Trauma to the spinal cord often results in the deterioration of cell membranes, which then results in cell and tissue death, often leading to paralysis. One way to help eliminate loss of body functions is to seal the deteriorating cell membranes, researchers suggest.

Crab shells

Chitin -- the main component of crustacean exoskeletons and fungi cell walls, previously used to build scaffolding for tissue growth -- has recently been suggested to stimulate spinal cord regeneration in rats.

As many as 400 megalodon teeth were found at the sites, giving rise to this theory. The size of most of the teeth, about 0.6 to 2.8 inches, suggests that the majority had come from juveniles and embryonic sharks.

Juvenile teeth are different from the small teeth from adults or the dwarf species of the megalodon. In all, it is estimated that the teeth came from 21 juvenile megalodons and seven adults, possibly the mother sharks.

The discovery of the new deep-sea vent is remarkable because the area in which it was found has been intensively studied during previous research cruises. The vent with chimneys as high as one meter and fluids with temperatures up to 300 degrees Celsius was found at one thousand metres depth in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.