1. National Geographic Videos
2. National Geographic Website

Releases by national geographic underground poker real DateFollow Us!

Gambling is a BILLION dollar industry. In America, gambling has become a $40 billion dollar a year industry. Las Vegas alone brings in close to 10 billion dollars a year from people gambling at their casinos and placing bets. About National Geographic: National Geographic is the world's premium destination for science, exploration, and adventure. The Ultimate Black Market Weapon Underworld, INC https://youtu.be. Oct 15, 2015  Ace Face and Bim have scammed Vegas casinos out of more than $5 million. Subscribe: About National Geographic: National Geogr. May 04, 2012  A dead, dried-up monkey hangs from the shop, next to a gaping set of shark jaws. Strips of dried animal skin dangle in a row, and as I walk past, I guess at each remnant’s former animal life: a.

BBC – Drugs Map of Britain: Fentanyl Deadlier Than Heroin (2017)These Sloth Babies Are national geographic underground poker real Inseparable - National Geographic

NewsletterTEXAS HOLDEM POKER DOCUMENTARY HQ PART 2Airliner national geographic underground poker real crashes in northern Mexico; 49 hospitalized

• 1

  Dear Abby: Baby’s separation anxiety exhausts child care worker

• 2

  Video shows massive fire cloud towering over Mendocino fires

• 3

  Dear Abby: Man’s devotion to his mom spoils wife’s travel plans

• 4

  Aryan Brotherhood gang leader, a Bay Area native, dies in prison

• 5

  Photo of napping Redding firefighters goes viral

• 6

  Lies every Bay Area resident tells their out of state friends

• 7

  Midwest chain tells Hawaiians to stop using 'Aloha' with 'Poke'

• 8

  We tried McDonald's, Wendy's, and Burger King's signature..

• 9

  Kristin Cavallari and Jay Cutler unveil their new house

• 10

  California wildfires still ‘growing faster than you can imagine’

Releases by Date

Releases by Date Select Month July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 January 2003 November 2002 September 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 October 2001 March 2001 February 2001 September 2000

Official Sites: Scatter Holdem PokerSloth BearFaFaFa™ Gold – Slots CasinoMar 26, 2018 Moncton Casino Poker Room Number You May Also LikeJun 22, 2018 . Are you a travel addict? Have you ever dreamed of traveling around the world exploring new cultures and environments? Then our amazing .american underworld inc

[ edit ] Further Information

• nationalgeographic.com

Storyline

Add Full Plot Add Synopsis

Genres:

Documentary

Parents Guide:

Add content advisory for parents » Edit

Flesh and Blood: The Story of the Krays

3 years ago 1,825 9 0

• Most Watched
• Most Liked
• Recently Added
• Browse By Tag
• Blog Articles

Full Documentary,Best documentary,documentary film,national geographic documentary,national geographic animals,national geographic hd,national geographic documentary 2014,national geographic channel,national geographic wild,national geographic documentary animal,bbc documentary,bbc documentary history,bbc documentary science,bbc documentary nature,bbc documentary animal,documentary documentary,documentary films,documentary history channel,documentary 2014,documentary history,documentary on serial killers,documentary movies,documentary music,documentary bbc,documentary long,documentary americadocumentary filmsdocumentary history channeldocumentary 2014documentary bbcdocumentary national geographicdocumentary historydocumentary on serial killersdocumentary moviesdocumentary musicfree online,movies free,documentary,streaming movies,channel,hob,bbd,babies,bp­s,war,new documentary films,film festival,finance,Money,samsung,iphone,ro­bots,forex,stocks,cars,auto,health,insur­ance,youtube,documentary films,watch documentaries,youtube documentaries,top documentary,buy documentaries,documentary eating,education documentary,dvd documentaries,documentary life,documentaries for freeTop Documentary Films Documentary Filmdocumentarydocumentary filmsdocumentary history channeldocumentary bbcdocumentary 2013documentary national geographicdocumentary on serial killersdocumentary historydocumentary moviesdocumentaryhistory channel documentarynational geographic documentarybbc documentaryworld documentarydocumentary worlddiscovery channel documentarydocumentary filmsdocumentariesdocumentary bbcnational geographicdocumentary history channeldiscovery channelnature documentaryhistory documentaryfull moviefull documentarylion documentarydocumentary fullfull length documentarybbc documentary 2014planet earthdocumentary filmdiscovery documentarydocumentary channelbest documentarydocumentaries national geographicdocumentary tvdocumentary national geographicdocumentary discoveryfull documentariesfull moviesdocumentaries 2014free full moviesfull length moviesfull length documentarieslil wayne documentaryslender man documentarynorth korea documentaryufo documentaryserial killer documentaryarea 51 documentaryanorexia documentaryww2 documentaryprison documentaryilluminati documentarychernobyl documentarythe game documentaryhistory channelholocaust documentarypbs documentary9/11 documentary9 11 documentarythe bridge documentarydream team documentaryvietnam war documentarybodybuilding documentaryschizophrenia documentaryafghanistan war documentarybbc documentary 2013illuminatipablo escobar documentarymike tyson documentaryufo documentary 2013alien documentarybeyonce documentarywwii documentaryufospace documentary911 documentarymafia documentaryscientology documentarygang documentarywwe documentarywrestling documentarycivil war documentaryslender mangraffiti documentarywar documentarynova documentarydocumentary on prostitutionww1 documentarycold war documentaryeminem documentaryblack metal documentaryghost documentarynorth koreawwe documentariesdocumentary 2014documentary filmsdocumentary history channeldocumentary bbcdocumentary 2013documentary national geographicdocumentary on serial killersdocumentary historydocumentary moviesdocumentary 2014documentary longdocumentary animalsdocumentary aliensdocumentary about dreamsdocumentary about lovedocumentary about prostitutiondocumentary africadocumentary ancientdocumentary geniusdocumentary history channeldocumentary historydocumentary hddocumentary history channel 2013documentary history bbcdocumentary hbodocumentary hd 1080pdocumentary healthdocumentary happydocumentary history channel wardocumentary indiadocumentary illuminatidocumentary iraqnational geographic documentary,national geographic animals,national geographic hd,national geographic documentary 2014,national geographic channel,national geographic wild,national geographic documentary animal,bbc documentary,bbc documentary history,bbc documentary science,bbc documentary nature,bbc documentary animal,documentary japandocumentary jesusdocumentary koreadocumentary killerdocumentary kingdocumentary korean wardocumentary kkkdocumentary lionsdocumentarydocumentary heavendocumentary film festivalsdocumentary fed updocumentary americadocumentarydocumentary dvdfed up documentarydocumentarydocumentary filmsdocumentary history channeldocumentary 2014documentary bbcdocumentary national geographicdocumentary historydocumentary on serial killersdocumentary moviesdocumentary hypothesisdocumentarydocumentary heavendocumentary addictdocumentary channeldocumentary stormdocumentary videosdocumentary hypothesisdocumentary fed updocumentary americadocumentary

Britain’s Great WarSloth - National Geographic Gambling In Uniform Episode 13: The Black MarketReferences

Please subscribe for more documentaries, and give this video a thumbs up if you enjoyed watching. Also go and like our Facebook page: .free at 888Poker ▻▻ ◅◅ free at PokerStars ▻▻ ◅◅ Deposit minimum with promo code: SPLASH20 at . Watch More Amazing Documentarys On A .Watch The Million Dollar Deal. A very interesting poker documentary about the World Series Of Poker in Las Vegas! Featuring Andrew Black, Donnacha ODea, . Casinos arent the only places youll find compulsive gambling. Carnival games, scratch tickets and even a community raffle can .

Tv series new Hd movies comedy cartoons and Eposide season 2018 and 2019

Share this Rating

Title: National Geographic Underground Poker NYC (TV Movie 2012)

6.3/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin.

Login Show HTML View more styles

BBC Documentary 2017 Las Vegas: Underground Poker Gamble National Geographic Documentary 2017BBC Documentary 2017 Las Vegas: Underground Poker Gamble National Geographic Documentary 2017BBC Documentary 2017 Las Vegas: Underground Poker Gamble National Geographic Documentary 2017BBC Documentary 2017 Las Vegas: Underground Poker Gamble National Geographic Documentary 2017 Subscribe & More Videos: https://goo.gl/sPFPx4 Thank for watching, Please Like Share And SUBSCRIBE!!!#documentalescountrywidegeographic , #documentales

Underworld, Inc. (Season 1)

1,197 1

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6

Comments Share 1 Turn off Light Published on 12th January 2018 by Documentary Vine

Underworld, Inc. is a National Geographic television series which explores various illegal underground markets, with episodes dedicated to various black markets including the trade in illegal weapons, illegal gambling, narcotics, and even humans. The series is a spin-off from the hugely popular National Geographic series Drugs. Inc. which focused exclusively on the global narcotics trade.

Season one was aired in the early part of 2015, we have all six episodes of the series available to watch here on Documentary Vine. Navigate between the episodes via the numbered tabs below the video player or by using the episode list below. When you have finished move on to season 2 .

Episode List

• Episode 1: Ghost Guns
• Episode 2: Sex for Sale
• Episode 3: Human Cargo
• Episode 4: Illegal Gambling
• Episode 5: Knock-offs
• Episode 6: Fake Pharma

Year 2015 Category Crime Documentaries Tag black market counterfeiting gambling gangs usa human trafficking street gangs

Related Documentaries

Ross Kemp On Gangs (Series 2)

1 year ago 2,585 2 0

Underworld, Inc. (Season 2)

7 months ago 1,090 1 0

Louis Theroux: Gambling in Las Vegas

1 year ago 4,697 15 0

Gambling Addiction & Me

1 year ago 1,180 2 0

Barely Legal Grafters

1 year ago 930 1 0

Louis Theroux: Law and Disorder in Philadelphia

2 years ago 7,308 33 3

Ross Kemp On Gangs (Series 4)

1 year ago 4,322 6 0

Betting On The Lottery

6 months ago 384 1 0

Understanding Joy: The Devastation of a Gambling Addiction

1 year ago 1,158 2 0

Crips and Bloods: Made in America

1 year ago 1,355 4 0

Al Capone: The Untouchable Legend

2 years ago 1,611 3 0

Touts on Tour

2 years ago 1,137 1 0

80 Blocks from Tiffany’s

2 years ago 1,310 1 0

Ross Kemp On Gangs (Series 3)

1 year ago 1,809 1 0

One Mile Away

2 years ago 1,433 2 0

Michael Carroll: King of Chavs

1 year ago 1,970 1 0

Gypsy Child Thieves

6 months ago 419 1 0

Millions: A Lottery Story

11 months ago 1,041 1 0

Add your comment Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Comment Your Name Your Email

Follow Us!

1319 Fans 308 Followers 32 Fans 2146 Subscribers

Latest Documentaries

Britain’s Great War

3 months ago 582 3 0

World War 1: The Apocalypse

3 months ago 1,044 3 0

Banking on Bitcoin

3 months ago 291 4 0

Empire

3 months ago 585 5 0

The Lightbringers: The Emissaries of Jahbulon

3 months ago 385 2 0

Facebookistan

3 months ago 392 2 0

The Secret World of Gold

3 months ago 366 2 0

Depression: Out of the Shadows

National Geographic Videos

4 months ago 403 4 1

Bedlam

4 months ago 521 2 0

Swansea: Back on the Streets

4 months ago 494 1 0

DocumentaryVine.com

• About / FAQ
• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Use
• Submit Documentary
• Contact

Browse Videos

• Most Watched
• Most Liked
• Recently Added
• Browse By Tag
• Blog Articles

Stay Connected

• Facebook
• twitter
• Google Plus
• Youtube
• RSS

Watch Free Documentaries

Documentary Vine is on a mission to become one of the best places to discover and watch free documentaries online, for educational and entertainment purposes. We currently have 1272 full length documentaries and counting, more films are added daily.

Documentary Vine

Buy MCDONALD'S 2018 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC KIDS #9 SLOTH BEAR & #10 MANTA RAY: Action Figures - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on . Programme Petit Casino Theatre Geneve Poker Night In America - She's a TRICKY Player!2.3.0Family Sharing Betting On The Lottery

• Remind me to watch
  • Add to Calendar
  • Record on Foxtel
  • Remind via Email
  • Remind via SMS

  Episode 6: Knock-Offs

  Mon, 27 Aug 3.30pm

  • Remind me to watch
    • Add to Calendar
    • Record on Foxtel
    • Remind via Email
    • Remind via SMS

• The black market can be brutal, exploitative, and corrupt. Nothing is off-limits; everything is for sale. But what you buy is not always what it seems.

• FetchTV Sky Explore Australia Animals Engineering & Science History Nature People Science Space Travel National Geographic Underground Poker NYC ( 2012 ) Documentary TV Movie 24 November 2012 Add a Plot » Director: Don Sikorski ad feedback Ezra Miller of 'Fantastic Beasts': 'No Small Parts' Ezra Miller , an actor who's made a name for himself playing odd, outcast characters, currently stars in the Justice League and Fantastic Beasts franchises. What other roles has he played over the years? Watch now Hollywood Power Couples These famous duos from movies and TV share a love of acting and each other. Take a look at some famous actor pairs who found romance together on screen and in real life. See more couples Around The Web Powered by ZergNet Create a list » User Lists Related lists from IMDb users Best POKER movies a list of 99 titles created 2 months ago documentarys that I have watched a list of 53 titles created 03 Oct 2013 See all related lists » Share this Rating Title: National Geographic Underground Poker NYC (TV Movie 2012) 6.3/10 Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Login Show HTML View more styles InformationTiger, sloth bear engage in life-and-death struggle WSB-TV2.2.0 Madrid Estrellas Poker Tour Http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/episodes/. . I do know guys who run underground poker games and they would NEVER allow .23 May 2018 - 2 minMay 24, 2018 – This baby three-toed sloth was found crying on a Costa Rica beach, separated .Midwest chain tells Hawaiians to stop using 'Aloha' with 'Poke'11 Feb 2018 - 1 minDespite its slow-and-steady approach, the sloth's mission was unsuccessful. . Watch Tiny . Developer Response‎Slots on Tour: Wild HD Casino on the App Store Harrahs Chester Slot Payout Underworld, Inc.Apr 2, 2010A family demolition team must destroy an old Vegas casino filled with massive amounts of rebar . Ross Kemp On Gangs (Series 1) 19 May 2016 - 2 minSee all the latest Sloth videos on Nat Geo TV. . These wildlife rescuers had a unique way to . Releases by CategoryReferences What's NewEmpire Underworld Inc S01E04 Illegal Gambling - YouTube Underworld, Inc. Underworld, Inc. is an American documentary television series on the National Geographic Channel that explores the illegal, underground market. The series features illegal trades including weapons, narcotics, app, gambling, etc. Poker Timer Deutsch Android Recently ViewedBBC – Drugs Map of Britain: Fentanyl Deadlier Than Heroin (2017) Slots on Tour: Wild HD Casino 12+New National Geographic-affiliated cruise to take tourists down . CoverDocumentary . But some forms of gambling are restricted or illegal, pushing it underground, where the rules are very different. Here if you want to play you have to pay. Sloth - National GeographicContribute to This PageMurka and National Geographic Launch Nat Geo WILD Slots . http://jj-coaching.dk/strip-poker-app-apple What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Wikidata item Cite this page Facebook twitter Google Plus Youtube RSS Britain’s Great War 3 months ago 582 3 0 Meet The Sloths - Videos Monday 12.00am Share Follow Remind me to watch Add to Calendar Record on Foxtel Remind via Email Remind via SMS About the Show The Latest Episodes Videos Articles VideosClose Follow Video Randy The Sloth Randy got himself in a sloth fight over love and broke his arm. How is he doing now? loading.. Follow Video These Sloth Babies Are Inseparable Meet Violet and Sebastian who are each other's biggest fans in this sloth sanctuary, loading.. Follow Video A Bucketful Of Sloths These sloth babies have no doubt captivating a crowd with their cuteness, but Buttercup is the real start of this show. loading.. Follow Video Sloth Potty Training Sloths only go to the toilet once a week. You know when it's doing its business when they have a huge smile on their face. loading.. Follow Video A Sloth's Birthday The Costa Rica sloth sanctuary takes birthdays very seriously - it's Buttercup's 20th birthday that is filled with love stories, lazying around and her favourite hibiscus flowers! loading.. Follow Video What is Sloth's Chocolate? There is one thing sloths love just as much as we love chocolate -hibiscus flowers! loading.. Follow Video Bathe a Sloth This animal sanctuary in Costa Rica is dedicated to just sloths. Home to almost 150 sloths, it's bath time every wednesday where they are then hung out to dry and soak up the sun. #SlothWednesdays loading.. About the Show Go behind the scenes at one of the world’s most unique animal sanctuaries, home to more than 150 sloths, and witness every charming second of their daily sloth soap opera. Episode 3: Illegal Gambling Fri, 17 Aug 9.30pm

  Remind me to watch Add to Calendar Record on Foxtel Remind via Email Remind via SMS

• Millions of people love to gamble. But some gambling is restricted or illegal, pushing them underground, where the rules are very different – if you want to play, it could cost you your life.

• Remind me to watch Add to Calendar Record on Foxtel Remind via Email Remind via SMS Bedlam 4 months ago 521 2 0 Daniel Negreanu 2018 WSOP VLOG: Day 4 - Dealers Choice Madness 2 months ago1,317 Bellagio1 538 Videos Millions of Americans love to gamble, but some forms of gambling are restricted or illegal, pushing them underground where the rules are very different. Derided regional jets get an upgradeInfinity Slots: Vegas Games IMDb Everywhere Best Free Casino Apps for iPad LATEST NEWS Recent Posts

National Geographic Website

Summary

The genetic wealth hidden in the deep seas is attracting commercial and academic interest, raising the question whether to regulate bioprospecting in international waters

For decades, the depths of the oceans have fascinated researchers. The discovery of strange creatures perfectly adapted to eternal darkness, high pressure, and other unusual conditions has raised enormous interest in how life emerged on Earth and how it flourishes in such extreme environments (Fig 1). This abundance of life has also lured researchers and biotech companies to the oceans in the hope of finding unknown genes, proteins, and other compounds that could be exploited commercially. Despite the enormous costs that still pose a considerable barrier to deep-sea research and exploitation, some now worry about the negative side effects of deep-sea bioprospecting. Scientists, entrepreneurs, politicians and legal experts have begun to debate problematic issues, such as the preservation of deep-sea biodiversity, habitat protection and sharing of benefits. Their aim is to draft international regulations to prevent environmental and scientific tragedies without hampering discovery.

Tubeworms (Riftia pachyptila Jones) found at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean at the East Pacific Rise off the coast of Mexico. These red-blooded animals live of chemosynthetic bacteria near thermal vents on the ocean floor and can grow up to 3 m long. © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Woods Hole, MA, USA.

Scientists have made—and continue to make—exciting discoveries in the depths of the oceans. In the early 1980s, Karl Stetter, a microbiologist from the University of Regensburg, Germany, discovered a hyperthermophilic archaebacterium that flourishes near submarine vents (Fig 2) at temperatures of about 100 °C (Stetter, 1982). Stetter and his colleagues described another archaebacterium in 2002, termed Nanoarchaeum equitans. This organism is parasitic with an unusually small ribosomal RNA and now represents a new phylum in the bacterial world (; ).

A ‘black smoker' on the ocean floor at the East Pacific Rise off the coast of Mexico. The emerging water is 350–400 °C and by mixing with the surrounding cold water causes minerals in the water to fall out, which gives the appearance of black smoke. © Dudley Foster/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (Woods Hole, MA, USA).

The first six months of 2005 saw the publication of the discovery of a jellyfish that uses red fluorescent flashes to lure fish () and the genome sequence of Photobacterium profundum strain SS9 (), 20 years after the microorganism was isolated from an amphipod animal living 2,500 m deep in the Philippine Sulu Sea (). Tim Shank, a biologist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI; Woods Hole, MA, USA), is studying a worm that lives at 80 °C in an oily tar-like pit near submarine vents. The organism lives in the presence of carcinogenic amounts of polyaromatic hydrocarbons, but does not develop cancer. According to Shank, studying the DNA-repair mechanisms of the organism may lead to new insights about cancer growth and even possible treatments.

Shank's research is just one example of the potential commercial possibilities emerging from the genetic wealth in the deep sea, sometimes coined ‘blue gold'. Until now, only a few products have made it from research to market. Diversa (San Diego, CA, USA) and New England Biolabs (NEB; Ipswich, MA, USA) sell DNA polymerases isolated from deep-sea vents that offer advantages such as increased thermostability and improved proofreading capabilities for the polymerase chain reaction. Sederma (Le Perray en Yvelines, France) sells Venuceane™, a skin protection product that includes a radical-scavenging enzyme originally discovered in extremophile bacteria from the Gulf of California (Lintner et al, 2002). However, the global sales of marine biotechnology products in 2002, including anti-cancer compounds, antibiotics and antivirals, were estimated at about US$2.4 billion (BCC, 2003).

Such a healthy market for products encourages companies and academics to explore the oceans further for interesting organisms. Diversa, which produces enzymes, proteins and biologically active compounds for pharmaceutical, agricultural and industrial use, maintains an active deep-sea research programme, although it is not the focus of their research, according to Leif Christoffersen, Biodiversity Product Manager at Diversa.

… a healthy market for products encourages companies and academics to explore the oceans further for interesting organisms

However, the lines between academia and industry are becoming increasingly blurred. Stetter, one of the world's leading experts on extremophilic archaebacteria, is a co-founder of Diversa. Craig Venter, founder of Celera Genomics, launched the Sorcerer II Expedition in Nova Scotia, Canada, in 2003, to create a genomic catalogue of marine microorganisms. The expedition, now situated off the east coast of Australia, has already shown insights into the diversity and abundance of organisms in samples from the Sargasso Sea near Bermuda (). Melanie Wranaker, media contact at the J. Craig Venter Institute (Rockville, MD, USA), said that the research includes the study of extreme environment sites, such as hydrothermal warm seeps, hypersaline lagoons and low-oxygen environments, which may be similar to deep-sea environments and therefore useful for comparative studies. All data collected will be deposited into the public domain for researchers. The Ocean Genome Legacy (OGL) is another non-profit marine research organization that explores the abundance of life in the deep sea. Their headquarters are located in Ipswich, MA, USA, near NEB, from which the organization receives financial support.

One reason why academic scientists and institutions team up with commercial partners is the high cost of deep-sea research. Few countries can afford dedicated academic deep-sea research programmes and equipment such as specialized ships and submarines (see Fig 3): namely the USA and Japan, although France, the UK and Russia also have deep-sea research capabilities. A 30-day expedition cruise costs roughly US$1 million, with an average daily operating cost of about US$30,000. Diversa, which collaborates with Deep Ocean Expeditions, estimate its annual costs to be approximately US$5–6.5 million to operate the RV Akademik Keldysh ship, owned and operated by the PP Shirshov Institute of Oceanology in Moscow, Russia. These high costs usually require academic and commercial partnerships—academic institutions have the equipment and the knowledge, and the commercial partners provide funds and other useful capabilities.

The Alvin submersible, owned and operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (Woods Hole, MA, USA). © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Justin Manley, Lead Ocean Engineer at Mitretek Systems, a non-profit scientific research and engineering corporation (Falls Church, VA, USA), explained that alliances between the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector with other industries, such as the oil and shipwreck salvaging businesses, might become fruitful avenues in the future. “One million dollars is a drop in the bucket compared to what oil companies spend on oil rigs,” he commented. Shank also thinks that as soon as more benefits from deep-sea research materialize, such as new chemicals, proteins and enzymes with new properties, other industries will get into the game. Although the funding is welcome, Shank noted, “We are wary of companies taking the samples and not communicating results…As a result, some academics do not provide samples to industry.”

Past experience shows that this concern is valid. Although researchers discovered the Thermus aquaticus microorganism in Yellowstone National Park in 1967, the park does not benefit in any way from sales of the heat-stable Taq polymerase for polymerase chain reactions.

This situation changed with the passage of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1992, which allows governments and organizations to negotiate contracts with scientists when they give them access to national land and water resources. According to Eric Mathur, Vice President of Scientific Affairs and Molecular Diversity at Diversa, before the passage of the CBD, academics had the freedom to patent discoveries and transfer samples to interested industrial partners. The contract between the discoverers of P. profundum and the Philippine government, which prohibits any financial gains from discoveries in the Sulu Sea, is an example of how things have changed.

Still, fears remain: environmental groups sued Yellowstone National Park in August 1997 for making the first biodiversity agreement in the USA to share scientific and monetary benefits with Diversa. In a historic decision, a federal court in Washington, DC, approved this agreement between Yellowstone National Park and Diversa on April 12, 2000. In addition, the US National Park Service began conducting environmental analyses to evaluate the impacts of bioprospecting benefit-sharing agreements in US national parks. This review may represent the first nationwide study of the environmental impacts of bioprospecting benefit-sharing activities ever undertaken by any country.

Critics also fear that industrial exploitation may create environmental problems similar to overfishing and mining of marine areas. According to Shank, the establishment of thermal-vent marine preserves off the coasts of Oregon and Portugal in the past two years was in part a response to such concerns. However, Barbara Moore, Director of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Undersea Research Program (NOAA; Silver Spring, MD, USA), is less pessimistic about the environmental impact of deep-sea research. She pointed out that the combination of small samples of microorganisms, non-specific sampling techniques and high costs make deep-sea bioprospecting less of a threat to the environment. She added that sea-floor tectonics and ‘plumbing' of the vents continually change the environments and their living communities. Moore also stressed that other deep-sea ecosystems, such as cold seeps, methane hydrate seeps and deep-sea corals, also known as cold-water corals, are as important to the overall ecosystem as the deep-sea vents.

Critics also fear that industrial exploitation may create environmental problems similar to overfishing and mining of marine areas

Although the CBD governs access to genetic resources and benefit sharing between nations and researchers, the maze of regulations for the conservation of biodiversity, sustainability and benefit sharing is complex and cumbersome. Elizabeth Evans-Illidge, a marine scientist at the Australian Institute of Marine Science (Townsville, Qld, Australia), explained that implementing the CBD internationally has been difficult because many countries have not passed domestic laws to address the CBD's objectives. Instead, many rules are based on systems that were in place before the CBD and often do not require benefit sharing. Consequently, many countries refuse or restrict access to their marine areas. Various countries, including Australia, are therefore working on translating the CBD into national law.

The problem is further hampered by the fact that the open seas—and most of the world's seabed ecosystems—lie in international waters beyond national laws and unregulated by international laws. According to Salvatore Arico of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO; Paris, France), the UN began to address this problem in 1995 and started to debate international regulations, realizing that the extreme environments of the deep sea would be of academic and commercial interest, similar to the Yellowstone's geysers. Arico commented that the debate then stalled for years owing to a lack of support by some nations that actively conduct deep-sea research, most notably the USA and Japan. Eventually, in 2004, Sam Johnston, a member of the UN University Institute for Advanced Studies (UNU–IAS; Yokohama, Japan), commissioned the deep-sea genetic resources report to catalyse further policy development (Arico & Salpin, 2005).

…the open seas—and most of the world's seabed ecosystems—lie in international waters beyond national laws and unregulated by international laws

The report, a joint effort between Arico and Charlotte Salpin, a law and policy expert associated with UNU–IAS, makes several key recommendations. First, it emphasizes the need for further study of the “whole world down there—knowing how these ecosystems function is important for the planet”, according to Arico. Second, any international regulation should take into account that some deep-sea ecosystems are already threatened by unsustainable use. “While it is impossible to quantify the damage caused by such research on the deep seabed environment, threats include destruction of habitats, unsustainable collection, alteration of local hydrological and environmental conditions, and pollution of various nature,” the report states. “The same activities can have very different impacts in various deep sea ecosystems, and cumulative impacts over time…” Third, it should address the problem that at present, scientific research in international waters is unregulated. Johnston added that bioprospecting, to be distinguished from pure academic research, has already begun. The absence of international regulations has therefore created negative effects for academic research, most notably secretive scientific protocols, which force each expedition to start de novo. He also highlighted the difficulty that governments face when creating regulations for benefit sharing.

Gorilla slots free online. The Hot Hot Super Respin can really get you some big wins. Press the question mark button at the top of the screen to gain access to the full rules of the game, the paytable access button is down the left hand bottom of the screen. Here you can set your automated spins and get them to stop at a certain balance or after a big win. With there being if a particular one fills up all of the first reel then this triggers the Hot Hot Super Respin feature.That first reel gets held for two more spins and if there are any of that symbol on the other reels they get held too. A more complicated version is available by going to the top right corner of the screen and choosing the options button.

The question is whether such international regulations are necessary at all, because of the difficulties of biological research. “Most innovations from marine or any biomaterials require considerable research and so the line between marine scientific research and bioprospecting will be fuzzy,” said Dan Distel, Director of the OGL. “It may be very difficult and possibly counterproductive to legally discriminate among research activities based on the intent of the researchers.”

“Most innovations from marine or any biomaterials require considerable research and so the line between marine scientific research and bioprospecting will be fuzzy”

Some experts also wonder whether improper language and sensationalizing the problems exacerbate the discussion. Dave Newman of the National Cancer Institute's Developmental Therapeutics Program (Bethesda, MD, USA), commented that the term ‘prospecting', which came into scientific use with the discovery of manganese and other metallic nodules in the 1970s, is misleading. He hates the term being applied to biological living resources and therefore prefers ‘biodiscovery'. In addition, the chances of finding something of commercial value are extremely low. “[Someone] will have better luck with the lottery than in pursuing biodiscovery due to the numbers of samples that have to be collected and tested,” Newman commented. Mathur also prefers ‘biodiscovery' because it better reflects the nature of discoveries that may often not be commercialized and may have only minimal effect on the environment.

Deep-sea research technology

Innovations and improvements to existing deep-sea expedition technology may help lower the cost of deep-sea research in the near future. Justin Manley, Lead Ocean Engineer at Mitretek Systems, pointed out that various new deep-sea research platforms are being developed to augment the existing fleet. Forty years after their first-generation Alvin submarine, the WHOI's next-generation submersible is hoped to be available in 2008 and will be able to reach 6,500 m, similar to the Japanese Shinkai submersible. Tim Shank, a biologist at WHOI, reported that China is also building its first submersible, able to reach 6,500 m, which reflects the country's interest in becoming an international player in deep-sea research.

Another area under development is the use of remote operating vehicles (ROVs) to explore large depths without risking the lives of scientists on board. Shank and colleagues hope to send a hybrid ROV to the Marianas Trench, the deepest part of the ocean with a depth of approximately 11,000 m, in the autumn of 2006. Last year, the NOAA obtained a ship from the US Navy and are now retrofitting it for ocean exploration. It will be able to deploy an ROV that can go as deep as 6,000 m. The July 2005 Lost City expedition to explore the deep-sea vents and 61 m chimneys at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge site, was organized by a consortium of academic, government and commercial partners that includes NOAA, the Graduate School of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island (Kingston, RI, USA), the University of Washington (Seattle,WA, USA), the University of New Hampshire (Durham, NH, USA), the Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration (Mystic, CT, USA), Electronic Data Systems (EDS; Plano, TX, USA), the US National Geographic Society (Washington, DC, USA) and the JASON Foundation for Education (Ashburn, VA, USA). The expedition allows shore-based scientists nearly 8,000 km away to conduct ‘seagoing' research in real-time by using ROVs and satellite transmissions to send live video, audio and scientific data to geologists, chemists, biologists, as well as educators and the public. Shank commented that this could become a cost-saving tool in the future, but it is not yet sufficiently cost-effective. Manley added that the use of more automated instruments will make research cheaper as it allows more work to be done per dive.

The sampling tools on board the submersibles are also evolving. WHOI and NOAA are developing a mass spectrometer that samples water at a depth of 2,000 m and 200 Atmospheres pressure. Similarly, DNA microarrays, coupled with ‘lab-on-a-chip' technology, are another potential real-time analytical device that could analyse biological samples directly on board a submarine. However, the physical conditions at such depths pose a considerable engineering challenge. “The plumbing and electronic problems [at that pressure] require very sophisticated valve systems to control the flow of water samples,” Manley commented. As with any new technology, these tools will require considerable investments. But, “the cost will come down and the ability to have real-time information is fantastic,” Shank said.

According to Johnston, both a meeting of key policy makers in June 2005 and the UNU–IAS report are preparations for a UN General Assembly meeting to draft a resolution about deep-sea research and bioprospecting policy in March 2006. He expects more emphasis on flexibility and benefit sharing in any future deep-sea environmental protection policy the UN General Assembly might adopt, to avoid some of the negative experiences with the UN's CBD agreement. He also suggested that the UN's International Seabed Authority could oversee such policy. Arico pointed out that benefit sharing should include monetary issues, as well as training and transfer of technology and scientific information, so developing nations could profit from deep-sea research both commercially and scientifically. However, Newman thinks that benefit sharing should be weighted among different partners to cover the relative cost of those who contribute. Johnston added that being able to assess quantitatively where and how much deep-sea research is taking place will also improve the quality of environmental impact assessments.

Not surprisingly, industrial and academic parties have mixed reactions to the value of any future international policy. Mathur was more positive and commented that he was the first industry member to be invited to the UN conference on benefit sharing three years ago. He hopes industry representatives will be invited again to allow them to present their view before any global legislation is passed.

There is still the question whether the UN would be the right organization to oversee regulations of international deep-sea research and biodiscovery. For instance, Shank questioned the effectiveness of any UN policy because “scientists do not think about looking on a UN web page on a daily basis and most probably have not heard of the recent UN document.” Similarly, Stetter conceded that he had not even heard of the UNU–IAS document and commented that any regulation by the UN “smells of bureaucracy”. Newman questions whether a UN policy would have any effect if not all countries translate it into binding national law. He called the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea a “toothless tiger”, which has not stopped overfishing because many nations do not enforce the policy. In addition, Distel pointed out that it will be a very complicated process to get all countries to adopt and adhere to a common policy: “The political and natural [borders] may conflict and complicate the issue of delineating protected areas.”

While the scientists and lawmakers continue to debate whether the UN is the right organization to regulate research, most agree that the scientific community should be looking to the future. As Christoffersen pointed out, there may be much more commercial interest in the deep seas to come. “We don't have resorts and hotels in the deep sea yet and it will be decades before that might happen, [but] it is good that efforts for policy have been started because the currently limited deep-sea expedition traffic will probably increase in the next few decades.”

References

• Arico S, Salpin C (2005) Bioprospecting of Genetic Resources in the Deep Seabed: Scientific, Legal and Policy Aspects. Tokyo, Japan: United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies. www.ias.unu.edu/binaries2/DeepSeabed.pdf[Google Scholar]
• BCC (2003) Biomaterials from Marine Sources. Study C-184R. Norwalk, CT, USA: Business Communications Company, Inc. [Google Scholar]
• Haddock SH, Dunn CW, Pugh PR, Schnitzler CE (2005) Bioluminescent and red-fluorescent lures in a deep-sea siphonophore. Science309: 263. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
• Huber H, Hohn MJ, Rachel R, Fuchs T, Wimmer VC, Stetter KO (2002) A new phylum of Archaea represented by a nanosized hyperthermophilic symbiont. Nature417: 63–67 [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
• Lintner K, Lamy F, Mas-Chamberlin C, Mondon P, Scocci S, Buche P, Girard P (2002) Heat-stable enzymes from deep sea bacteria: a key tool for skin protection against UV-A induced free radicals. IFSCC Mag5: 195–200 [Google Scholar]
• Stetter KO (1982) Ultrathin mycelia-forming organisms from submarine volcanic areas having an optimum growth temperature of 105 °C. Nature300: 258–260 [Google Scholar]
• Venter JC et al. (2004) Environmental genome shotgun sequencing of the Sargasso Sea. Science304: 66–74 [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
• Vezzi A et al. (2005) Life at depth: Photobacterium profundum genome sequence and expression analysis. Science307: 1459–1461 [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
• Waters E et al. (2003) The genome of Nanoarchaeum equitans: insights into early archaeal evolution and derived parasitism. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA100: 12984–12988 [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
• Yayanos AA (1995) Microbiology to 10,500 meters in the deep sea. Annu Rev Microbiol49: 777–805 [PubMed] [Google Scholar]