AMA with Dr. Dominic D’Agostino (aquanaut, researcher) and Dr. Armin Ellis (Founder, Ocean Planet)

Out of curiosity - how do you believe we stop plastic pollution from occurring?

Disincentivize single use plastics with a tax. Encourage biodegradable replacements with a subsidy. Use a global treaty to get other countries to do the same, perhaps offering financial help to 3rd world countries.

Disincentivize single use plastics with a tax.

There will always be a need for single use plastics imo. Mostly in the medical and food industries, which is where I'm sure a lot of our plastic waste comes from in the first place.

I'd rather see incentives for recycling, like how some states will do a deposit. It would encourage recycling and cleanup of land more. But not just have it be a deposit, more of a scrap metal system where you get paid by the pound and not getting money back that you were forced to pay. That way it can apply to all plastics and not just what is generated by the food industries.

Armin: I completely agree. We cannot discontinue single use packaging completely, but we can aim for innovation and adopt a water dissolvable materials to be used instead of single use plastics

Armin: Our friend Ben Lecomte just completed an expedition that was focused on discovering the way we pollute the oceans. We need to find a substitute to limit the use of plastic in our everyday lives. We must find the source of where is that plastic coming from, and offer different water solvable materials for the same use so instead of pollution we will end up introducing products that can be dissolved in the oceans.

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It's not down to pointing fingers it's about having the discussion and coming up with a solution together

What can a 13 year old do, to prevent further melting of the polar ice and stop rising sea levels? -Brendan

Armin: What a wonderful question. As a young person, I would advise not to worry and panic, but to study and learn. We live in a complicated world. I would definitely encourage you to study science and look for a way on how to solve things later in the future. It is pleasing to see young people engaging with world problems.

If all nations worked together could we make significant strides towards removing existing plastics from the ocean, or is it a lost cause?

Armin: We initially need to stop producing new plastic waste, followed by activities of concentrating and removing the plastic waste. That's what the action plan should look like if we got all countries to put their efforts into saving our planet.

Eating less fish means less plastic nets in the water. I think plastic nets are the leading source of plastic pollution in the ocean.

Edit: Added sources (I couldn't find the source to support what I said about nets being a leading source of plastic pollution, but they are still a huge problem to the environment and threaten the lives of marine life):

• ALDFG (Abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear) [this includes netting] accounts for an estimated 10% of the pollution in the ocean.
• An estimated 24% of ALDFG washes up on shore, while the rest remains under or on top of the water.

If you have additional sources, please share.

I was more interested in cleaning up what is already there, like these giant floating garbage patches. Of course much can and needs to be done to prevent further damage, but I wonder how much we could reverse the damage already done.

these giant floating garbage patches

Yeah, just to stop it right there, if you are envisioning a floating island of trash (like you may have seen in American Dad or Family Guy), that is not what it is like. Think more like miles upon miles of thick plasticy soup up and down the watercolumn.

That is exactly what it looks like. Just check out Ben Lacomte's portfolio from the Vortex Swim and you'll see the exact situation from up close

What is your weirdest ocean encounter?

Dom: Me and my wife did a night dive with manta rays. It's interesting that these species have the largest brains of all sea life. It's a surreal experience

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Armin: Bioluminescence makes you feel connected to something that we never knew existed.

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Dom; The cancer cells we study in the lab have bioluminescence.

With the ocean being as vast as it is, is it possible there is still a giant sea creature (say, a large eel or prehistoric plesiosaur) that could still be roaming out there? What do you think the chances are that we'll eventually have all of the deep blue explored, if ever?

Armin: The chances of that are pretty substantial. Our Tech keeps getting better and allows us to see stuff that was not available to see ever before. It's a pretty exciting time to dive into the exploration of our blue frontier.

Have known of Dr Dom D'Agostino for years and just learned about Dr. Ellis - fangirling a bit over this, to be honest!

My question: Towards which of the STEM fields would you nudge your kids/loved ones if their goal is to contribute towards the greater good of humanity and all living organisms? What advice would you give them to help them establish their career path?

Armin: Go with the field that you are most excited about. Every field is currently expanded and go with the one you are most passionate about allowing you to the most energy into it.

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Dom: Extreme Environments, Space exploration, radiation biology, but you can start with biology or plain chemistry and expand into a more techy field as your career prgresses.

Long time and avid fisherman here, how bad have the estuaries in South Florida become, really, since Rick Scott's "agricultural initiative?" What is the status of the fisheries?

Armin: Sylvia Earle, Florida Native and the panelist at this years OPC will be sharing her opinions on the Florida Ecosystem so I invite you to attend the OPC: we will be donating 20% of every ticket sold using the code "AMAOPC" TO Sylvia Earle's foundation. The promo code also provides an additional 10% discount on checkout! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ocean-planet-conference-2019-tickets-56733782270?discount=AMAOPC

What is working for NASA like?

Armin: I was working with an ocean of creative people at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, working on NASA programs.

Dom: Can't wait for my next call

Hey Dr. D'Agostino,

Huge fan/follower!

A few years ago, caught the Keto/LCHF, resistance training, endocrinology, biochemistry, organic chemistry, research methodology and statistics passion; unfortunately, I'm a few years removed from academia and college.

How would you recommend a passionate, hard working, willing to learn non-STEM individual get moving towards a goal of helping spread and discover more about these emerging bio-techs? Go back to school for endocrinology? Sign up to be a research subject? Keep learning and personally applying these concepts?

Thanks for all the knowledge you put out into the public sphere!! Also, good luck with your farm!!!

Dom: Keep Learning, the more you learn the more you excited you can become. It's a field where your every knowledge advances you to a bigger goal.

Hi Dom, I visited your lab from Purdue a while back. How's the hyperbaric AFM work going?

Dom: In 2005 department of defense supported our AFM project to Microscan changes in a membrane and cells. The equipment in our lab is still present and used till this day to give us insights regarding hyperbaric microscopy to detect cancer cells.

Hey Armin -- we know each other in real life (I'm K.G.'s brother-in-law). Hope you're doing well!

Acidification of the oceans strikes me as a tremendous problem that is rarely talked about. Aside from reducing CO2 in the atmosphere, is there anything that can be done to affect pH levels in the Ocean? The scale just seems impossibly huge.

Cheers!

Armin: I would like to refer you to https://essp.nasa.gov/essp/files/2018/02/2017-Earth-Science-Decadal-Survey.pdf These surveys are pretty comprehensive and focus on discovering the culprits behind the ocean acidification which will give us a better idea on what could be the most suitable counter measure.

Is this the conference page? https://www.oceanplanetconference.com/

Yes, it is. This is the promo code with the special AMA discount https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ocean-planet-conference-2019-tickets-56733782270?discount=AMAOPC

20% of all tickets sold through this link will be donated to Sylvia Earle's mission.

What would be the most interesting find in your research that you know about?

Dom: That manta rays are the species that has the biggest brain of all sea critters.

What’s the problem with having too much protein on a keto diet?

Dom: Exceeding the limit of the concentration of protein in calories can trigger a dangerous condition called ketoacidosis. Trying to balance this out by including more fat rather than protein focused diet leads to another consequence of keto-related weight changes can be a loss of muscle mass, says Kizer—especially if you’re eating much more fat than protein

Dominic - What are you going to be talking about at the conference?

Dom: There's numerous things that I will be focusing on. From stuff that I do in our lab, developing various hyperbaric scenarios, moving cell biology into chamber studies, my path from biology to becoming a NASA research scientist that studied the affect of the extreme environment on aquanauts and astronauts; and much much more

** Question on energy: **

Why has no one exploited hydro thermal vents for power Generation? Its a free heat source all we need is an energy converter and transport cables.

Armin: It's a great opportunity for producing a green/blue energy. I think that we lack the technology to make this a reality. It would cost way too much to built together even a small scale system that would convey power from this type of thermal converters.

Are you still on the ketogenic diet? Are you still researching the ketogenic diet and its affects on the brain?

Dom: Still researching the high protein concentrations and the effects of high protein levels to the nervous system

If you could go back in time, what advice would you give to your 20-year-old selves?

Dom: You're going to do great buddy

Why do you think the Navy holds the key for ocean well-being?

Armin: One of the topics that we will cover during the conference is the role of the Navy in the Ocean EcoSystem

Is the conference biased towards industrialization rather than the environment?

Armin: OPC is about looking about the Big Picture and think about the complete ecosystem, the energy industry produces power, fisheries provide food, pharmacies provide drugs. What we are trying to do is to solve the problems on a more systematic level. I believe that innovation can solve problems. We need to consider the importance of the oceans as a source of survival for millions of human beings and we need to find a balance between the environmental impact and the industrial users of the ocean.

Hi Dr. Dominic D'agostino and Dr. Armin Ellis,

What are your thoughts on the future of environmental medicine? Also, is there still progress to be made/much more undiscovered therapeutic potential in places like the ocean?

Dom: Absolutely! If we continue to do Ocean and Space Exploration it is important to advance our knowledge of the extreme environments body behavior. We have to understand the impact of extensive breathing of CO2 under controlled circumstances and be sure to apply the findings into real case scenarios. We need to understand certain situations and the effects they have on the human body to be able to figure out a remedy.

Any relation the the Octonauts?

Armin: No as far as I am concerned.

What's so special about hexagonal water?

Dom: What makes it so fun is that liquid water forms all sorts of temporary polymers, but a hexamer is indeed detectable but it has no more memory than six molecules. It is special because you can visually see the water molecules.

is this conference on youtube like with other conferences?

We will be recording the presentations but we won't have live broadcasts available during the show.

Have you ever been to NEEMO or somewhere like it?

Dom: Neemo #22 https://www.flickr.com/photos/40054892@N06/albums/72157683015049201/

Thanks so much for all the work you both do. Huge follower of the ketogenic research and talks you’ve been sharing Dom.

What are some of the biggest points nutrition aids in being underwater?

Dom: The most important diet is consuming foods that lower co2. Low carbs diet for instance.

for everyone, what is your life goal, and why does your currently do lead to that goal better than all the other possible things that could be done in life?

Dom: Be able to discover something that can make the Human body more prepared to sustain and survive extreme situations and environments

if you could do anything else in the life starting tomorrow aside from your current job, what would that be, and why?

Dom: Arts, I just love to express the unexplainable

Are you related to Dan D’Agostino, the great audio amplifier designer? I have one of his Aragon monoblock amps and just love it.

Dom: We are not related

What do you think is the next big discovery or hurdle in our oceans (ie moon base or humans landing on mars)?

Armin: I feel we're close to a major breakthrough in the Industrial use of our oceans, in terms of going greener and more efficient. But I cannot really predict something at the scale of the moon landing.

Any advice on how we can keep our oceans cleaner? And also WHATS the coolest thing you saw while exploring the ocean

Dom: We need to stop the way we behave and be more responsible for our actions. The coolest thing ever is the night dive experience with Manta rays

Do you have any recommendations for someone interested in pursuing a career as an oceanographer?

Armin: At the Ocean Planet Conference you can meet lot of people that have taken that same career path like Prof. Ruth Blake of Yale that would be more than happy to share her experience with anyone interested in learning.

I did a diving course at the Great Barrier Reef a while ago. I loved it and would like to try it again. What parts of the ocean are the most interesting to explore?

Dom: The floor. It has so many species living in the depths.

What's the most technologically advanced ocean crawler we currently have or is in development? I'm curious as to what we're doing to expand our understanding of what lies in the deep. Is it possible that prehistoric creatures still exist at depths currently unexplored?

Armin: We are no experts in this field but at the conference, we'll have representatives from MATE ROV, whose knowledge is far too advanced in this area.

what hobbies or things do you enjoy in life and makes you happy?

Dom: Diving, Swimming and snorkeling.

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Armin: Airplane and Spaceship model collector

With the number of ocean science and conservation conferences already happening these days, what sets yours apart?

Armin: This is not a technical conference, it's a lot smaller than the other conference that emerged recently. This conference features an exceptional program that includes incredible speakers from a variety of disciplines including ocean commerce, science, advocacy, sports, military and much more. We are not your typical environmental conference nor the conventional corporate trade show

Is it true we know more about the surface of the moon than the bottom of our oceans?

Armin: That is true my friend, but we intend to change that in the near future.