Editing Sponge (section)

=== By humans ===

{{Main|Sea sponge aquaculture|Sponge diving}}

==== Skeleton ====

{{Main|Sponge (material)}}

The [[calcium carbonate]] or [[silica]] [[Sponge spicule|spicules]] of most sponge [[genus|genera]] make them too rough for most uses, but two genera, ''[[Hippospongia]]'' and ''[[Spongia]]'', have soft, entirely fibrous skeletons.<ref name="Bergquist_1978"/>{{rp|88}} Early Europeans used soft sponges for many purposes, including padding for helmets, portable drinking utensils and municipal water filters. Until the invention of synthetic sponges, they were used as cleaning tools, applicators for paints and [[ceramic glaze]]s and discreet [[contraceptive]]s. However, by the mid-20th century, overfishing brought both the animals and the industry close to [[extinction]].<ref>{{cite book |last=McClenachan |first=L. |chapter=Social conflict, Over-fishing and Disease in the Florida Sponge Fishery, 1849–1939 |pages=25–27 |title=Oceans Past: Management Insights from the History of Marine Animal Populations |editor1=Starkey, D.J. |editor2=Holm, P. |editor3=Barnard, M. |publisher=[[Earthscan]] |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-84407-527-0 |chapter-url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=cGEeEfFegvEC|page=26}}}}</ref>

Many objects with sponge-like textures are now made of substances not derived from poriferans. Synthetic sponges include personal and household [[Sponge (material)|cleaning tools]], [[breast implant]]s,<ref>{{cite book |last=Jacobson |first=N. |title=Cleavage |publisher=Rutgers University Press|isbn=978-0-8135-2715-4|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=3ZIw_3Px4AEC|page=62}}|year=2000|page=62}}</ref> and [[contraceptive sponge]]s.<ref name="CBAS">{{Cite journal |title=Sponges |journal=[[Cervical Barrier Advancement Society]] |year=2004 |url=http://www.cervicalbarriers.org/information/sponges.cfm |access-date=2006-09-17 |archive-date=January 14, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114062634/http://www.cervicalbarriers.org/information/sponges.cfm }}</ref> Typical materials used are [[cellulose]] foam, [[polyurethane]] foam, and less frequently, [[silicone]] foam.

The [[Exfoliation (cosmetology)#Loofah|luffa]] "sponge", also spelled ''loofah'', which is commonly sold for use in the kitchen or the shower, is not derived from an animal but mainly from the fibrous "skeleton" of the [[Luffa aegyptiaca|sponge gourd]] (''Luffa aegyptiaca'', [[Cucurbitaceae]]).<ref>{{cite journal |last=Porterfield |first=W.M. |title=Loofah — The sponge gourd |journal=[[Economic Botany]] |volume=9 |issue=3 |year=1955 |pages=211–223 |doi=10.1007/BF02859814 |bibcode=1955EcBot...9..211P |s2cid=27313678 }}</ref>

<gallery class=center mode=nolines widths=180 heights=180 title=Human uses of sponges>
File:2008.09-331-196ap Sponge gourd,pd Spice Bazaar@Istanbul,TR mon29sep2008-1315h.jpg|Sponges made of [[Luffa aegyptiaca|sponge gourd]] for sale alongside sponges of animal origin, [[Spice Bazaar, Istanbul]] 
File:SpongesTarponSprings.jpg|Natural sponges in [[Tarpon Springs]], [[Florida]]
</gallery>

==== Medicinal compounds ====

{{further|Sponge isolates}}

[[File:Halichondria and Eribulin.jpg|thumb|upright|''Halichondria'' produces the [[eribulin]] precursor [[halichondrin B]] ]]

Sponges have [[medicine|medicinal]] potential due to the presence in sponges themselves or their microbial [[symbiosis|symbionts]] of chemicals that may be used to control [[virus]]es, [[bacteria]], [[tumor]]s and fungi.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Imhoff |first1=J.F. |last2=Stöhr |first2=R. |chapter=Sponge-Associated Bacteria |pages=43–44 |editor= Müller, W.E. |title=Sponges (Porifera): Porifera |publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media|Springer]] |year=2003 |isbn=978-3-540-00968-9 }}</ref><ref name="pmid8297426">{{cite journal |last1=Teeyapant |first1=R. |last2=Woerdenbag |first2=H. J. |last3=Kreis |first3=P. |last4=Hacker |first4=J. |last5=Wray |first5=V. |last6=Witte |first6=L. |last7=Proksch |first7=P. |title=Antibiotic and cytotoxic activity of brominated compounds from the marine sponge Verongia aerophoba |journal=Zeitschrift für Naturforschung C |volume=48 |issue=11–12 |pages=939–45 |date=1993 |pmid=8297426 |doi=10.1515/znc-1993-11-1218 |s2cid=1593418 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Lacking any protective shell or means of escape, sponges have evolved to synthesize a variety of unusual compounds. One such class is the oxidized fatty acid derivatives called [[oxylipin]]s. Members of this family have been found to have anti-cancer, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. One example isolated from the Okinawan ''Plakortis'' sponges, [[plakoridine A]], has shown potential as a cytotoxin to murine lymphoma cells.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Takeuchi |first1=Shinji |last2=Ishibashi |first2=Masami |last3=Kobayashi |first3=Junichi |title=Plakoridine A, a new tyramine-containing pyrrolidine alkaloid from the ''Okinawan marine'' sponge Plakortis sp |journal=Journal of Organic Chemistry |year=1994 |volume=59 |issue=13 |pages=3712–3713 |doi=10.1021/jo00092a039 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Etchells |first1=Laura L. |last2=Sardarian |first2=Ali |last3=Whitehead |first3=Roger C. |title=A synthetic approach to the plakoridines modeled on a biogenetic theory |journal=[[Tetrahedron Letters]] |date=18 April 2005 |volume=46 |issue=16 |pages=2803–2807 |doi=10.1016/j.tetlet.2005.02.124 }}</ref>