{"id":17258,"date":"2026-05-14T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/?p=17258"},"modified":"2026-05-12T13:17:57","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T11:17:57","slug":"golden-orb-in-the-ocean-the-mystery-is-solved","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/holistic.news\/en\/golden-orb-in-the-ocean-the-mystery-is-solved\/","title":{"rendered":"The Strange Gold Thing Waiting in the Dark"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Mystery of the Golden Orb Began in Alaska<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It all began in 2023 in the Gulf of Alaska. A remotely operated vehicle belonging to NOAA Ocean Exploration discovered a strange golden object 2 miles underwater<\/strong>. It was attached to a rock and had a round shape, with an opening in the middle. It looked like an egg, which is why many people suspected that this was exactly what it was. The problem was that no one could identify the species it might have come from<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Golden Orb in the Ocean: The Object That Stunned Experts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Experts from several fields puzzled over it. Some scientists openly admitted that they did not know what they were dealing with. Standard visual inspection did not help, nor did the first attempts at identification. The mysterious underwater discovery quickly became a sensation, one we also covered on our website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To solve the mystery of the NOAA golden orb, researchers had to assemble a special team of experts from different disciplines. They carried out a detailed assessment in as many as 5 areas: genetics, bioinformatics, deep-sea biology, microscopy, and morphology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: screen youtube.com\/@oceanexplorergov<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

DNA Testing Broke the Deadlock<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The first analyses did not reveal the typical anatomy of an animal. Scientists found that the fibrous, layered material contained stinging cells, which are characteristic of organisms such as corals, jellyfish, and sea anemones<\/strong>. A comparison with a similar specimen collected in 2021 during another deep-sea expedition also helped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even so, the next stages of the research were far from simple. Detailed DNA testing finally moved the investigation forward. In the end, scientists found that they were dealing with Relicanthus daphneae<\/em>, a mysterious deep-sea organism related to sea anemones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NOAA Golden Orb Was Not an Egg<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to a preprint published on bioRxiv<\/a>, the nearly 3-year mystery of the golden orb has most likely been solved. It was not an egg. The NOAA golden orb was not an alien remnant<\/a>, and it was not a sponge. It was a relic of a deep-sea anemone.<\/strong> Yet even as the work of American and Canadian experts nears its conclusion, something else matters just as much as the discovery itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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