Dan Distel Director, Ocean Genome Legacy Center & Professor of Marine Science at Northeastern University d.distel@neu.edu (781) 581 7370 Expertise Marine Biology, Marine Science, Oceanography Dan Distel in the Press A New Creature Emerges From a Forest Drowned by the Gulf of Mexico The creature was tiny, about the size and color of a grain of rice. Dan Distel, director of the Ocean Genome Legacy Center at Northeastern University in Boston, wasn’t exactly sure what it was, other than a mussel of some kind. Finding a Retirement Home for 466 Frozen Flatworm Fragments “I didn’t want to keep them in the freezer in my basement,” Dr. Litvaitis said of her flatworms, adding that blackouts are not uncommon in her New Hampshire neighborhood. She reached out to the Ocean Genome Legacy Center, a marine DNA genome bank near Boston that is part of Northeastern University, to see if it […] Revealed: The Shipworm Sex Tapes At the time, Dr. Shipway was a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of the marine biologist Dan Distel at Northeastern University, part of which is safely housed in a former World War II bunker. Dr. Distel, the director of Northeastern University Ocean Genome Legacy Center and an author on the paper, studies shipworm symbionts, which are the […] Watch the Wild, Never-Before-Seen Orgies of the Humble Shipworm Shipworm reproduction has not been extensively studied, which prompted Shipway—and co-authors Nancy Treneman of the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology and Daniel Distel of Northeastern University—to deploy pine panels off the coast of Charleston, Oregon, in November 2016. Creatures In This Underwater Forest Could Save Your Life One Day But they entrusted this group of scientists, led by Dan Distel, a shipworm marine biologist and director of Northeastern’s Ocean Genome Legacy Center, with the highly guarded coordinates for that day’s expedition. A front would arrive that afternoon, but during that narrow window on Tuesday morning, it was safe enough for the 46-foot ship to circle over the […] Discover Scientists Find a Shipworm That Eats, and Lives Inside, Rocks “It is unlike any other shipworm, both in its appearance and its unusual habits, and this was apparent from the very first moment I laid eyes on it,” says marine biologist Dan Distel, executive director of the Ocean Genome Legacy Center at Northeastern University and senior author of the June paper describing the animal in […] The Critters Doing $114 Million in Damage to Brooklyn’s Piers Marine borers have plagued port cities around the world for centuries, according to Dan Distel, the director of the Ocean Genome Legacy Center at Northeastern University in Massachusetts. This Creature Eats Stone. Sand Comes Out the Other End. Reuben Shipway and Daniel Distel of Northeastern University, members of the Philippine Mollusk Symbiont International Collaborative Biodiversity Group, went in search of the creatures with snorkeling masks and chisels in tow. What’s Pink and Pinstriped and Digests Wood? This New Shipworm The discovery, which was reported in the journal PeerJ on Thursday, occurred during a feverish episode of wading through mangroves and scuba diving in coastal waters looking for wood that contained shipworm burrows. The [Northeastern] team brought their finds to the parking lot of a beachgoers’ hotel, where, wearing headlamps and wielding axes, they extracted […] The New Yorker The Loch Ness monster of mollusks “My freshman microbiology professor liked to say, ‘If it wasn’t for shipworms, we’d be speaking Spanish today,’ ” Daniel Distel, a marine biologist and the director of the Ocean Genome Legacy Center, at Northeastern University, told me recently. Distel is a shipworm scientist, and earlier this week he and an international team of colleagues announced […] Dan Distel for Northeastern Global News New species of mussel that lives in an ancient undersea forest discovered by Northeastern marine scientist New species of mussel that lives in an ancient undersea forest discovered by Northeastern marine scientist The discovery makes the tiny mollusk the first species to be found as part of the Ocean Census project to discover 100,000 new species. Was a baby great white shark caught on camera for the first time? Northeastern expert explains why it could be major discovery Was a baby great white shark caught on camera for the first time? Northeastern expert explains why it could be major discovery A marine biologist says more work needs to be done to confirm the facts but if it's true it could help us study and protect the species. Unlike humans, shipworms have no problem with bacteria getting in their cells. Why? Unlike humans, shipworms have no problem with bacteria getting in their cells. Why? Studying the helpful kind of bacteria in shipworms may help researchers understand dangerous infections in humans. Here’s what we can learn from the bacteria in the clam that sank a thousand ships Here’s what we can learn from the bacteria in the clam that sank a thousand ships Shipworms are long, thin mollusks famed (and feared) for their ability to eat wood. They rely on bacterial partners to break the wood down. It’s a clam that dresses in pinstripes and devours wood It’s a clam that dresses in pinstripes and devours wood Researchers from Northeastern’s Ocean Genome Legacy Center in Nahant, MA, discovered a new species of wood-boring clam in the Philippines. New York authorities and Ocean Genome Legacy Center investigate fish mislabeling, revealing fakes New York authorities and Ocean Genome Legacy Center investigate fish mislabeling, revealing fakes An investigation with NU's Ocean Genome Legacy Center found that species are misidentified in over a quarter of the fish sold at NY grocery stories. It’s #CephalopodWeek! Here’s all you need to know about the stealthiest creatures in the ocean. It’s #CephalopodWeek! Here’s all you need to know about the stealthiest creatures in the ocean. Cephalopods—which include octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish—can change their color, shape, and texture to blend in with their background. ‘Unicorn’ shipworm could reveal clues about human medicine and bacterial infections ‘Unicorn’ shipworm could reveal clues about human medicine and bacterial infections Professor Daniel Distel and his colleagues say studying the giant shipworm could add to our understanding of how bacteria cause infection. Researchers discover new digestive strategy in shipworms Researchers discover new digestive strategy in shipworms An international research team led by Dan Distel, director of the Ocean Genome Legacy at Northeastern University, has discovered a novel digestive strategy in a wood-boring clam. The breakthrough, the researchers say, may also be a game-changer for the industrial production of clean biofuels.
A New Creature Emerges From a Forest Drowned by the Gulf of Mexico The creature was tiny, about the size and color of a grain of rice. Dan Distel, director of the Ocean Genome Legacy Center at Northeastern University in Boston, wasn’t exactly sure what it was, other than a mussel of some kind.
Finding a Retirement Home for 466 Frozen Flatworm Fragments “I didn’t want to keep them in the freezer in my basement,” Dr. Litvaitis said of her flatworms, adding that blackouts are not uncommon in her New Hampshire neighborhood. She reached out to the Ocean Genome Legacy Center, a marine DNA genome bank near Boston that is part of Northeastern University, to see if it […]
Revealed: The Shipworm Sex Tapes At the time, Dr. Shipway was a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of the marine biologist Dan Distel at Northeastern University, part of which is safely housed in a former World War II bunker. Dr. Distel, the director of Northeastern University Ocean Genome Legacy Center and an author on the paper, studies shipworm symbionts, which are the […]
Watch the Wild, Never-Before-Seen Orgies of the Humble Shipworm Shipworm reproduction has not been extensively studied, which prompted Shipway—and co-authors Nancy Treneman of the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology and Daniel Distel of Northeastern University—to deploy pine panels off the coast of Charleston, Oregon, in November 2016.
Creatures In This Underwater Forest Could Save Your Life One Day But they entrusted this group of scientists, led by Dan Distel, a shipworm marine biologist and director of Northeastern’s Ocean Genome Legacy Center, with the highly guarded coordinates for that day’s expedition. A front would arrive that afternoon, but during that narrow window on Tuesday morning, it was safe enough for the 46-foot ship to circle over the […]
Discover Scientists Find a Shipworm That Eats, and Lives Inside, Rocks “It is unlike any other shipworm, both in its appearance and its unusual habits, and this was apparent from the very first moment I laid eyes on it,” says marine biologist Dan Distel, executive director of the Ocean Genome Legacy Center at Northeastern University and senior author of the June paper describing the animal in […]
The Critters Doing $114 Million in Damage to Brooklyn’s Piers Marine borers have plagued port cities around the world for centuries, according to Dan Distel, the director of the Ocean Genome Legacy Center at Northeastern University in Massachusetts.
This Creature Eats Stone. Sand Comes Out the Other End. Reuben Shipway and Daniel Distel of Northeastern University, members of the Philippine Mollusk Symbiont International Collaborative Biodiversity Group, went in search of the creatures with snorkeling masks and chisels in tow.
What’s Pink and Pinstriped and Digests Wood? This New Shipworm The discovery, which was reported in the journal PeerJ on Thursday, occurred during a feverish episode of wading through mangroves and scuba diving in coastal waters looking for wood that contained shipworm burrows. The [Northeastern] team brought their finds to the parking lot of a beachgoers’ hotel, where, wearing headlamps and wielding axes, they extracted […]
The New Yorker The Loch Ness monster of mollusks “My freshman microbiology professor liked to say, ‘If it wasn’t for shipworms, we’d be speaking Spanish today,’ ” Daniel Distel, a marine biologist and the director of the Ocean Genome Legacy Center, at Northeastern University, told me recently. Distel is a shipworm scientist, and earlier this week he and an international team of colleagues announced […]