudent manipulation of freezing temperatures.8 However, this pursuit requires further research into the biophysical properties of tissue conservation and the crystallization in cellular structures. Apart frovm this, ethical concerns and technical restrictions arise when the deceased are involved. From vitrification methodologies to precision-controlled cooling protocols, ongoing research endeavors promise to push the boundaries of cryogenic interventions further.9
On top of that, cryobiology offers hope for medical decisions under critical conditions and emergency response operations. In cases of severe traumatic injury, such as massive hemorrhage or cardiac arrest, traditional resuscitative measures may be insufficient to prevent irreversible tissue damage and organ failure.6 As a life-support intervention, cryopreservation techniques could be used as a last-minute option to slow cellular metabolism and grant urgent medical teams a greater chance to administer life-saving treatment.7
Renaissance or Unprincipled?
Cryobiology constitutes a multifaceted realm encompassing the study of cryopreservation techniques, with applications ranging from medical interventions to biotechnological advancements. The most important purpose of research is the elucidation of the interactions between the cells and tissue and the complex impact of cold extremes.
The ethical dimensions of freezing human tissue, particularly the heart, evoke reflections on the sanctity of life and the ethical implications of intervening in the natural order. Cases of consent, agency, and the protection of human value raise the ethical dilemmas, which characterize cryobiological operations. Nevertheless, the consistent growth in cryopreservation technology as well as biomedical research keeps on pushing back the boundary of the unchangeable, bringing hope for a future that there will be a bypass for permanent death.
Life and death are undoubtedly the top two things that all human beings are afraid of but in our quest for preserving life are we really respecting it? As a society, we should move towards conscious handling of the ethical dimensions of the manipulation process of life and death. Stepping into the future the cryobiology projection is stretched with a new perspective about death on how individuals can be revived via profound existential inquiries into the very quintessence of being human.
Written by Jacob Pagulayan / Illustrated by Kayla Baang
It is the year 2077, the human population is rapidly declining, and the best scientists around the world are finding a way to genetically modify modern-day humans in order to optimize their adaptability to their environment of limited resources and poor conditions. How could this be possible? There’s the physical manifestation of change but more understated is the role of our behavior.
Of course, we inherit more than just our appearance and physical traits from our parents—in a different way, we become a reflection of them, but did you know that behavioral inheritance doesn’t just encapsulate humans but animals too? This is where Behavioral genetics— study of genetic and environmental influences on behaviors—comes into play.1
Genes at Work
These behavioral genes range in functions, from controlling intelligence, trauma, stress control, and even stress resilience. Unlike other fields, what behavioral genetics addresses is rather unique. A variety of genes can be responsible for any of these traits with some relying on more genes than others.2
for mood regulation and aids in trauma response to prevent stressors to severely affect an individual’s mood.5, 6 Primarily, trauma-resilient individuals are formed not through experimental methods as with intelligence but through means of emotional formation that go beyond biology.
Through external factors, serotonergic genes that are responsible for regulating serotonin signaling and neurotransmission are modified which affect trauma response.5 Stress also plays a major part in trauma response, and how humans perceive stress also has a genetic basis. The FKBP5 gene plays a crucial role in modulating stress responses, epigenetically getting modified due to external factors. This gene is accompanied by the R3C1 Gene that regulates the body’s neuroendocrine response to stress.6
One such example is intelligence, a complex aspect that’s not yet fully defined or understood, due to its polygenic nature.3 Approximately, 206 genomic loci or regions on the DNA, are responsible for intelligence consisting of around 1041 genes responsible for cognitive ability.2
Despite the abundance of genes responsible for intelligence, very low differences are observed in cognitive function in humans. These tiny variances are caused by tiny, single-point changes in the DNA by singlenucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that cause functional changes affecting cognitive abilities. By analyzing the functions of specific loci responsible for intelligence as well as the changes that occur due to variation in SNPs, intelligence can be more fully understood.2
The same understanding, however, cannot be applied to trauma. If SNPs cause changes in intelligence, entire DNA strands may change due to personal experience. Put simply, as children, our learnt alphabet remains unchanged but through our experiences, we write our own stories that are unique to us and us alone.That is, certain environmental factors can affect how our genetic information is expressed, contributing to our behavior and reaction to trauma, this is what we epigenetics. Of most importance to trauma is serotonin, responsible
Despite the objectivity of cellular processes such as the activation and inactivation of genes, when these processes occur is subjective or case-to-case.7 Ultimately, it is our experiences that dictate our behaviors and responses to our surroundings. All of these still beg the question however: why are these traits advantageous and how can they be leveraged to ensure human adaptation to their environment, especially in harsh conditions?
I Am Fearless
In the theoretical world of 2077, many more environmental stressors may arise, and it is important that humanity is equipped to competently deal with these conditions, and eventually adapt to them.
Intelligence plays a major role in survival. It provides survival advantages for organisms in complex environments, enabling them to adapt, reason, plan, solve problems, and learn.8 As we may all know, this has been the survival advantage of humanity for millions of years adapting to harsh conditions over the years such as that of the Ice Age.
Particularly, calm minds are more likely to make better decisions, and meditation has been shown to enhance decision-making through the regulation of negative and positive emotions, thereby improving cognitive control and emotion management.12 Thus, through better decision-making, humans may be able to make crucial decisions despite stressful conditions, boosting chances of survival.
The benefits of trauma, on the other hand, may not be as clear-cut as intelligence. More often than not, trauma is associated with diseases such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD); however, trauma may also be beneficial in ensuring survival. It can trigger the human survival response, which is designed to protect us from danger—allowing individuals to take actions in response to stressors.13
In such a dangerous world, Intelligence and trauma response could go hand-in-hand in a human’s capabilities to survive, learn, and adapt. Intelligence would not be much of use if trauma response is poor and vice-versa. It can also be said that, in terms of genes responsible for trauma response, they are only beneficial when their functions are moderated, and this may be partly affected by external factors.12
New Genes?
Though, unlike dealing with physical traits such as hair color or skin tone, behavioral traits are not fully dependent on the genes themselves. As previously discussed, external factors such as human experiences determine the expression of these genes. However, more emphasis must be placed on how the external environment may shape human behavior.
For instance, trauma is a result of experiencing distressing events that exceed the normal range of human experiences, leading to severe emotional responses. When a human is exposed to various physical and nonphysical trauma, serotonin levels drop significantly by reducing serotonin receptors.14 This directly affects how an individual deals with trauma or stressful environments which may not benefit the resilience of an individual.
Perhaps then, the most important step in allowing people to be more resilient is by creating an environment that allows an individual to nurture one’s emotions and one’s mind. Establishing warm and secure relationships that serve as a safe space for expressing one’s emotion is one way to achieve this goal.15 In fact, establishing good and healthy relationships actually foster balanced serotonin levels correlating to better moods and less stress.16
The physical environment also plays a major role in preventing stress. Research has shown that exposure to natural environments, such as green spaces and natural environments, can reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, improve mood, and reduce psychological stress.16 Thus, protecting the environment is also another step that must be taken to foster a stress-free and trauma-free environment.
It is through these that epigenetic changes occur in the human DNA, whether for the good or for the worse, and we see that the responsibility to foster resilient humans belongs not just to scientists, but to all of us—not just in the year 2077, but right now.
Most people were told intriguing legends about monstrous beings such as the sea serpent in childhood. In the Philippines, the behemoth equivalent is the Bakunawa, a dragonesque creature that wanted to swallow the seven moons that the gods created. Out of seven moons, it had to leave just one after uproar from civilians.1 Whenever the Bakunawa would eat a moon the ground would shake,2 and thus it was believed to be a bringer of eclipses and earthquakes.3
Animal enthusiasts and scientists today have been on the search for these cryptids’ real-life counterparts. While sea snakes seem like possible contenders for the Bakunawa, they lack the grand proportions of its mythological counterpart. A more formidable match would be the longest bony fish alive: Regalecus glesne, commonly named the giant oarfish.
Here Be Sea Serpents… “Oar” Not?
Written by Annix Laude / Illustrated by Aki Banguis
Elusive Entity
Giant oarfish typically grow to tremendous lengths of 45–50 feet and have a characteristic “mane” of red hair running down their necks that most likely aid in species recognition.4 This unique trait gives them the “king of herrings” nickname: their manes resemble crowns and they are often seen with schools of herring.5 They are distributed worldwide in the depths, but they are thought to be found 1,000–3,000 meters below the ocean’s surface.6 While fascinating, not much is known about oarfish as they are rarely encountered live. However, it is a figure prominent in mythology.
Oarfish cement themselves in Japanese folklore as imperial messengers. It is thought that sightings of them in shallow waters or beaching incidents mark the coming of catastrophe as harbingers of earthquakes.7 These occurrences could be tied to the Bakunawa myth since both creatures are associated with the natural disaster. While oarfish beaching may incite fear that doom may strike, such an occurrence and earthquakes are not correlated.
Baffling Beaching
Beaching incidents involving oarfish have occurred since 2016, with the most recent incident happening in February 2024.8 While this phenomenon is poorly understood, it is speculated that strong currents underwater wash oarfish onto shores.9 This can be tied to oarfish physiology as they have little body muscle, which makes it challenging to survive in turbulent waters.8 When washed up, their vibrant colors fade and thus, they die shortly after.9
A more probable hypothesis for beaching could be because fish normally flock to shallow waters to obtain food or seek safety.8 Seeing oarfish in these places can be a good bioindicator of ocean health,10 as their migratory habits can help regulate plankton and small
fish populations, subsequently promoting efficient nutrient cycling.11 This phenomenon, however, can be an impending sign of ecosystem destruction and an urgent call to action.8
A Cause for Conservation
While the oarfish is currently listed as “Least Concern” by the IUCN, there is still limited data to update its conservation status.12 However, this does not mean humanity should be complacent about its safety. External threats such as commercial fishing trawlers, deep-sea mining, and water pollution can still significantly affect marine populations.10 Having limited information about these enigmatic deep-sea species should be a call to learning more about them and aiding in their conservation.
The deep sea can serve numerous purposes and reasons for marine wildlife to thrive. Not only can it serve as a refuge from acidic and warm waters from climate change, but it also houses rich carbon storage sites and promotes nutrient cycling.13 Above all, it provides great opportunities for marine biology expeditions and education, as there are still tons to uncover about this mysterious ecosystem. Encountering “monsters” should not instigate fear, but rather intrigue and desire to know more about our dynamic world.
References
Explorer
RenaICEssance: Cryobiology’s Frozen Answer to Resurrection
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2. Baggaley K. 2017. ‘Cryosleep’ May Open the Door to Deep Space. Here’s How [Internet]. NBC News. [cited 2024 Apr 17]. Available from: https://www.nbcnews. com/mach/tech/cryosleep-may-be-key-deepspace-missions-here-s-how-ncna770961
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Humanity’s Last Stand
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Here Be Sea Serpents…“Oar” Not?
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Opinion
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HELIX 2024