Image

Bare Bones Research

This whale bone—from the collection at the New Bedford Whaling Museum—was examined by WHOI biologist Michael Moore and colleagues to help determine if whales can get “the bends,” also known as decompression illness. Researchers examined fresh and archived whale bones for damage caused by nitrogen bubbles that form when a whale surfaces too rapidly from the high-pressure depths. The bubbles obstruct blood flow and lead to bone damage.
(Photo by Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)