Marine biology is characterized by a certain type of frustration that typically manifests itself when a researcher attempts to retrieve something delicate from the depths. At 800 meters, a jellyfish that appeared intact and alien reaches the surface as a slick of tissue. Perhaps the longest animal on the planet, a siphonophore, rips itself to pieces against the interior of a collection jar.
This has been the silent price of attempting to comprehend the most delicate marine life for decades. What you study is damaged. After years of contemplation, Brennan Phillips has come up with a solution that, strangely enough, resembles a folded piece of paper designed to crush pressure.
| Profile | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | Brennan Phillips |
| Role | Professor of Ocean Engineering and Oceanography |
| Institution | University of Rhode Island |
| Academic Background | Master’s in Biological Oceanography; engineering specialization in deep-sea instrumentation |
| Current Project | Origami-inspired robotic sampling device with biopsy capability for fragile deep-sea organisms |
| Funding | $2.2 million over three years from the Ocean Shot Research Grant Program |
| Funding Source | Sasakawa Peace Foundation’s Ocean Policy Research Institute, supported by The Nippon Foundation |
| Key Collaborators | John Burns (Bigelow Laboratory), Robert Wood (Harvard Microrobotics Lab), David Gruber (Baruch College), Kakani Katija (MBARI), Dhugal Lindsay (JAMSTEC) |
| Earlier Project | “Designing the Future” – rotary actuated dodecahedron sampler |
| Notable Publication | Results published in Science Advances, 2024 |
| Team Size | 15 researchers across 6 institutions |
| Research Vessel Used | R/V Falkor, with ROV SuBastian |
Although Phillips, a professor of Ocean Engineering and Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island, isn’t the most well-known person in his field, his work frequently appears in areas where the field has stagnated. He and a multidisciplinary team won $2.2 million earlier this year from the Ocean Shot Research Grant Program, which provides funding for three years through the Ocean Policy Research Institute of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation with support from The Nippon Foundation. The funding is intended to advance a concept that, until recently, was more akin to science fiction than oceanography: catch and release sampling on animals in the deep sea that disintegrate if viewed incorrectly.
This project revolves around an odd-looking device. The twelve sides of this rotary-actuated dodecahedron fold in on themselves like a slow origami piece, sealing anything that may be floating inside. Robert Wood’s Microrobotics Laboratory at Harvard is where the original idea originated. On board a ship like the Falkor, Phillips and his URI team transformed it into something that could function at depth, where pressure crushes common instruments and decisions are made remotely while viewing a feed from a ROV known as SuBastian.
The “Designing the Future” expedition made use of the sampler’s initial iteration. There will be a change in the new version. It will be equipped with a biopsy tool that was inspired, of all things, by mantis shrimp, a creature whose strike is among the fastest in the natural world.
When discussing this work, it seems as though Phillips approaches engineering problems with the patience of a biologist. Unusually for someone in his position, he holds a master’s degree in biological oceanography, and he discusses deep-sea jellyfish with the accuracy of someone who has given tissue careful thought. He claims that all you need for a proper biopsy on a gelatinous animal is a very small amount, comparable to the amount of toothpaste you would squeeze onto a brush. Ideally, less.
Additionally, speed is important. Researchers can extract a complete genome expression, including the so-called junk DNA that indicates how the animal was stressed, what it was metabolizing, and what it was doing just before it was sampled, if the tissue is placed in preservative within a minute or two. The data thins out if you make a mistake by a few minutes.
Most people would consider it impossible to accomplish all of that in the dark, at depth, and in saltwater. Phillips finds that aspect intriguing. “We can take brilliant concepts from a lab such as the Harvard Microrobotics Laboratory,” he states, “and adapt it to perform in an extreme environment for a unique and important purpose.” The time it takes to confirm a new species, which has traditionally been measured in years, may be reduced to weeks in a few years.
The wider implication is noteworthy. The team, which consists of researchers from MBARI, Baruch College, and JAMSTEC, is working on software that uses AI tools and new algorithms for multidimensional imaging to automatically identify creatures that have never been cataloged by the human eye. Taxonomic classification will be aided by a shadowgraph system that uses only shadows to capture internal structure. It’s difficult to ignore how much of today’s ocean research relies on this kind of interdisciplinary experimentation: robotics, molecular biology, machine learning, and animals that most people will never see.
As this develops, it seems as though the deep sea is finally receiving the meticulous attention it has always merited. It remains to be seen if the new gadget fulfills all of its promises. However, the path is obvious, and Phillips, who falls somewhere between a naturalist and an engineer, appears to be the ideal person to guide it.
