Scientists Dive Under Antarctic Ice in Search of Glue

Jan. 3, 2002 -- If it weren't for her hair, Joan Bernhard would be plunging under 12-inch-thick Antarctic ice in one month's time.

Bernhard, a microbiologist based at the University of South Carolina, has taken the icy plunge more than 200 times in past years to search for thumbnail-sized microorganisms sometimes called the "Giants of the Deep."

These water-borne creatures named Foraminifera or "forams" may be small, but compared with other single-celled microorganisms, they're huge. And the organisms create a glue that researchers think could revolutionize medicine.

The unique adhesive works underwater and binds sand grains to form the foram's complex shell home. Scientists think the adhesive could offer a biological "superglue" for applications like sutureless surgery, dentistry and prosthetic devices.

But, back to the hair.

Big Hair, No Hood

This January Bernhard is traveling back to an Antarctic coastal research station about 40 miles from the National Science Foundation's McMurdo base, but this time she won't be getting wet. Her hair, she explains, is "about a foot long" and is too bulky to tuck into the tight hood of a diving suit.

In past years, Bernhard chopped off her hair to accommodate the hood's tight fit, but this year, she's drawing the line.

"I didn't think it was worth the sacrifice for being down there for five weeks," she said.

That doesn't mean she won't be learning a lot about forams.

Instead of diving, Bernhard will help direct other divers, analyze the foram samples they collect from the ocean sediment and help out in the less glorious duties of keeping camp. Bernhard hopes to learn more about the creatures' diets — and whether what they eat changes by the season.

Scientists know the tiny bugs feed on algae that bloom under the ice in December (summertime down in the Antarctic). But it appears the animals also shed their homemade shells when plant food is scarce and become predators, prowling the icy waters for tiny crustaceans.

Once they've had their fill, the forams return to the sediment bottom and make new shells for themselves.

Binding the Salty and Sticky

Samuel Bowser, a research scientist with the New York Department of Health who is already at the Antarctic camp, is most interested in the glues the forams use to build their shell homes. Bowser is the head researcher at the so-called Explorer's Cove research site and has led dives there for 15 years.

"This stuff is an incredibly sticky, chemically resistant protein that binds dissimilar materials in a wet, salty environment," Bowser explained in a recent article in the Antarctica-based weekly Antarctic Sun. "If you think of the human body as a wet, salty thing then you can imagine lots of uses for such a natural product."

Consider, for example, lung surgery. After incision, surgeons can't use needle and thread to stitch up the fragile network of air sacs that make up the lung. But they might be able to brush on the foram's bio-adhesive to seal the scar until the wound heals.

"This glue is really really strong and it degrades over time," said Bernhard. "It's really perfect for mending things inside the body."

Cold Moment on the Lips

Large, glue-producing forams are especially abundant under Antarctica's ice, but collecting the animals is no easy task.

To dive under the ice, the crew blasts a hole in the surface using dynamite. Bernhard explains dynamite is one of the few tools that can open a hole large enough for two divers to surface at the same time. This is critical for safety reasons in case one diver needs to help the other get to the surface.

For warmth the divers wear two layers of polypropylene long underwear underneath their dry suits, which are made of compressed neoprene. The dry suit covers the diver's body and head, but leaves parts of the face — the lips and area around the mouth — exposed.

"When you first dive in, you have a minute or two when you feel like someone is hitting you over the head with a hammer," she said. "It's excruciating and you ask why am I doing this. But then you go numb and just focus on the work."