Latest Posts by startdoost - Page 3
If you're feeling anxious or depressed about the climate and want to do something to help right now, from your bed, for free...
Start helping with citizen science projects
What's a citizen science project? Basically, it's crowdsourced science. In this case, crowdsourced climate science, that you can help with!
You don't need qualifications or any training besides the slideshow at the start of a project. There are a lot of things that humans can do way better than machines can, even with only minimal training, that are vital to science - especially digitizing records and building searchable databases
Like labeling trees in aerial photos so that scientists have better datasets to use for restoration.
Or counting cells in fossilized plants to track the impacts of climate change.
Or digitizing old atmospheric data to help scientists track the warming effects of El Niño.
Or counting penguins to help scientists better protect them.
Those are all on one of the most prominent citizen science platforms, called Zooniverse, but there are a ton of others, too.
Oh, and btw, you don't have to worry about messing up, because several people see each image. Studies show that if you pool the opinions of however many regular people (different by field), it matches the accuracy rate of a trained scientist in the field.
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I spent a lot of time doing this when I was really badly injured and housebound, and it was so good for me to be able to HELP and DO SOMETHING, even when I was in too much pain to leave my bed. So if you are chronically ill/disabled/for whatever reason can't participate or volunteer for things in person, I highly highly recommend.
Next time you wish you could do something - anything - to help
Remember that actually, you can. And help with some science.
I love this idea.
Can you render the lyrics of Never Gonna Give You Up?
i’ve gotten this request several times now, so for anyone who asked for this after uniquepickles you can just look at this post.
enjoy!:
letter sequence in this ask matching protein-coding amino acids:
WerenstrangerstlveYknwtherlesandsdIdIAfllcmmitmentswhatImthinkingfYwldntgetthisfrmanythergyIstwannatellyhwImfeelingGttamakeynderstandNevergnnagiveypNevergnnaletydwnNevergnnarnarndanddesertyNevergnnamakeycryNevergnnasaygdyeNevergnnatellalieandhrtyWeveknwneachtherfrslngYrheartseenachingtyretshytsayitsayitInsidewethknwwhatseengingngingnWeknwthegameandweregnnaplayitAndifyaskmehwImfeelingDnttellmeyretlindtseeNevergnnagiveypNevergnnaletydwnNevergnnarnarndanddesertyNevergnnamakeycryNevergnnasaygdyeNevergnnatellalieandhrtyNevergnnagiveypNevergnnaletydwnNevergnnarnarndanddesertyNevergnnamakeycryNevergnnasaygdyeNevergnnatellalieandhrtyWeveknwneachtherfrslngYrheartseenachingtyretshytsayitsayitInsidewethknwwhatseengingngingnWeknwthegameandweregnnaplayitIstwannatellyhwImfeelingGttamakeynderstandNevergnnagiveypNevergnnaletydwnNevergnnarnarndanddesertyNevergnnamakeycryNevergnnasaygdyeNevergnnatellalieandhrtyNevergnnagiveypNevergnnaletydwnNevergnnarnarndanddesertyNevergnnamakeycryNevergnnasaygdyeNevergnnatellalieandhrtyNevergnnagiveypNevergnnaletydwnNevergnnarnarndanddesertyNevergnnamakeycryNevergnnasaygdyeNevergnnatellalieandhrty
protein guy analysis:
i was really interested to see how this one would turn out, as it is made up almost entirely of repeated domains (the chorus). unfortunately, as many of you may be quick to point out, the chorus of Rick Astley's 'Never Gonna Give You Up' is not in fact a protein domain, and the only thing repeated are some terrible looking loops. i've even included a second picture to properly show you how flat this terrible protein is.
i thought i understood Levinthal's paradox before starting this blog, but these structures are giving me a newfound appreciation. for those who are unaware, Levinthal's paradox is based on the fact that any given protein can fold into an enormous number of possible conformations, but cannot test all of these within the seconds or less that it takes for a protein to fold into its stable tertiary structure. correct folding is controlled by the primary structure (or, the sequence of amino acids encoding the protein) as well as complex factors including the presence of any chaperones to assist with folding, and the relative abundance of the tRNAs matching specific codons for each amino acid. running this blog makes me think of all the ways this process can fail along the way, and all of the almost correct places a protein can get stuck. this one certainly looks like it failed, but even then its hard to believe this is the shape that stuck.
for those interested, the one beta sheet goes with the line 'you wouldn't get this from any other guy', which does only occur once in the song.
predicted protein structure:
Digenean parasites of frog from Erzurum (a: Diplodiscus subclavatus, b: Dolichosaccus rastellus, c: Gorgoderina vitelliloba, d: Opisthioglyphe ranae, e: Cephalogonimus retusus, f: Gorgodera cygnoides, g: Skrjabinoeces breviansa, h: Haplometra cylindracea, i: Haematoloechus variegatus, j: Skrjabinoeces similis). (Tepe, Yahya & Yilan, Yağmur. (2021). New Records of Trematode and Acanthocephalan Species in Frogs in Erzurum Province, Turkey. Helminthologia. 58. 372-384. 10.2478/helm-2021-0043.)
A distinctive plant that steals nutrients from underground fungi has been discovered as a new species by botanists from the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) in collaboration with local naturalists and stakeholders. The research is published in the journal PhytoKeys. Discovered in the tropical rainforests of Peninsular Malaysia, Thismia malayana belongs to a group of plants known as mycoheterotrophs. Unlike most plants, mycoheterotrophs do not perform photosynthesis. Instead, they act as a parasite, stealing carbon resources from the fungi on their roots. This adaptation takes advantage of the mycorrhizal symbiosis, which is usually a mutually beneficial relationship between colonizing fungi and a plant's root system.
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I put it to you that Scaphiophryne marmorata is peak frog.
Why?
Well first, it's pretty round, which is key.
Now get a load of those fingers.
Big, expanded discs at the end, ideal for climbing.
But what's happening back there with those toes? No discs there. Those are good for walking and hopping around on the ground.
Now, let's gently turn them over
First, excellent tum, 17 out of 10, no notes.
But what's that at the base of the foot? Those big projections? Yep, those are spades. This climbing, hopping frog is an excellent digger!
I like to think of these Scaphiophryne as all-terrain frogs. They're basically good at everything. They defy our categorical labels of 'arboreal', 'terrestrial', or 'fossorial', and say 'por qué no los tres?'—but in Malagasy, so 'nahoana no tsy izy telo?'
Six sets of Sacoglossa stickers! These are sea slugs, also named solar-powered sea slugs are able to photosynthesise! The mascot of this superorder is the sea bunny with their vibrant green bodies and pink rosy cheeks
Each pack will have a little information card and fun facts about these cuties.
Have put a lot of time and passion into these and hope you all like them as much as I do :)
Elysia chlorotica, also called the “Eastern Emerald Elysia” is a bright green sacoglossa found along the Atlantic coast of North America that's earned the title of “solar-powered sea slug” for its ability to produce its own energy with sunlight and the chloroplasts that it sucks off of algae.
This unusual process, which is similar to photosynthesis, is known as kleptoplasty. Except for a select number of creatures like the adorable “leaf sheep” Costasiella kuroshimae nudibranch, very few non-plant organisms are capable of the phenomenon.
Listen to me, boy. You will hear about sea slugs. You will enjoy sea slugs
Costasiella kuroshimae / leaf sheep. Discovered off the coast of Japanese island Kuroshima in 1993, they can indirectly perform photosynthesis by absorbing chloroplasts from algae
Cyerce nigricans. The cerata can be easily cast when disturbed. They can also swim by powerfully flapping said cerata when strongly stimulated. I think they look like butterfly wings!
Jorunna parva / sea bunny. They are covered in papillae, which are fleshy protuberances used for sensory functions. It looks like fur!
Glaucus atlanticus / blue glaucus. They are rarely seen, except during periods of on-shore winds which brings them and their prey into coastal waters. They are the most dangerous sea slug to handle, able to give humans a very painful and potentially dangerous sting
Chromodoris lochi / loch's chromodoris. They are spongivores, and prefer being on the underside of overhangs on rocky reefs. Their distribution is widespread in the Indo-Pacific. Everyone I show sea slugs to seems to love this little guy
Dirona albolineata / white-lined dirona. A translucent predator that often eats bryozoans and small snails. They generally reside on rocks and sometimes mud in the intertidal. Pretty little things, they remind me of shards of glass
Phidiana hiltoni / Hilton's Aeolid. They are known for being quite aggressive, often biting and fighting other aeolids, which is so real of them. They always reminded me of lit matches
Acanthodoris lutea / orange-peel doris. Its bright aposamatic colouration is a warning to predators of its distasteful toxicity. They also notably smell of sandalwood! You don't understand. I NEED to hold one
Nembrotha kubaryana / dusky nembrotha. They use the toxins in their prey ascidians to defend themselves against predators. The toxins are stored in their tissues then released in a slimy defensive mucus when alarmed. Nembrotha kubaryana are well-known for their neon appearance
Phyllodesmium poindimiei / Spun Of Light. It's primarily nocturnal and can cast its cerata for protection. Anyway, can we all agree that Spun Of Light is the most awesome name for a sea slug ever? I mean, look at it. That's a sea slug spun of light if I've ever seen one
Conclusion: sea slugs are the creatures ever
Going into 2024 like… 🦀 🖤 😞
@confidently-regretful
(Sorry to be that guy but) the leaf sheep is not actually a nudibranch, but instead part of the closely related order sacoglossa. Nudibranches are carnivorous while sacoglossa are herbivorous and feed by sucking the sap out of microscopic algae. Many sacoglossa perform a process called kleptoplasty, where they reuse chloroplasts from the algal sap they feed on and implement them into their cells. Some notable examples are the bivalve snails in the family juliidae, the eastern emerald elysia (elysia chlorotica) and obviously the sea sheep. Another slug from the order elysia (elysia rufescens) reuses defensive molecules called kahalalides as well as chloroplasts. Most sacoglossans survive primarily through heterotrophic means (ingesting and digesting) and photosynthesise when food is scarce or unavailable as a last resort. Though research has shown leaf sheep can survive long periods of time with little to no food of heterotrophic or homotrophic (photosynthetic) origin. They store their chloroplasts in cerata, which are structures often found on nudibranches and regularly used for gas exchange or- in blue glaucus’ case- for attack and defence. They also have rhinophores protruding from their face, structures also commonly found on nudibranches, which are chemosensory organs (essentially face tongues) that appear ear like on nudibranches and sacoglossans alike.
To conclude: while leaf sheep are very similar to nudibranches, they belong to the sacoglossan family (which is good because sacoglossans are just as cool) and luckily are not the only animals to photosynthesise.
(I’m researching them for a highschool project and am so obsessed haha)
So not technically a fish but I absolutely love these lil fellas
They’re Nudibranch sea slugs and they all look so pretty!!!!!
Some notable exception are the Sea Bunny (left) which is just the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen
And the Leaf Sheep (right), which is the only animal known to be capable of photosynthesis!
i am SUCH a nudibranch fan oh my god. actual underwater fae creatures. beloved little freak animals. i want to eat them like cereal
— Recent giant anteater sightings in Rio Grande do Sul state indicate the species has returned to southern Brazil, where it had been considered extinct for more than a century.
— Experts concluded that the giant anteater ventured across the border from the Iberá Park in northeastern Argentina where a rewilding project has released around 110 individuals back into the habitat.
— The sightings emphasize the importance of rewilding projects, both to restore animal populations in specific regions and help ecosystems farther afield.
— Organizations across Brazil are working to protect and maintain current giant anteater populations, including rallying for safer highways to prevent wildlife-vehicle collisions that cause local extinctions.
Playing back hours of footage from a camera trap set in Espinilho State Park in the south of Brazil in August 2023, Fábio Mazim and his team banked on possible sightings of the maned wolf or the Pantanal deer and had their fingers crossed for a glimpse of a Pampas cat (Leopardus pajeros), one of the most threatened felines in the world.
What they didn’t expect to see was an animal long presumed extinct in the region. To their surprise, the unmistakable long snout and bushy tail of a giant anteater ambled into shot.
"We shouted and cried when we saw it,” the ecologist from the nonprofit Pró-Carnívoros Institute told Mongabay. “It took a few days to grasp the importance of this record. A sighting of a giant anteater was never, ever expected.”
Last seen alive in the southwest of the Rio Grande do Sul state in 1890, the giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) has since been spotted 11 times since August 2023, although the scientists are unsure whether it’s the same one or different individuals. However, the sightings confirm one clear fact: The giant anteater is back.
It's a huge win for the environment. Giant anteaters play an important role in their ecosystems, helping to control insect numbers, create watering holes through digging and are prey for big cats such as jaguars and pumas.
The habitat of the giant anteater stretches from Central America toward the south cone of Latin America.
Its conservation status is “vulnerable,” although it is considered extinct in several countries, including El Salvador, Guatemala and Uruguay, as well as specific regions such as the states of Rio de Janeiro, Espirito Santo, Santa Catarina and (until now) Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil and the Cordoba and Entre Rios regions in Argentina.
In the last six months, the giant anteater was spotted on camera 11 times in the Espinilho State Park in the state of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil. It was the first time in 130 years that the species has been seen alive there.
Yet not only is it a triumph for conservationists to see these animals returning to Brazilian biomes, it’s also a surprising mark of success for a rewilding program about 150 kilometers (93 miles) away in neighboring Argentina.
Rewilding Argentina’s biomes
Iberá National Park in Corrientes province in northeastern Argentina is a 758,000-hectare (1.9 million-acre) expanse of protected land comprising a part of the Iberá wetlands with its swaths of grasslands, marshes, lagoons and forests. The region was once home to just a handful of giant anteaters after habitat loss, hunting and vehicle collisions decimated the population.
Since 2007, the NGO Rewilding Argentina, an offspring of the nonprofit Tompkins Conservation, has been reintroducing the species back to the area, most individuals being orphaned pups rescued from vehicle collisions or poaching.
So far, they have released 110 giant anteaters back into the wild. Nowadays, several generations inhabit the park, transforming it from “a place of massive defaunation to abundance,” Sebastián Di Martino, director of conservation for Rewilding Argentina, was quoted as saying in an official statement.
The project has been so successful that the giant anteaters appear to be venturing farther afield and moving to new territories beyond national borders, such as Espinilho State Park in Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul region...
Experts now hope that a giant anteater population can reestablish itself naturally in Espinilho State Park without the need for human intervention.
“The giant anteater returning to Rio Grande do Sul shows the success of the work done in Argentina and how it’s viable, possible and important to do rewilding and fauna reintroduction projects,” Mazim said. “It is also an indication that the management of conservation units and also the agricultural areas of the ecosystems are working,” he added. “Because if large mammals are coming from one region and settling in another, it is because there is a support capacity for them. It is an indication of the health of the environment.”
-via GoodGoodGood, via May 25, 2024
its pride month pillowspace. you know what that means.
huh? what? do you want me to post like, gay sea slugs? what?
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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This lie was pushed by the White House as well as every major Western news source...
who still haven't recanted it with anywhere near the energy they spread it with.
This lie is still being used to justify the extermination of the Palestinian people
There must be a ferocious reckoning for this.
Made by Sea-Blog
I get so confused whenever I see an AI-generated sea slug of a species that doesn't even exist, like is the world not beautiful enough for you? Do you care not for Babakina anadoni...?
Nemesignis banyulensis?
Bornella anguilla?
Phyllodesmium poindimiei?
Sea angel??
Here it finally is, the full cetacean eye colour info sheet! A long time coming, and an even longer time in the making. I hope that all you cetacean eye curious people will find this one as fascinating as the killer whale eye colour post. It’s a wild world out there!
THIS OCTOPUS IS HAVING A NIGHTMARE, SCIENTISTS BELIEVE.
Sleep is a fundamental biological function present in all vertebrates and most invertebrates. Octopuses are really complex animals, displaying active and inactive sleep states similar to those of vertebrates. In particular, octopuses have active sleep states during which they display sequences of camouflage patterns, while remaining relatively quiet and unresponsive to external stimuli. Some scientists have speculated that these states could be analogous to dreaming in mammals.
Now, researchers have recorder what is believing an octopuses having nightmare. During a month, researchers recorded a male Brazilian reef octopus (Octopus insularis), and they detected four brief episodes were identified during which the octopus abruptly emerged from sleep, detached itself from its sleep position, and engaged in antipredator behaviors, despite no predator was present. The longest of these episodes resembled the species-typical response to a predatory attack, suggesting that the animal may have been responding to a negative episodic memory while sleeping.
However, these are just conjectures, as it is hard to be sure, according to scientists, who claim that more studies are needed to ensure that they really are nightmares.
Gif from video: Eric Ramos et al
Reference: Ramos et al., 2023. Abnormal behavioral episodes associated with sleep and quiescence in Octopus insularis: Possible nightmares in a cephalopod?. bioRxiv.
video can be seen here
Every 10 Minutes!!!!!!
"which reptile is the most catholic?" obviously Komodo Dragons because they have virgin birth
many other reptile lineages also have virgin birth (parthenogenesis), there's even MULTIPLE species of whiptail lizards that reproduce entirely this way!
there are no males in these species. only females.
however! they still court each other and do some copulating.
that's right. MULTIPLE SPECIES OF LIZARD LESBIANS.
LIZBEANS.
Evil biology facts that fill me with Fear :)
hey, I heard y’all like evil biology facts like knowledge about horse blood types.
well! today I was researching alternative biochemistries extraterrestrial life could use and. man. I think Earth life is fucked up enough for me thanks
biological dark matter. WHAT DO YOU MEAN MY BLOOD HAS DNA IN IT FROM NO KNOWN SOURCE. YOU CAN’T JUST SAY THAT COME BACK HERE
One specific cave that has been sealed for 5.5 million years and has developed an ecosystem completely dependent on chemosynthetic bacteria.
Was anybody going to tell me that bacteria have decided iron is yummy and are eating the Titanic, or was I supposed to just read that myself
Terrible Berry (yes, that’s what the genus name means). This whole thing is so fucked up. These scientists were testing whether radiation could be used to kill pathogens in food, so they dosed a tin of meat with enough radiation to kill any known living organism (as one does) but guess what, it still fucking spoiled because of THIS BASTARD FUCKER.
(seriously, why is it like this? WHY has a bacterium evolved to chill in radioactive waste like it’s a soothing Jacuzzi tub? What does it know that we don’t know?)
(ANSWERS. I WANT ANSWERS, YOU CHERNOBYL ASS BITCH.)
Cursed worm, which has no mouth or digestive system and depends entirely on five (5) different species of bacteria, which consume hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen monoxide, and carbon monoxide, for food. How do you, a worm, even...figure out how to do...all that?
Bone worms. At least they like their bones already dead. I still could have gone without knowing this was a thing.
“Oh, parasitic plant, that sounds c—WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING”
I am like half convinced this is made up. Seriously, bacteria grow their own electrical wires and we just let them?
just found out that giant squid meat is chock fucking full of ammonium ions to increase buoyancy so they would taste fucking disgusting if you tried to make calamari out of them. i mean i wasn't planning on it but a girl can dream right? nobody talk to me
reminder that donating just a few $ to gofundme campaigns actually helps, you don't have to donate huge amounts if you don't have the funds, every little bit is useful. give $10, $5, even $1. it all adds up. don't scroll past because you think you can't help. help in your own capacity. donate a dollar. share and speak up.