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July 2017
25
Via   •   Source
americasgreatoutdoors:
“Olympic National Park’s rugged shoreline is rich with life. Invertebrates of countless shapes, sizes, colors and textures inhabit the tide pools along Washington’s coast. Pictured here is a starfish with Giant Green Anemones...

americasgreatoutdoors:

Olympic National Park’s rugged shoreline is rich with life. Invertebrates of countless shapes, sizes, colors and textures inhabit the tide pools along Washington’s coast. Pictured here is a starfish with Giant Green Anemones that opens its tentacles like flower petals in the tidal waters. Photo courtesy of Keith Ladzinski.

July 2016
08

Amazing video which zooms out to space and then back into the inner workings of our bodies.

#space   #astronomy   #video   #biology   #science   #theme day   
July 2016
06

Hermaphroditic Chalk Bass Cooperate When Mating

image

While it is estimated that roughly 2% of fish species are hermaphroditic, only a handful of subspecies are simultaneous hermaphrodites, meaning they have both male and female sexual organs at the same time. This is beneficial as it ensures that everyone gets to mate. 

These fish can “alternate” their sex up to twenty times a day, and since they do not have the ability to self fertilize, they depend on the cooperation of their mates to propagate the species. Furthermore, acting as both male and female improves their chances of passing on their genes.

Though not entirely monogamous, research published in Behavioral Ecology describes how the chalk bass will engage in a type of mating “rotation” where one female-acting partner will produce 2 egg “parcels” which the male will then fertilize. They will then switch roles and repeat the process. It is theorized that this behavior helps maintain cooperation and decrease instances of infidelity between partners. 

July 2016
05
Via   •   Source

New species of land hermit crab discovered: Coenobita lila 

hermitharbor:

New species of hermit crab has been discovered! This popped up on my Facebook newsfeed today. How neat!

June 2016
22

The Quick and Dirty: Watermelon Snow

image

Watermelon snow (also known as snow algae, pink snow, red snow, or blood snow) has been getting a lot of attention in the media  today due to a new study published in Nature Communications about it’s role in glacial melting. But what’s the quick and dirty on this algae?

  1. Caused by the algae Chlamydomonas nivalis, a green algae.
  2. Gets it’s red hue from a red carotenoid pigment (astaxanthin) that protects the chloroplast from UV radiation. 
  3. The pigment also absorbs heat, which provides the algae with liquid water from the melting snow around it. 
  4. Accelerate snow melting by darkening the surface of the snow, decreasing it’s albedo, or the reflecting power of a surface.  
  5. One tablespoon of melted snow can contain a million or more cells, which measure about 20 to 30 micrometers in diameter. 
May 2015
20
L’Oreal Partners with Biotech Company Organovo to 3D Print Human Tissue and Eliminate Animal Cosmetic Testing
The act of 3D printing human tissue has already brought about exciting new possibilities for research and medical treatments, but now...

L’Oreal Partners with Biotech Company Organovo to 3D Print Human Tissue and Eliminate Animal Cosmetic Testing

 The act of 3D printing human tissue has already brought about exciting new possibilities for research and medical treatments, but now cosmetics giant L’Oreal is getting in on the action. 

The partnership with Organovo, a biotech company that makes 3-d printed tissues and cells, could very well signify the beginning of the end of animal cosmetic testing, a practice that L’Oreal has been widely criticized for in the past. L’Oreal currently employs 60 scientists at it’s Lyon, France laboratory, where they are able to create 9 types of human skin samples representative of different age groups and ethnicities. Using the technology provided by Organovo, they hope to dramatically increase production of such tissue samples, reducing their reliance on animal test subjects as well as giving them a competitive advantage in the industry.

The project is still in the research phase, so it’s not easy to determine when they will start to implement this new technology in their product testing. 

Read More

May 2015
05
Via   •   Source
txchnologist:
“ Powerful Bombardier Beetle Chemical Attack Explained with X-rays Scientists using high-energy X-rays have gotten a peak of a mysterious animal kingdom superpower. The gif above shows a slowed-down version of what is happening inside...

txchnologist:

Powerful Bombardier Beetle Chemical Attack Explained with X-rays

Scientists using high-energy X-rays have gotten a peak of a mysterious animal kingdom superpower. The gif above shows a slowed-down version of what is happening inside the bombardier beetle when it deploys its highly effective defense–pulses of boiling hot irritants that sprays explosively from the tip of its abdomen. The spray is considered by biologists to be one of the most effective chemical defenses with which any species is armed. 

Bombardier beetles eject a noxious chemical called benzoquinone commonly found in insects and spiders. They have a rare talent, though, in their ability to create an internal explosion that heats the chemical to around 212 degrees Fahrenheit. This violent reaction allows the beetle to shoot an aimed spray of hot irritant at more than 30 feet per second in any direction an enemy approaches. It comes out of the animal’s glands in pulses higher than 500 per  second, which scientists believe is an adaptation to control internal temperature so the beetle doesn’t cook itself. Here’s a slow-motion clip of what the defense looks like from the outside:

image

Learn more and see a video below.

Keep reading

April 2015
30
Via   •   Source

bogleech:

dynamicoceans:

The paper nautiluses, Argonauta sp., are not nautiluses at all, they are octopuses! The paper thin white calcareous ‘shell’ is actually an egg case made by females. 

The shell is made of a thin calcite the female secretes as she matures. It also functions as a swimming aid, females use the shell to ‘gulp’ a measured volume of air at the sea surface, seal off the captured gas using flanged arms and forcefully dive to a depth where the compressed gas buoyancy counteracts body weight. When scientists removed the air from the octopuses’ shells underwater, the octopuses tended to sink before swimming to the surface, taking in more air and then jetting back down to where they were weightless.

Source Video Image

What’s really amazing is how the shell looks SO MUCH like that of a Nautilus, even though it doesn’t grow as a part of the body like a true shell. It’s produced an entirely different way and there wouldn’t actually be any point at which one derived from the other in their evolution.

The shape is similar either by convergence, which is likely, or according to some hypotheses, because these animals may have once borrowed the shells of nautiloids back when such animals dominated the oceans. The paper could have begun as a lining for the borrowed home and continued to be useful even after most of the shelled cephalopods died out.

April 2015
27
Via   •   Source

trynottodrown:

A pocket shark—the rarest of sharks with only one specimen ever seen before—has been discovered by scientists.

A male pocket shark measuring 5.5 inches long was collected during a 2010 midwater trawl survey 190 miles south of Louisiana by NOAA/NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center while studying prey of sperm whales.

The first pocket shark was found 36 years ago on the Naska Submarine Ridge in 1,083 feet of water in the southeast Pacific Ocean off Peru. The female specimen is 17 inches long and is currently housed in a Russian museum.

The specimen, determined to have just been born, was identified and subsequently sent to New York and France for high-tech examinations.

“I wasn’t really sure what it was,” Grace told the Associated Press. “That pocket over on the pectoral fin, I had never seen anything like that on a shark.”

“It’s cute,” Doosey told the Associated Press. “It almost looks like a little whale.”

continue reading

scientific article 

April 2015
17
Via   •   Source

npr:

skunkbear:

Scientists at the University of Alberta filmed a knuckle cracking in an MRI scanner to find out what makes that popping sound. I’ve wondered about this for ages, and I can’t believe this hasn’t been done before!

Turns out, contrary to the dominant theory of the past 50 years, the pop happens when a bubble forms between the two bones - not when that bubble collapses. Even better, some think that knuckle-popping might actually be good for your joints. Well, well, well, looks like my sister was wrong! 

More from NPR’s Rob Stein.

I’m sure there is a symphony of knuckle cracking celebrating this news.  -Emily

#mri   #biology   #medicine   #knuckle cracking   #joints   
Home   •   Inbox   •   Archive   •   Biology   •   Chemistry   •   Physics   •   Geology   •   Theme Credit
July 2017
25
Via   •   Source
americasgreatoutdoors:
“Olympic National Park’s rugged shoreline is rich with life. Invertebrates of countless shapes, sizes, colors and textures inhabit the tide pools along Washington’s coast. Pictured here is a starfish with Giant Green Anemones...

americasgreatoutdoors:

Olympic National Park’s rugged shoreline is rich with life. Invertebrates of countless shapes, sizes, colors and textures inhabit the tide pools along Washington’s coast. Pictured here is a starfish with Giant Green Anemones that opens its tentacles like flower petals in the tidal waters. Photo courtesy of Keith Ladzinski.

July 2016
08

Amazing video which zooms out to space and then back into the inner workings of our bodies.

#space   #astronomy   #video   #biology   #science   #theme day   
July 2016
06

Hermaphroditic Chalk Bass Cooperate When Mating

image

While it is estimated that roughly 2% of fish species are hermaphroditic, only a handful of subspecies are simultaneous hermaphrodites, meaning they have both male and female sexual organs at the same time. This is beneficial as it ensures that everyone gets to mate. 

These fish can “alternate” their sex up to twenty times a day, and since they do not have the ability to self fertilize, they depend on the cooperation of their mates to propagate the species. Furthermore, acting as both male and female improves their chances of passing on their genes.

Though not entirely monogamous, research published in Behavioral Ecology describes how the chalk bass will engage in a type of mating “rotation” where one female-acting partner will produce 2 egg “parcels” which the male will then fertilize. They will then switch roles and repeat the process. It is theorized that this behavior helps maintain cooperation and decrease instances of infidelity between partners. 

July 2016
05
Via   •   Source

New species of land hermit crab discovered: Coenobita lila 

hermitharbor:

New species of hermit crab has been discovered! This popped up on my Facebook newsfeed today. How neat!

June 2016
22

The Quick and Dirty: Watermelon Snow

image

Watermelon snow (also known as snow algae, pink snow, red snow, or blood snow) has been getting a lot of attention in the media  today due to a new study published in Nature Communications about it’s role in glacial melting. But what’s the quick and dirty on this algae?

  1. Caused by the algae Chlamydomonas nivalis, a green algae.
  2. Gets it’s red hue from a red carotenoid pigment (astaxanthin) that protects the chloroplast from UV radiation. 
  3. The pigment also absorbs heat, which provides the algae with liquid water from the melting snow around it. 
  4. Accelerate snow melting by darkening the surface of the snow, decreasing it’s albedo, or the reflecting power of a surface.  
  5. One tablespoon of melted snow can contain a million or more cells, which measure about 20 to 30 micrometers in diameter. 
May 2015
20
L’Oreal Partners with Biotech Company Organovo to 3D Print Human Tissue and Eliminate Animal Cosmetic Testing
The act of 3D printing human tissue has already brought about exciting new possibilities for research and medical treatments, but now...

L’Oreal Partners with Biotech Company Organovo to 3D Print Human Tissue and Eliminate Animal Cosmetic Testing

 The act of 3D printing human tissue has already brought about exciting new possibilities for research and medical treatments, but now cosmetics giant L’Oreal is getting in on the action. 

The partnership with Organovo, a biotech company that makes 3-d printed tissues and cells, could very well signify the beginning of the end of animal cosmetic testing, a practice that L’Oreal has been widely criticized for in the past. L’Oreal currently employs 60 scientists at it’s Lyon, France laboratory, where they are able to create 9 types of human skin samples representative of different age groups and ethnicities. Using the technology provided by Organovo, they hope to dramatically increase production of such tissue samples, reducing their reliance on animal test subjects as well as giving them a competitive advantage in the industry.

The project is still in the research phase, so it’s not easy to determine when they will start to implement this new technology in their product testing. 

Read More

May 2015
05
Via   •   Source
txchnologist:
“ Powerful Bombardier Beetle Chemical Attack Explained with X-rays Scientists using high-energy X-rays have gotten a peak of a mysterious animal kingdom superpower. The gif above shows a slowed-down version of what is happening inside...

txchnologist:

Powerful Bombardier Beetle Chemical Attack Explained with X-rays

Scientists using high-energy X-rays have gotten a peak of a mysterious animal kingdom superpower. The gif above shows a slowed-down version of what is happening inside the bombardier beetle when it deploys its highly effective defense–pulses of boiling hot irritants that sprays explosively from the tip of its abdomen. The spray is considered by biologists to be one of the most effective chemical defenses with which any species is armed. 

Bombardier beetles eject a noxious chemical called benzoquinone commonly found in insects and spiders. They have a rare talent, though, in their ability to create an internal explosion that heats the chemical to around 212 degrees Fahrenheit. This violent reaction allows the beetle to shoot an aimed spray of hot irritant at more than 30 feet per second in any direction an enemy approaches. It comes out of the animal’s glands in pulses higher than 500 per  second, which scientists believe is an adaptation to control internal temperature so the beetle doesn’t cook itself. Here’s a slow-motion clip of what the defense looks like from the outside:

image

Learn more and see a video below.

Keep reading

April 2015
30
Via   •   Source

bogleech:

dynamicoceans:

The paper nautiluses, Argonauta sp., are not nautiluses at all, they are octopuses! The paper thin white calcareous ‘shell’ is actually an egg case made by females. 

The shell is made of a thin calcite the female secretes as she matures. It also functions as a swimming aid, females use the shell to ‘gulp’ a measured volume of air at the sea surface, seal off the captured gas using flanged arms and forcefully dive to a depth where the compressed gas buoyancy counteracts body weight. When scientists removed the air from the octopuses’ shells underwater, the octopuses tended to sink before swimming to the surface, taking in more air and then jetting back down to where they were weightless.

Source Video Image

What’s really amazing is how the shell looks SO MUCH like that of a Nautilus, even though it doesn’t grow as a part of the body like a true shell. It’s produced an entirely different way and there wouldn’t actually be any point at which one derived from the other in their evolution.

The shape is similar either by convergence, which is likely, or according to some hypotheses, because these animals may have once borrowed the shells of nautiloids back when such animals dominated the oceans. The paper could have begun as a lining for the borrowed home and continued to be useful even after most of the shelled cephalopods died out.

April 2015
27
Via   •   Source

trynottodrown:

A pocket shark—the rarest of sharks with only one specimen ever seen before—has been discovered by scientists.

A male pocket shark measuring 5.5 inches long was collected during a 2010 midwater trawl survey 190 miles south of Louisiana by NOAA/NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center while studying prey of sperm whales.

The first pocket shark was found 36 years ago on the Naska Submarine Ridge in 1,083 feet of water in the southeast Pacific Ocean off Peru. The female specimen is 17 inches long and is currently housed in a Russian museum.

The specimen, determined to have just been born, was identified and subsequently sent to New York and France for high-tech examinations.

“I wasn’t really sure what it was,” Grace told the Associated Press. “That pocket over on the pectoral fin, I had never seen anything like that on a shark.”

“It’s cute,” Doosey told the Associated Press. “It almost looks like a little whale.”

continue reading

scientific article 

April 2015
17
Via   •   Source

npr:

skunkbear:

Scientists at the University of Alberta filmed a knuckle cracking in an MRI scanner to find out what makes that popping sound. I’ve wondered about this for ages, and I can’t believe this hasn’t been done before!

Turns out, contrary to the dominant theory of the past 50 years, the pop happens when a bubble forms between the two bones - not when that bubble collapses. Even better, some think that knuckle-popping might actually be good for your joints. Well, well, well, looks like my sister was wrong! 

More from NPR’s Rob Stein.

I’m sure there is a symphony of knuckle cracking celebrating this news.  -Emily

#mri   #biology   #medicine   #knuckle cracking   #joints