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Giant Balls of 'Snot' Explain Ocean MysteryBy Bjorn Carey LiveScience Staff posted: 10 June 2005 06:22 am ET Scientists have discovered giant sinking mucus "houses" that double the amount of food on the sea floor. The mucus houses, or "sinkers," are produced by tadpole-like animals not much bigger than your index finger. As sinkers drop to the sea floor, small sea critters and other food particles get stuck to the mucus and end up on the bottom of the ocean. For years scientists have observed loads of life at the bottom of the ocean. But they weren’t able to find...

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- If you've ever wondered whether swimming through water makes you faster than swimming through gunk, a university professor has an answer. University of Minnesota professor Ed Cussler has long wanted to know if paddling through a substance thicker than water would slow someone down or allow them to swim faster. With that in mind, Cussler coaxed 19 people, including some members of the university's varsity swim team, to swim in water mixed with guar - a food thickener. Logic suggests that a thicker substance would hinder swimming. Yet, as he watched the swimmers Monday, Cussler said, "It's...