Deep-Sea Gold: Orb Turned Out to Be Anemone Tissue

A glowing four-inch orb found on the Gulf of Alaska seafloor during NOAA’s 2023 Seascape Alaska expedition was identified through later genetic testing as a piece of tissue from Relicanthus daphneae, a rare deep-sea giant sea anemone. The discovery concluded that the orb wasn’t an egg or new species but dead cells at the base of the anemone, underscoring the deep ocean’s ongoing mysteries and the subtle process of tissue shedding that can leave behind such glowing relics.