The only diving suit that lets a human reach 1,000 feet underwater was put on display at the American Museum of Natural History on Thursday. Dubbed the "Exosuit," the system lets humans dive to regions where bioluminescent fish lurk in the darkness, with the goal of studying the fish and their environments more closely, as well as leveraging their biology for medical research.
Prior to the invention of this suit, the primary method for collecting deep sea fish to study was dredging them up from the ocean, according to John Sparks, a curator in the department of ichthyology at the AMNH. Currently, scientists are "basing their inference of [the fishes'] flashing patterns on anatomy."
Bioluminescent proteins are a burgeoning area of exploration for biomedical science. The proteins can be used for diagnostic imaging, and Vincent Pieribone, a researcher at Yale University, stated that the proteins can be used to alter a cell's response to electrical activity. This gives them potential for use in the brain, either as a probe or as a tool for developing brain-machine interfaces.
Not only will the suit allow divers to see and potentially capture fish more safely, they will also get to image them with cameras in their natural habitat. The deep ocean is naturally hostile to humans, and therefore scientists know relatively little about it. Sparks noted that the suit will also let researchers gather more information about how creatures at those depths speciate and diversify, a process that's not currently well-known.
The suit is on exhibit at the AMNH until March 5. Its maiden dive, the Stephen J. Barlow Bluewater Expedition, is set for July of this year.
Casey Johnston is the former Culture Editor at Ars Technica, and now does the occasional freelance story. She graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Applied Physics. Twitter@caseyjohnston