A tiny species of fish is able to live in icy Arctic waters thanks to very high levels of "antifreeze" protein in its bloodstream, researchers have found.
Snailfish found on an iceberg habitat in Greenland are able to prevent ice crystals from forming in their cells and body fluid thanks to this remarkable ability, which is rare among sea creatures.
Fish, unlike some other species of reptiles and insects, cannot survive being partially frozen and the findings highlight how marine life can survive in an extreme climate.
The study was led by scientists at the American Museum of Natural History and the City University of New York (CUNY), and published in the journal Evolutionary Bioinformatic.
"Similar to how antifreeze in your car keeps the water in your radiator from freezing in cold temperatures, some animals have evolved amazing machinery that prevent them from freezing", said David Gruber, a biology professor at CUNY’s Baruch College.
Mr Gruber said that scientists did not realise "just how chock-full" of those proteins the fish is and the "effort it was putting into making the proteins”.
The ability of fishes to make these special proteins was discovered nearly 50 years ago, and scientists have since determined that antifreeze proteins are made from five different gene families.
Mr Gruber and co-author John Sparks, a curator in the museum’s department of ichthyology, decided to investigate the antifreeze proteins of the juvenile variegated snailfish, Liparis gibbus.
They were initially attracted to the remarkable fish because of its biofluorescence, which allows it to glow green and red in the dark Arctic waters.
Biofluorescence, the ability to convert blue light into green, red, or yellow light, is rare among Arctic fish and the snailfish is the only polar fish reported to biofluoresce.
Upon further investigation of the biofluorescent properties of snailfish, the researchers found two different types of gene families encoding for antifreeze proteins.
The snailfish genes have the highest expression levels of antifreeze proteins yet observed, scientists say.
However, researchers are also concerned that the fish may struggle to adapt to rapidly warming ocean temperatures caused by climate change.
They say that the Arctic Ocean could be largely free of ice within the next three decades if the current rate of warming continues.
“Arctic seas do not support a high diversity of fish species, and our study hypothesises that with increasingly warming oceanic temperatures, ice-dwelling specialists such as this snailfish may encounter increased competition by more temperate species that were previously unable to survive at these higher northern latitudes,” Mr Sparks said.
How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?
If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.
Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.
Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.
Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).
Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal.
Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.
By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.
As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.
Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.
He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.”
This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”
Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.
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