A team of paleobiologists surveyed hundreds of modern and ancient whale skeletons for decompression syndrome, which occurs when quick pressure changes force air or fat bubbles out of blood vessels.
Such damage would have been common when whales first began plunging into the depths of the ocean, says Brian Beatty, of New York College of Osteopathic Medicine in Old Westbury, US, who led the study.
New Sea Farm Raises White Whales in the White Sea.
Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are intelligent, communicative, aerobatic, social, curious, playful and sometimes devious mammals that can grow to 16 meters in length, weigh 41tonnes (41,000 kg) and live over 50 years.
Asian Lunch, which says it sells 1,000-1,500 lunch boxes daily in Tokyo's business districts, will offer the meat once a week, starting Thursday with a South Asian-style keema curry. "I hope many young women will want to have it as it's healthy with high protein and low fat. It's also rich in iron," company spokeswoman Yuka Yamaguchi said. The firm is also hoping to attract young men who have never tasted the meat before, she said, adding that 600 servings had been prepared for its debut at a cost of 650 to 700 yen (6 to 6.5 dollars).
DNA technology to show that the species diversity in our oceans may be higher than previously thought. Dead whales constitute an unpredictable food source - it is impossible to know when and where a whale is going to die, and when it does, the food source does not last forever. Nevertheless, some marine species have specialised in feeding on whale cadavers.
