Update: NSF Conducts $682,570 Taxpayer Funded ‘Shrimp on a Treadmill’ Research
- Posted on December 27, 2011 at 9:20pm by
Tiffany Gabbay
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Back in May, The Blaze reported that federal funds were being used by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study a laundry list of outrageous subjects, including a robot that can fold laundry, “gelatin wrestling” and, perhaps oddest of all, shrimp working out to the tune of $500,000.
Now, according to CNSNews, a new report reveals that $682,570 in grants has been awarded to the “Taking the Pulse of Marine Life in Stressed Seas” research project — in other words, over half a million tax dollars are being spent studying “Shrimp on a Treadmill.”
The NSF website states that the research is being conducted by biology professors Louis and Karen Burnett at the College of Charleston and describes the experiments:
“First, a crustacean is infected, by injection, with the same types of disease-causing bacteria that are commonly encountered in the wild. Next, the animal is placed on a specially built, mini underwater treadmill. Then, the organism’s vital signs, such as its heart rate and blood pressure, are measured (as a proxy for fitness) while it walks on the treadmill–similar to the way that a person’s vital signs are measured while he or she& walks on a treadmill during a stress test. Finally, the treadmill performances of infected crustaceans are compared to those of their uninfected counterparts.”
The NSF produced a video, featured below, on the project titled: “The Importance of Studying Shrimp On A Treadmill.”
CNS adds:
Some of the results of the studies are available from the NSF, “Results show that infected crabs and shrimp do not perform on the treadmill as well as their uninfected counterparts, and that the immune responses that are triggered by bacterial infections are enough, by themselves, to reduce these animals’ ability to take up oxygen, even when high levels of oxygen are available.”
The website adds, however, that “more answers are needed” as research is ongoing.
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Comments (79)
dfree
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 11:50pmIt looks like they are trying really hard not to laugh!
Report Post »KeystoneState
Posted on December 28, 2011 at 1:19amHow would we ever get by without this?
Report Post »smithclar3nc3
Posted on December 28, 2011 at 2:29pmSomeone needs to see how much money these “scientist” and I use that term lightly donated to the Obama campaign.
Report Post »pollyanna
Posted on December 28, 2011 at 5:21pm“My gills, my gills!!!”
Report Post »I wanted to see the gelatin wrestling…hrmph…
Ruler4You
Posted on December 28, 2011 at 5:39pm“science” has lost its relevance to modern society by not protecting themselves from the sirens call of lust for self aggrandizement and wealth.
When you are collapsing as a society science is really no more than a distraction anyway.
Report Post »Tom K
Posted on December 29, 2011 at 3:34pm@DFREE: You are right. Right at the beginning of the presentation, the lady is just about to bust out laughing. You can see her brain is in high gear: ” Let’s see, $2,570 for research and equipment and the $680,000 we have left goes to our drunken round the world first class cruise on a really big ship with lots of ports of call and shopping. Thanks tax payers ! “
Report Post »rocknrrr
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 11:45pmDC is infested with termites! Each one of these projects and every politician that supports this stuff is just one small bug, but as they all work together, they are destroying the house little by little.
Report Post »CraigJCasey
Posted on December 28, 2011 at 8:03amRock, they will have to raise debt ceiling again, house is about to collapse! Obamacare, like medicaid & medicare are unsustainable. http://www.cobrahealth.com/Unaffordable.html
Report Post »chasbronson
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 11:41pmThat shrimpy takes a nice photo op.Thats a bargain @ $600,000. Most of the democrat photo ops cost much more than that.I would say we got our $ worth. [According to porkulus standards] You all can hate me now.Ha ha!
Report Post »chasbronson
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 11:36pmYou all are just jealous you didn’t have the brilliance to come up with such an important science project.
Report Post »pollyanna
Posted on December 28, 2011 at 5:23pmYou are shrimply wrong.
Report Post »COFemale
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 11:30pmHey that is what I need to do. Create a school ( I am a college instructor), create a bogus cause, and then apply for a grant from the government. Like taking candy from a baby.
Report Post »2malamutes
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 11:58pmHey…..that’s my idea. do a 20 year study about taking candy from babies and see how it affects them when they are grown up. Also see if the amount of candy effects the outcome.
Report Post »Sibyl
Posted on December 28, 2011 at 12:31amYou’d have to vote for Obama and probably give them a donation as a kickback.
That’s too much compromise of integrity for mere money.
That would be like prostitution.
Report Post »IMAWAKENOW
Posted on December 28, 2011 at 2:07amIf you can tag it with a green study you are fast tracked for at least a million.
Report Post »COFemale
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 11:29pmOkay this is really bad when the left makes shrimp work out. This is just mean, now when I go to eat shrimp (which will be quite awhile before I can) they will be puny little weaklings. Stop this madness, I deserve nice plump juicy shrimp when I can afford it.
Are you kidding me over 1/2 mill for this. Hey if you want to waste money, how about sending me 190,000 to pay off my mortgage instead of foreclosing and buy a new car (my truck is over thirteen years old, then I only need to find a minimum wage job to pay for utilities, gas and food.
Report Post »Stoic one
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 11:12pmWhere is PETA???
They were all about turkeys last month.
Well how about shrimp abuse this month?
Oh that’s right — no people to control here…..
Report Post »smokeysmoke
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 11:27pmSo when your sick you have less energy is the point of the study….. I could have told u that…. For only fifty bucks I would share my results
Report Post »Psychosis
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 11:00pmim curious ………….. you mean to tell me that these college students DIDNT know that sick specimens under-perform compared to healthy ones ???
Report Post »abbygirl1994
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 10:48pmAlso.. I wonder how long it took these to taxpaying thieves to come up with this story… tie them into Obama somehow and his monies coming in for reelection.. Ask American’s they really could give a flying fart what a shrimp can do on a treadmill.. what they want is them to be on our plates for dinner.. Let the shrimp take care of themselves.. God created them and they have survived for eons!! Again.. these two are taxpayer thieves!
Report Post »unbound1
Posted on December 28, 2011 at 4:58amI thought the same thing! Where IS this money REALLY going? This is a ploy…haha
Report Post »possom
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 10:48pmAlmost as good as the effect‘s of cocain on monkey’s or cow fart’s on the environment!
Report Post »CATPBJ
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 10:44pmIn addition to infecting these shrimp with whatever bacteria they are using they should also subject these shrimp to Gulf Coast oil like the BP rig let loose on innocent marine life when the BOP failed. This way they will be stronger next time they get polluted by some multinational corp out to destroy our planets wildlife and maybe they can evolve quickly and become adjusted to hydrocarbon rich ocean water……
Report Post »hauschild
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 11:33pmYawn …
Report Post »abbygirl1994
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 10:44pmIn no way would it cost that much money to watch a shrimp on a treadmill.. someone has pocketed the money.. I smell a rat…skunk or both!
Report Post »Rayblue
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 10:40pmWe ran more far reaching experiments in our spare time back in the 90′s. Launching field mice into near orbit in the backlot of a field office. Invented “vomit bombs”. Trained ants to perform circus tricks. Wrote messages to aliens on the sides of slopes with work vehicles. Calculated the flight time of vehicles after jumping a ramp and landing in a stockpile underneath the river bridge. And many more I’m forbidden to talk about. All our results were destroyed in the great “who dunnit” fire of 1997.
Report Post »Constantine Ivanov
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 10:25pmI think there is another one study even more crucial and urgent: influence of the alarm-clock ringing on the nerve system of bed bugs.
Report Post »I am going to ask mr. obama to give me $2 MLN for research. Can I rely on his generosity? Why not? Anyway, it’s not his money, it’s silent taxpayers money, so, it doesn‘t hurt the Michelle obama’s vacation anyway.
HorseCrazy
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 10:07pmcommon sense needs studies these days does it? apparently since it is lacking in most of humanity these days. sick of any species dont function as well as the healthy. now where is my $600k?
Report Post »scheduler
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 10:20pmAnother waste.
http://politicalbowl.com – Political Videos
Report Post »MCDAVE
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 9:53pmI wonder if Louis and Karen are Obama campaign contributors?….Next we will hear that they are bankrupted and all the treadmill shrimp have applied for unemployment
Report Post »Bum thrower
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 9:49pmTealch the to roll in the coating mix, and then jump onto the fryer!! Look at all the jobs that will be lost……LOL
Report Post »Baddoggy
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 9:48pmReturn to the Constitution to stop them from stealing our money for this Bullcrap.
Ron paul 2012
Report Post »Plan B
Posted on December 28, 2011 at 12:16amNSF is another agency Paul should add to the list that he will get rid of in the first year.
Report Post »ZengaPA65
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 9:40pmOld news zzzz what‘s wrong Tiff couldn’t find some stupid youtube vid about Ron Paul or what the fashionable Muslim woman is wearing today in Iran?
How about this article?
Romney Denouced by 850 + Rabbis
http://youtu.be/SVppk7yfDmM
Report Post »Hobbs57
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 9:50pmWhere you at in PA there Zenga 65 ?? You on rt 65 ??
Report Post »trenier
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 9:36pmINSANE!! It is becoming comical how they spend money yet they won‘t let me in charge of my own money because I won’t spend it wisely. hhhmmmmm
Report Post »FSM_47
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 9:36pmThese are the same idiots that want to push your power costs up and the economy down in the name of bogus AGW claims.
Report Post »Detroit paperboy
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 9:32pmI think i clearly remember Obama saying, ” we will go thru the federal budget , line by line , item by item.. And cut any unnecessary spending….. Im really hoping for a change… Please God. This is almost becoming a joke, on how to rip off the taxpayers, but i aint laughin anymore, and remember, almost half of every dollar the CRIMINAL FEDERAL GOVT. spends, is borrowed, with interest… So they actually borrowed over three hundred thousand for this study. SICKENING
Report Post »Bum thrower
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 9:44pmHey, boy…How’s that “hope & change” workin’; out for you?
Report Post »Mateytwo Barreett
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 11:10pmWeeellllll. . I remember the One sayin something like that – maybe the cuts he mentioned were the appropriations that DIDN’T **** m oney away!
Report Post »Cynic-clinic
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 9:31pmI don‘t perform as well on a treadmill after I’ve been infected with massive doses of bacteria. SO WHAT ??
Someone ought to put those researchers on a treadmill, underwater, then turn out the lights at the lab and go home–no loss.
Report Post »scuba13
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 9:36pmDon’t send those idiots down here,things are bad enough.
Report Post »db321
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 10:04pmWhat’s the big deal, other than the two researchers in the video were absolutely nuts – Obama spends 4 times that much on one Vacation. What the hell was she talking about, and what‘s the deal with the guy researcher’s eyes?
Report Post »BornJewishMuslimByFaith
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 9:25pmI would prefer this shrimp instead of President Obama any day.
Report Post »11:11
Posted on December 27, 2011 at 9:22pmwhat happened to “shrimp on the barbie…”
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