ITS THIS THING TUESDAY

Going into 2024 like… 🦀 🖤 😞

literally me

ScienceAlert

Concerning Levels of Arsenic And Lead Found in Tampons in World First Study

Weighing up the pros and cons of different sanitary products requires sound knowledge of what risks and benefits each poses.

Weighing up the pros and cons of different sanitary products requires sound knowledge of what risks and benefits each poses. For the first time, researchers have measured concentrations of various metals in tampons, finding worrying levels of several toxic types, including lead, for which there is no safe level of exposure. The walls of the human vagina are lined with a highly absorptive tissue that has the potential to soak up stray pollutants – like metals – that would circulate in the bloodstream without being filtered by the liver first.

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phys.org

Orchid plants nurture their seedlings via shared underground fungal network, study shows

The Common Spotted Orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii) is found all over the U.K. These orchids produce tiny seeds that can be carried anywhere by

The Common Spotted Orchid (Dactylorhiza fuchsii) is found all over the U.K. These orchids produce tiny seeds that can be carried anywhere by the wind, yet they often appear in clumps with small seedlings growing near mature plants. This phenomenon has puzzled ecologists since Darwin's time, with the exact reason remaining a mystery. A new study, led by researchers from the University of Sheffield in collaboration with The University of Manchester, provides the first evidence that early stage orchid seedlings germinate and thrive near to adult plants due to a kind of parental nurture using underground fungal networks. Scientists investigated the idea that fungal networks, known as mycorrhizal networks, act as a direct pathway for established orchid plants to share recently produced sugars with developing seedlings.

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Snails in the genus Julia have a bivalved shell, like a clam!

Even though they have a clam like shell, with 2 sections, they are in fact snails (class Gastropoda). They are marine snails, found throughout the Ino-Pacific. There are 6 species which are various shades of green. Julia are tiny, only reaching a length of up to 6 mm long. They feed on algae, and incorporate the chloroplasts from the algae into their bodies. Some of the chloroplasts remain photosynthetic, and the snails are able to feed on the products of this photosynthesis. This process is called kleptoplasty.

Photos: Julia sp. from Australia  - profmollusc | Inaturalist cc; Julia exquisita from Reuinion Island - Alexandre LaPorte | Wikipedia cc

Off topic, but have some fishes for now