Our lab's aim is to conduct research that is not only interesting to the scientific community, but also relevant to the general public. Here we collected some of the media coverage our lab has been featured in over the years. 

Scientists discover new species of sponge on deep-sea reefs off B.C.'s coast
CBC
by Ashley Moliere

"A University of Alberta research team has published a study on the discovery of a new sea sponge living off the coast of British Columbia. The new species — called Desmacella hyalina — was discovered using an underwater robot that travelled along the ocean floor, surveying reefs and collecting samples. Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada biologist Lauren Law, who worked on the study as part of her graduate degree, says these new sponges are different from the glass sponges on which they grow."  
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Watch This Deep-Sea Sponge Sneeze in Slow Motion
Smithsonian Mag
by Theresa Machemer

"Deep under the sea lies a creature that sort of looks like a ghostly tulip. The glass rope sponge has a cup-shaped, filter-feeding top and a thin anemone-covered stem tethering it to the ground. One of these sponges happened to sit in front of a Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute camera that captured a photo every hour for 30 years."
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The secret lives of sponges
MBARI
by Lara Streiff

"You might think that deep-sea sponges would be about as active as the one sitting in your kitchen sink. But when it comes to motion at the bottom of the ocean, there is more than meets the eye."
[READ MORE]

What is a lab animal?
Nature, Technology Feature
by Ellen P. Neff

"Small but dedicated communities are bringing the earliest lineages of the animal kingdom into the lab. Take a look at the ctenophores, the sponges, and the placozoans."
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B.C.’s glass sponges “cough” to unclog blocked pores
Canadian Geographic
by Abi Hayward

"Glass sponges in reefs off the coast of British Columbia “cough” to keep sediment out of their pores, according to new research that is shedding light on these mysterious but ecologically important invertebrates."
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Sea-Sponges and the Illusion of Self
Naturebang
by Emily Knight

"The humble sea sponge has been around for over 500 million years. We may think of them as ‘simple’ animals, with no brain, no nerves and no organs. But they have a pretty good party trick up their fleshy sleeves."
[LISTEN HERE]

Diving deep for glass sponge reefs
CBC, Quirks and Quarks
by Bob MacDonald

"Most scientists spend weeks and months toiling away in labs and lecture halls. But if they're lucky, their research can sometimes take them out of that routine. Dr. Sally Leys is in the Hecate Strait off the coast of British Columbia, leading an expedition that's exploring the health of the rare glass sponge reefs that are found here."
[LISTEN HERE]

Expedition to rare glass sponge reefs in B.C. to be livestreamed
The Globe and Mail
by Ivan Semeniuk

"A team of scientists is aiming to give online viewers their best look yet at Canada's most exotic marine ecosystem that's also a potential candidate for designation as a World Heritage site."
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Watch LIVE: Researchers explore rare B.C. sea glass sponges
Canadian Geographic
by Joanne Pearce

"Sea glass sponge reefs are like underwater old growth forests. So says Sally Leys, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Alberta, when asked to describe the towering reefs she's about to explore within British Columbia's Hecate Strait."
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Consider the Sponge
The New Yorker
by Ed Yong

"Sponges sit immobile, anchored to rock or rooted in sediment, filtering particles from water. There are around eighty-five hundred known species, and they live in both oceans and freshwater. Sponges exist in a rainbow of hues and can, in the case of the Caribbean giant barrel sponge, grow up to eight feet in diameter."
[READ MORE]

A Delicate Balance: Protecting Northwest’s Glass Sponge Reefs
Yale Environment 360
by Nicola Jones

"Off the coast of the Pacific Northwest lies a phenomenon as unique and precious as the Great Barrier Reef, hidden deep below the waves: a fragile reef of sponges literally made of glass. The Canadian government is now taking some steps to protect this oddity from accidental destruction. But researchers and conservationists alike say the action isn’t enough, and they are fighting for greater protection."
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Glass Castles in the Sea 
Natural History Magazine
by Cheryl Lyn Dybas

"Autumn arrived on a night wind along the strait of Georgia, the Pacific Ocean waters between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia. The next day, a cold snap whipped waves into whitecaps as a research vessel maneuvered into position in a fjord known as Howe Sound. On deck, a crewmember closed the vaultlike hatch of the Aquarius, a fourteen-foot-long submersible."
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Animal Without a Brain Can “Sneeze,” Surprising Study Shows
​National Geographic
by Karl Gruber

" They don’t exactly say achoo, but sponges can “sneeze,” according to a new study that shows the simple aquatic creatures are more complex than previously thought."
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Sneezing sponges suggest existence of sensory organ
PhysOrg
by Bryan Alary

" When Danielle Ludeman decided to leave her hometown of Vancouver to study evolutionary biology at the University of Alberta, she knew she was in for a challenge that would help her discover things about science and, in turn, herself.What she didn't count on were the hours, days and months she'd spend watching sponges in mid-sneeze."
[READ MORE]

Study Shows Animals Without Brains Have Ability to Sneeze
GuardianLV
by Alex Lemieux

" Scientists have found an exciting discovery from a not-so-exciting creature — the ability to sneeze. Sponges, yes, the porous marine invertebrates have shown that they engage in the act of sneezing."
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Sponges Can Sneeze, May Have New Sensory Organ
​Popular Science
by Douglas Main

"I don't know if you were aware, but sponges sneeze. That's a surprise, since sneezes result when nerve cells sense the presence of some sort of irritating, foreign particle. But sponges, one of the earliest evolving animals, aren't thought to possess a single sensory cell."
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