#“Leading Biosciences”

[chokifandom]

—☆ 10. run away

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note: this chapter contains written content! it is a bit of an angsty chapter though :( wc: 825 man honestly nun of this ain't that serious i promise but y/n is just a really anxious lil one so it feels that way 😞

“nagi!” he’s sitting next to the waterfall outside the bioscience block— you wave at him as you start speedwalking to the bench he’s on. the orange of the sunset illuminates his face, and he looks like an evening snowscape. he looks up from his phone, sleepy eyes as he greets you. “hey.”

“you didn’t have to wait for me. i know you would rather be home right now, probably,” you say with a sigh as you take the spot next to him. his tall frame still manages to tower over even as you sit. he cards one hand through his hair— nagi likes the feeling of touching his hair all the way from the root to the tip— an oddly specific quirk, but it’s something that grounds him. “i had to stay back for a bit too, so it would’ve been more of a hassle for me to go back to my place and come back here…”

it’s a… well, it’s not a complete lie, but it’s not a complete truth either. an excuse would probably be the best name for it. he did have football practice with his team, but it ended at the same time it always did— and then he texted you, asking you when you'd be done, and then he decided that he’d just wait until you were done. screw it, he just wanted to see you, even if it meant going out of his way to do so. you lift your legs onto the bench and lean against his side and chuckle. “that just sounds like ‘i really missed you and i just wanted to see you again’ to me.”

“you’re right,” nagi agrees all too quickly. your response might just have been a humorous quip, but there’s no denying it. “you can’t just say things like that! and- and be so nonchalant about it!” you crane your neck against his shoulder to get a worm’s-eye view from your awkward position. he feels his heartbeat get quicker from the sudden proximity, and it takes him a significant effort to keep a straight expression. he looks down at your face, a playful smirk gracing his features while the redness creeps into your own. “but i mean it—” he cloaks his words with more playfulness and faux innocence (but he really does mean it). he was never one to care for other people’s feelings much but now he finds himself wondering how you felt.

“you’re making it worse.” you turn your neck back down to bury your face in your hands. such banter has become a frequent between the two of you, but you still wonder if he means everything he said. well, you know nagi means whatever he says so it would be more accurate to say you were questioning if you deserved it or not.

it’s a hassle to lie, and to keep up with the lie, and you unfortunately know better than to dispute that fact— which leads you to a realisation about a certain something, so raw and pure. nagi’s certainty of his feelings was something that awed you, but now that the subject of his feelings was you? you find that the awe turns into sickening fear. twisted vines grip at your heart and suddenly you feel sick from the anxiety, a constant barrage of ‘he deserves better’ running through your mind.

“come on, we should leave.” your feet are back on the ground, but no sooner had those words left your mouth, a strong arm slithers around your waist, effectively restraining you against the body of its owner. you’re momentarily taken aback by the strength of his grip, but nagi is an athlete after all. “h-hey…” you were always the avoidant sort, and you wanted nothing more than to remove yourself from the situation at hand, the anxiety welling up in your gut and knocking the air out of your lungs. “mm, we’ll leave in a bit.”

it doesn’t take much protest and clawing at his arm from your end to persuade him; he gives up with a groan and frees you from his vice grip. “anything wrong?” nothing escapes the ever observant— he can see the way you suddenly start avoiding his eyes and fiddling with your fingers. “oh, it’s nothing, really… actually, i feel kind of sick. can we, um, put this off to another day?”

a bold-faced lie. nagi knows your tells well enough by now, and the sudden shift in your attitude bothers him— but he can’t find it in himself to press you on the matter. his expression returns to its usual neutral state, and you can’t help but wonder if he’s caught on to your lie; hell, why were you questioning it? he must have, but you decide you don’t care enough either, for now. “alright, i guess… see you tomorrow then.”

“see you tomorrow!” running away is all you’re good at. nagi starts feeling like you’re out of reach.

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[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved in our archive (Daily updates!)

By Rodielon Putol

For countless individuals worldwide, grappling with the lingering impacts of COVID-19 months after their initial recovery has become a puzzling reality.

Often referred to as “long COVID,” the condition is marked by an array of recurring symptoms, including chest pain and heart palpitations.

But why do these symptoms persist? Recent research by the University of Queensland (UQ) offers profound insights.

Cardiovascular impact of long COVID Getting to the root of the matter, the University of Queensland-led investigation focused on post-COVID cardiovascular issues. The goal was to understand why chest pain and heart palpitations persist among long COVID sufferers.

“We discovered elevated levels of cytokines, proteins which help control inflammation in the body, in the blood samples of people at about 18 months post-infection with SARS-CoV-2,” said Professor Kirsty Short.

“Lab studies showed these trace-level cytokines had a direct effect on the functionality of cardiomyocytes, the cells of the heart responsible for its pump function.”

Professor Short noted that these particular types of cells are fundamental building blocks for our heart, so damaging them can lead to cardiovascular symptoms.

Until now, the role of chronic inflammation in cardiovascular symptoms had been unclear, particularly in cases where symptoms persisted for over a year after infection.

These findings bring the medical community one step closer to understanding the full extent of COVID-19’s long-term impact on heart health.

Studying long COVID through blood samples To explore the mysteries of long COVID, the team analyzed the blood of 50 participants from across Australia.

This cohort included individuals who had been living with long COVID for over a year, those who had recovered from COVID-19, and individuals who had never been infected by the virus.

A unique technology developed at UQ’s Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) called “immuno-storm chip” nanotechnology, was the tool of choice to investigate trace elevated cytokines. The experts also examined markers linked with cardiac tissue damage.

Although excited about the findings, Professor Short remains cautious. “It’s only early days and these results require validation in additional patient cohorts, including those infected with more recent SARS-CoV-2 strains.”

Professor Short also noted that the study’s focus was primarily on people with cardiovascular symptoms.

Despite the limitations, the research paves the path toward a better understanding of long COVID. It presents comprehensive insights into this complex disease and could potentially enhance diagnosis and treatment options.

A collaborative scientific endeavor The research team included Jane Sinclair, a Ph.D. candidate from UQ’s School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, Courtney Vedelago from AIBN, and Dr. Feargal J. Ryan of the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute.

The study represents a collaborative effort by multiple institutes, including UQ’s School of Mathematics and Physics, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Faculty of Medicine, Mater Health Queensland, Mater Research Institute-UQ, and several other institutions.

COVID’s lasting impact on heart health The findings from the study highlight the importance of understanding the long-term cardiovascular effects of COVID-19, particularly for individuals grappling with symptoms over a year post-infection.

By identifying elevated cytokine levels and their impact on cardiomyocytes, the research opens doors for targeted treatments focused on reducing inflammation to protect heart health in long COVID patients.

“An estimated 65 million people globally suffer from post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), with many experiencing cardiovascular symptoms like chest pain and heart palpitations,” noted the study authors.

Guiding future research While the research team remains cautious about drawing broad conclusions, they acknowledge the study’s potential in guiding future research.

This initial study suggests a need for expanded research across larger and more diverse populations to confirm the findings.

Additionally, future investigations could explore whether specific anti-inflammatory therapies might mitigate the persistent cardiovascular symptoms observed in long COVID patients.

This study marks a pivotal step in understanding long COVID, but it’s only the beginning. By continuing to investigate the role of chronic inflammation, scientists hope to develop clearer diagnostic tools and treatments, ultimately improving the quality of life for those affected by this complex condition.

The study is published in the journal Nature Microbiology. www.nature.com/articles/s41564-024-01838-z

[ridenwithbiden]

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is commuting the sentences of roughly 1,500 people who were released from prison and placed on home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic and is pardoning 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes. It’s the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history.

The commutations announced Thursday are for people who have served out home confinement sentences for at least one year after they were released. Prisons were uniquely bad for spreading the virus and some inmates were released in part to stop the spread. At one point, 1 in 5 prisoners had COVID-19, according to a tally kept by The Associated Press.

Biden said he would be taking more steps in the weeks ahead and would continue to review clemency petitions. The second largest single-day act of clemency was by Barack Obama, with 330, shortly before leaving office in 2017.

“America was built on the promise of possibility and second chances,” Biden said in a statement. “As president, I have the great privilege of extending mercy to people who have demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation, restoring opportunity for Americans to participate in daily life and contribute to their communities, and taking steps to remove sentencing disparities for non-violent offenders, especially those convicted of drug offenses.”

The clemency follows a broad pardon for his son Hunter, who was prosecuted for gun and tax crimes. Biden is under pressure from advocacy groups to pardon broad swaths of people, including those on federal death row, before the Trump administration takes over in January. He’s also weighing whether to issue preemptive pardons to those who investigated Trump’s effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and are facing possible retribution when he takes office.

Clemency is the term for the power the president has to pardon, in which a person is relieved of guilt and punishment, or to commute a sentence, which reduces or eliminates the punishment but doesn’t exonerate the wrongdoing. It’s customary for a president to grant mercy at the end of his term, using the power of the office to wipe away records or end prison terms.

Those pardoned Thursday range in age from 36 to 75. About half are men and half are women, and they had been convicted of nonviolent crimes such as drug offenses, fraud or theft and turned their lives around, White House lawyers said. They include a woman who led emergency response teams during natural disasters; a church deacon who has worked as an addiction counselor and youth counselor; a doctoral student in molecular biosciences; and a decorated military veteran.

Louisiana resident Trynitha Fulton, 46, was one of the pardons; she pleaded guilty to participating in a payroll fraud scheme while serving as a New Orleans middle school teacher in the early 2000s. She was sentenced to three years of probation in 2008.

“The pardon gives me a sense of freedom,” Fulton said in a written statement to the AP. “The conviction has served as a mental barrier for me, limiting my ability to live a full life.”

“The pardon gives me inspiration to make more impactful decisions personally and professionally,” she added.

After her conviction, Fulton went on to earn a master’s degree. She helps lead the nonprofit Skyliners-Youth Outreach, which supports New Orleans youth by providing hot meals, clothing, shelter and mental health referrals.

The president had previously issued 122 commutations and 21 other pardons. He’s also broadly pardoned those convicted of use and simple possession of marijuana on federal lands and in the District of Columbia, and pardoned former U.S. service members convicted of violating a now-repealed military ban on consensual gay sex.

Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., and 34 other lawmakers are urging the president to pardon environmental and human rights lawyer Steven Donziger, who was imprisoned or under house arrest for three years because of a contempt of court charge related to his work representing Indigenous farmers in a lawsuit against Chevron.

Others are advocating for Biden to commute the sentences of federal death row prisoners. His attorney general, Merrick Garland, paused federal executions. Biden had said on the campaign trail in 2020 that he wanted to end the death penalty but he never did, and now, with Trump coming back into office, it’s likely executions will resume. During his first term, Trump presided over an unprecedented number of federal executions, carried out during the height of the pandemic.

More clemency grants are coming before Biden leaves office on Jan. 20, but it’s not clear whether he’ll take action to guard against possible prosecution by Trump, an untested use of the power. The president has been taking the idea seriously and has been thinking about it for as much as six months — before the presidential election — but has been concerned about the precedent it would set, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss internal discussions.

But those who received the pardons would have to accept them. New California Sen. Adam Schiff, who was a part of the House committee that investigated the violent Jan. 6 insurrection, said such a pardon from Biden would be “unnecessary,” and that the president shouldn’t be spending his waning days in office worrying about this.

Former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., another target of Trump’s threats, said in a statement this week that his suggestion that she and others be jailed for the investigations “is a continuation of his assault on the rule of law and the foundations of our republic.”

Before pardoning his son, Biden had repeatedly pledged not to do so. He said in a statement explaining his reversal that the prosecution had been poisoned by politics. The decision prompted criminal justice advocates and lawmakers to put additional public pressure on the administration to use that same power for everyday Americans. It wasn’t a very popular move; only about 2 in 10 Americans approved of his decision, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from EcoWatch:

Biologists have created small hotspot shelters that operate like little saunas to help vulnerable and endangered amphibians fight off a fast-spreading and deadly fungal disease that has been a major threat to amphibians for decades.

Researchers from Macquarie University and the University of Melbourne developed the shelters as a way to help amphibians ward off chytridiomycosis, a fungal disease of the skin. 

As explained by Amphibian Ark, a conservation group, the fungi that cause the disease can grow in the skin of an infected amphibian. The fungi inhibit the ability for water to move through the amphibian’s skin, leading to heart failure. Outbreaks of chytridiomycosis have led to major declines in some amphibian species around the world, particularly in Australia, Mexico, Central America, the Andes region of South America and the western U.S., Amphibian Ark reported.

Globally, 90% of amphibians that are threatened by chytridiomycosis have become extinct in the wild or altogether, and 124 affected species have seen population declines of 90% or higher, Macquarie University reported.

In response, researchers found a low-cost way that they determined to be effective in improving the frogs’ resiliency to the disease. They used whatever materials were already available, such as bricks or PVC, to build small shelters for the amphibians. The idea is that the shelters will become warm enough that the fungal disease will not be able to grow or spread.

“The whole thing is like a mini med spa for frogs,” Anthony Waddle, lead author of the study and a Schmidt Science Fellow at Macquarie University’s Applied BioSciences, said in a statement. “In these simple little hotspots, frogs can go and heat up their bodies to a temperature that destroys the infections. As with many human diseases, such as influenza, chytridiomycosis is seasonal. Winter is a particularly vulnerable time for frogs, given there are few opportunities to heat themselves up. By making hot spots available to frogs in winter, we empower them to cure their infections, or not even get sick at all.”

[plethoraworldatlas]

As U.S. conservationists continue to fight for federal protections that would cover gray wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains, research released Wednesday highlights just how important the apex predators are to the western United States.

The study was published in the journal BioScience and led by William Ripple, a scientist at Oregon State University (OSU) and the Conservation Biology Institute known for his work on trophic cascades and carnivores as well as his demands for climate action.

The paper uses gray wolves to show the trouble with "shifting baselines," which, "in ecology encapsulate the gradual and often unnoticed alterations in ecosystems over time, leading to a redefinition of what is considered normal or baseline conditions."

As the study details:

Gray wolves (Canis lupus) in North America have experienced a substantial contraction of their historical range, at one point almost disappearing from the contiguous 48 United States. However, their conservation is important in part because of the potential cascading effects wolves can have on lower trophic levels. Namely, the proliferation and changes to behavior and density of large herbivores following the extirpation or displacement of wolves can have major effects on various aspects of vegetation structure, succession, productivity, species composition, and diversity, which, in turn, can have implications for overall biodiversity and the quality of habitat for other wildlife.

"By the 1930s, wolves were largely absent from the American West, including its national parks," Ripple said in a statement. "Most published ecological research from this region occurred after the extirpation of wolves."

"This situation underscores the potential impact of shifting baselines on our understanding of plant community succession, animal community dynamics, and ecosystem functions," he continued.

The researchers examined journal articles, master's theses, and Ph.D. dissertations from 1955 to 2021 that involved field work in national parks in the northwestern United States for whether they included information on the removal of gray wolves.

They found that "in total, approximately 41% (39 of 96) of the publications mentioned or discussed the historical presence of wolves or large carnivores, but most (approximately 59%) did not. The results for the theses and journal articles were similar."

While the researchers focused on wolves, Robert Beschta, co-author and emeritus professor at OSU, noted that "in addition to the loss or displacement of large predators, there may be other potential anthropogenic legacies within national parks that should be considered, including fire suppression, invasion by exotic plants and animals, and overgrazing by livestock."

Ripple stressed that "studying altered ecosystems without recognizing how or why the system has changed over time since the absence of a large predator could have serious implications for wildlife management, biodiversity conservation, and ecosystem restoration."

"We hope our study will be of use to both conservation organizations and government agencies in identifying ecosystem management goals," he added.

Amaroq Weiss, senior wolf advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), welcomed the study, tellingInside Climate News that "I think this is a really important paper, because sometimes science advances at a certain rate without a self-introspection."

"Nature is a really complex tapestry," she said. "It's woven together by threads that hold it together and keep it strong. When you start to pull threads out like you remove apex predators, the whole thing begins to unravel."

The paper comes amid a wolf conservation battle that involves Weiss' group. In February, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) determined that Endangered Species Act protections for the wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains were "not warranted."

Two coalitions of conservation organizations, including CBD, swiftly filed notices of their intent to sue over the decision if FWS didn't change course. After the legally required 60-day notice period passed, they filed the lawsuits in April.

Earlier this week, "the cases were voluntarily dismissed and immediately refiled to avoid any potential arguments from the defendants that the plaintiffs failed to give the secretary of the interior proper 60-days' notice under the Endangered Species Act," Collette Adkins, an attorney who leads CBD's Carnivore Conservation program, told Common Dreams in an email Thursday.

"Plaintiffs believe that their case was properly noticed," she said, "but we refiled to avoid any further disruption of the proceedings."

[foulresteds]

ㅤ⎯⎯ ㅤㅤ 𓇻; FELIPE GONZAGA , THE WIZARD'S APPRENTICE. ( based on the 2009 movie , with different lore )

⚜ felipe gonzaga is a common young man by the first glance. extremely quiet, reserved, he is seen as arrogant by most of his oxford peers and a mystery by the rest. having one friend or two, he is known for standing in the corner and making questions for the teachers and mostly avoiding everyone way. a major in bioscience, felipe holds a secret few could comprehend ; one day, merlin chose him to be his successor as a wizard. it happened as he finished his routine. called his younger sister back in uruguay and prepared himself to sleep. then, a knock on his door - a package delivered. inside, a dragon ring that stirred when felipe touched it, twisting it on his finger and awakening the sensation of dread, power, full energy that stirred and twisted until he got unconcious. when he awakened, a note laid next to him:

⚜ felipe then discovered his roots, visions clouding his eyes as truth revealed itself. his birth mother, who he'd never met, was devoted to natural magic in extremes, a descendant of one of the first apprentices of the ancient wizard. the trace of such was in his blood - enough for merlin ( or his spirit, éter... - don't ask felipe how, he wouldn't know how to explain anyway! ) to choose him as his successor. well, felipe was eighteen at the time and certainly not interested in becoming a freak, always opting to stay in quietness. but accidents kept happening. he sneezed, and a bus turned into an elephant. he waved his hand and the dragon moved just enough to nuzzle against his palm. and still, no mentor came - he, in despair, studies most magic on his own. not grasping it fully since then, only enough to live his life. becoming an apprentice with no master.

⚜ he is extremely gifted but possesses raw energy and power, uncontrolled. a danger to himself and others. reasons why he is so secluded and isolated - in fear of hurting those who wouldn't understand his existence. though the dragon ring helps him keep it mostly under control, he knows his emotions lead him astray. felipe is extremely smart and tries to unite magic with biology and science, seeing it as a gene mutation rather than something supernatural. he denies the existence of an other world, fearing he might encounter his old family : when felipe was ten years old his father, biological, died misteriously during sleep and felipe was sent to an orfanato. there, he was addopted by a lonely professor, señor francisco, who took him to love. this professor later adopted a little girl when felipe was already older, maria. who felipe adores and loves beyond words.

⚜ it is maria who gets him often into trouble. the only human who knows about his magic. at six years old, she likes to have him perform little tricks. those tricks often get out of control. felipe never regrets it, loving to make her smile. she lives still in uruguay, but felipe meets her frequently through portals he dangerously opens. TW : cancer / maria currently has leukemia and that's why felipe does anything she asks. he just wants her to enjoy every second she has, since it is unlikely she will recover.

⚜ felipe has a stray dog named darwin. he jokes the dog is his mentor and only friend. indeed, it is his best friend - and the sweetest animal.

⚜ felipe has a deep, soothing voice. he often lets spanish slip. his english is perfect, but he prefers his mother's tongue. he has to learn latin for his spells but hasn't been able to excell in it. he is extremely kind - he will help you without you asking, and will say nice things because he believes in them wholeheartedly to you, and then he will disappear but leave a mark because his eyes were soft while he said them. he isn't shy. he actually smiles a lot around his family and few friend. but he is so distant in public he feels like a shadow, an owl. he wants to make everyone around him safe. even those he doesn't know. unfortunately, he smokes a lot as well as drinks, being (tw) chronic depressed.

[fantasticelephants]

Woolly Mammoths: The Lady's Not for Cloning - by Barry Evans

Beth Zaiken's reconstruction of a woolly mammoth. Courtesy of the artist

When I asked self-styled "museum artist" Beth Zaiken if I could use her evocative painting of a mammoth for a story, she was quick to point out that the image I attached was not just a mammoth, it was a woolly mammoth. Turns out, mammoths came in many shapes and sizes, with woolly mammoths particularly celebrated over other species because they were the last to go extinct. Indeed, we have over 500 early depictions of woolly mammoths in dozens of caves in Spain, France and Russia, the earliest of which were painted 35,000 years ago. (Anatomically modern humans are thought to have reached Europe nearly 50,000 years ago.)

Cave paintings are just one way we know about these magnificent creatures. They are, in fact, the best studied of all extinct animals because so many frozen carcasses have been found, mostly in Siberia and Alaska. For thousands of years, they co-existed with humans, leading to speculation that our ancestors hunted them to extinction. Best bet is that it was a combination of over-hunting and climate change, the latter greatly reducing its habitat. They nearly made it to the present, though! Although most groups went extinct soon after the end of the most recent ice age, around 11,500 years ago, some isolated populations survived much longer. A herd living on Wrangel Island, the large Russian island northwest of the Bering Strait, probably survived until 4,000 years ago, meaning they were around for a good thousand years after the Nile pyramids were built. 

Mammoths are typically shown in movies and cartoons as living in a snowy wasteland, but their actual habitat was "tundra steppe," similar to today's Russian steppes. They were herbivores, spending up to an estimated 20 hours a day eating grasses and sedges to support their intake of up to 400 pounds of food a day, putting them in the same dietary class as modern elephants. Their adaptations to the cold included (of course) hairy coats — actually two coats: long "guard hairs" on the outside overlaying a short, softer undercoat, which in turn covered a 4-inch layer of fat just under the skin. Their short ears and tails helped minimize heat loss and frostbite. They lived to about 60 years old.

Most of the news about mammoths these days discusses the click-bait possibility of resurrecting the species — that is, bringing woolly mammoths back to life using DNA from soft tissue material and hair follicles in their frozen corpses. That became a talking point after the genome was completely mapped about a decade ago, when researchers showed that extinct woolly mammoths and extant African elephants share about 99 percent of their genomes. 

One promoter of this idea, aptly named Colossal Biosciences, explains on its website that it plans to: "Use gene editing tools that work like scissors to cut [African] elephant DNA and provide a mammoth sequence to incorporate into elephant cells in the same location." Reinsert the engineered egg into the uterus of the unwitting mom-to-be and 22 months later, the elephant's calf is born with woolly mammoth genes. Whether there's enough usable DNA in long-dead, frozen mammoths is debatable, as is the morality of the venture. Happily (for this writer), several prominent geneticists have come out in opposition to this kind of "if we can do it, we should do it" caprice. If the de-extinction effort is successful, a wildlife reserve in Siberia, given the hopeful name "Pleistocene Park" (shades of Jurassic Park), has been designated as a future home for the de-extincted critters.

One final tidbit: The word "mammoth" probably derives from "mehemot," Arabic for "Behemoth." In the biblical Book of Job, the Behemoth was said to be one of the two monsters created by God early in creation, the other being Leviathan, a monster whale. Which is somehow fitting for one of the most majestic creatures to have ever lived.

[mariacallous]

De-extinction startup Colossal Biosciences wants to bring back the woolly mammoth. Well, not the woolly mammoth exactly, but an Asian elephant gene-edited to give it the fuzzy hair and layer of blubber that allowed its close relative to thrive in sub-zero environments.

To get to these so-called “functional mammoths,” Colossal’s scientists need to solve a whole bunch of challenges: making the right genetic tweaks, growing edited cells into fully formed baby functional mammoths, and finding a space where these animals can thrive. It’s a long, uncertain road, but the startup has just announced a small breakthrough that should ease some of the way forward.

Scientists at Colossal have managed to reprogram Asian elephant cells into an embryonic-like state that can give rise to every other cell type. This opens up a path to creating elephant sperm and eggs in the lab and being able to test gene edits without having to frequently take tissue samples from living elephants. The research, which hasn’t yet been released in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, will be published on the preprint server Biorxiv.

There are only around 30,000 to 50,000 Asian elephants in the wild, so access to these animals—and particularly their sperm and eggs—is extremely limited. Yet Colossal needs these cells if they’re going to figure out how to bring their functional mammoths to life. “With so few fertile female elephants, we really don’t want to interfere with their reproduction at all. We want to do it independently,” says George Church, a Harvard geneticist and Colossal cofounder.

The cells that Colossal created are called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), and they behave a lot like the stems cells found in an embryo. Embryonic stem cells have the ability to give rise to all kinds of different cell types that make up organisms—a quality that scientists call pluripotency. Most cells, however, lose this ability as the organism develops. Human skin, for instance, can’t spontaneously turn into muscle or cells that line the inside of the intestine.

In 2006, the Japanese scientist Shinya Yamanaka showed it was possible to take mature cells and turn them back into a pluripotent state. Yamanaka’s research was in mice cells, but later scientists followed up by deriving iPSCs for lots of different species, including humans, horses, pigs, cattle, monkeys, and the northern white rhino—a functionally extinct subspecies with only two individuals, both females, remaining in the wild.

Reprogramming Asian elephant cells into iPSCs proved trickier than with other species, says Eriona Hysolli, head of biological sciences at Colossal. As with other species, the scientists reprogrammed the elephant cells by exposing them to a series of different chemicals and then adding proteins called transcription factors that turn on particular genes to change how the cells functions. The whole process took two months, which is much longer than the 5 to 10 days it takes to create mouse iPSCs or the three weeks for human iPSCs.

This difficulty might have to do with the unique biology of elephants, says Vincent Lynch, a developmental biologist at the University at Buffalo in New York who wasn’t involved in the Colossal study. Elephants are the classic example of Peto’s paradox—the idea that very large animals have unusually low rates of cancer given their size. Since cancer can be caused by genetic mutations that accumulate as cells divide, you’d expect that animals with 100 times more cells than humans would have a much higher risk of cancer.

But elephants have cancer rates even lower than humans—a surprising fact given their vast size. One hypothesis for elephants’ cancer-defying biology is that they carry lots of copies of a tumor-suppressing gene called P53. Humans, on the other hand, only have one copy of this gene.

P53 is good for elephant health, but it could be the reason that up until now scientists have struggled to create iPSCs from elephant cells, Lynch says. One way the gene seems to work is by stopping cells from entering a state where they can duplicate indefinitely, which is one of the key features of iPSCs.

Hysolli says that she’d like to reduce the time it takes to create elephant iPSCs, and refine the process so the Colossal team can produce them at a greater scale. The iPSCs will be particularly useful if Colossal’s scientists can turn them into sperm and egg cells, something that Hysolli’s team is already working on. Since there is a relatively limited supply of elephant eggs and sperm, one problem facing the de-extinction project is getting enough genetic diversity to support a population of functional mammoths—develop them from too few individuals, and you risk the negative effects of inbreeding. Being able to create sperm and egg cells in the lab should help with that, Church says.

These cells could also be useful for conservation work, Hysolli says. Colossal has partnered with researchers working on elephant endotheliotropic herpes virus (EEHV), a leading cause of death for young Asian elephants. The iPSCs could be a good way to figure out how the virus infects different cell types. The cells will also be useful for testing whether Colossal’s edits to produce mammoth-like fur and fat layers are working as scientists hope.

“I have no doubt that given enough time and money they will overcome the technical challenges of making a woolly-mammoth-looking elephant,” says Lynch. But he’s less convinced of the ecological benefits of de-extinction. The startup intends to introduce the elephant-mammoth hybrids into the wild to re-create the role once played by the mammoth in the Arctic ecosystem, grazing the land and trampling snow cover, potentially decelerating the melting of permafrost.

“How many hairy Asian elephants do you need to make that work?” Lynch asks. Whether there really is a niche for edited elephants in the Arctic 4,000 years after mammoths last roamed the area is a question that conservationists are still grappling with. Sure, scientists might be able to create mammoth-like Asian elephants, but whether we should is open to much debate.

Colossal’s scientists will be glad if they get to that point. Although they have elephant iPSCs, much of the work of creating elephant-mammoth hybrids is ahead of them. They must figure out how to create elephant sperm and egg cells, master the right edits to tweak their elephants, and take their creation through the 22-month Asian elephant gestation period. And then they have to do it enough times to build a population that can actually deliver on some of their ecological aims.

“It feels very significant,” Church says of the iPSC breakthrough. “This is a very big deal.” If Colossal is going to deliver on its de-extinction mission, then there will be many other moments like this ahead.

[laxmiree]

[CN] MLQC Lucien’s Rumors & Secrets – Season 2: He Who Knows No Bound (知无涯者)

⚠️ SPOILER ALERT!! ⚠️

This post contains a detailed spoiler for an R&S that has not been released in EN yet! Feel free to notify me if there are any mistakes in the translation~

“He is always looking for a way to knock on the door that leads to the future.”

Translation under the cut!

[Chapter 1]

At the recording of a science education program in the United States, Lucien was sitting in the focus center of the camera and wearing a white lab coat. He heard the host, Jimmy, speaking in a regretful tone across the room.

"I regret to tell you all that Professor Lucien, who used to be our guest on the show and was very popular, will be appearing on our show for the last time today, and will be returning to his home country for personal reasons… But I've also heard the good news." Jimmy looked across the couch at Lucien, "It is said that the 'Lucien Bioscience Research Center' you established here is almost completed?"

"Yes, the project is going more smoothly than I expected, so I've moved up my plans to return to my home country."

"So, as an old friend of the show, can you share your reasons for returning to your home country to start your own research center?" Jimmy raised his eyebrows and said with a curious look, "You know there are a lot of science professors who are loyal viewers of our show, and I think some of them are concerned about your research center and might want to be involved in it... Do you need to use our platform for some publicity?"

Jimmy's humorous words made the audience unconsciously laughed and Lucien also raised the corners of his mouth, "Thank you, but right now the team members have already been formed."

"The idea of setting up my own research team was something I had for a long time. I have been studying overseas since I was very young, but I have been following the situation in my country. I'm glad that in recent years, there has been a surprising development in the field of neuroscience here, and the prospects are very promising. I think this is a good time to go back. In addition to that..."

Lucien paused, and turned to the camera in front of him, "I also expect that the 'Lucien Bioscience Research Center’ will explore not only neuroscience but also in those more far-reaching propositions—fields related to the future of mankind. And, I expect that it can also produce exciting and amazing results.”

Lucien said without haste, showing the usual light smile on his face.

Jimmy looked across at the young scholar he had known for more than two years, and his heart couldn’t resist feeling a touch of admiration. Jimmy has worked with many scientists, but Lucien is undoubtedly the most impressive one, he seems to always be gazing at something more profound through those things that are happening in the present.

Underneath Lucien’s gentle appearance, there is a certain vigorous ambition that drives him towards a wider world.

“So, the last question - what does your ideal future for humanity look like?”

Lucien paused a little, sinking into a rare moment of deep thought. A few moments later, he met Jimmy's eyes once again.

"I can't answer you with certainty. After all, only those who are in the future will know what the ideal future will look like. But I think that the instinct of survival and evolution will point us the way forward."

Lucien's eyes flashed with a sharp light, "I hope I can have this opportunity to take as many people as possible to that future."

After the show, Lucien walked backstage and came across a man talking with a walkie-talkie, Lucien's eyes lingered on him and recognized him as a staff member of the director's team, and they had met a lot in the past two years.

The staff smiled and waved to Lucien: "Professor Lucien, I heard that you are going back to China? What a coincidence, I have the same intention in the near future. Maybe we'll have a chance to meet again."

Lucien also smiled lightly, but his smile didn’t reach the bottom of his eyes.

"Well, I've heard about it too."

"It's just that... rather than spying on me, the organization should have more pressing matters to deal with, right?"

Lucien slightly bite the word "organization". The man's face stiffened, and he suddenly stopped in his tracks, his gaze had a trace of panic and shock that could not be concealed.

He opened his mouth in disbelief as if he could not believe that his disguise, which had been hidden for many years, had been broken so easily. This man named "Ares" was far more dangerous and unpredictable than he had imagined, just like the rumors in BS…

However, Lucien no longer paid any attention to him. Lucien just indifferently glanced at him, as if nothing happened and walked forward.

[Chapter 2]

In the bar, noisy laughter was mixed with classic jazz music. Amidst these various crowds, a few young scholars at a long vintage wooden table were particularly noticeable.

"...Although we have worked together in the same research institute for several years, but when I think about it, I really haven't had much contact with Professor Lucien in private."

"This time, knowing that you are going back to your country, we wanted to get together and send you off, but we didn't expect that you'd really say yes."

A Chinese scholar raised his glass to Lucien. Lucien raised his lips and clinked his glass with him.

These scientists, all with diverse colors, are Ph.D. students from the top 10 QS World University Rankings and some of the most highly regarded young minds in academia at the moment.

One of the dark-skinned Indian scientists shook the glass in his hand and looked at Lucien.

"You know what? Lucien, when I first heard you were coming, I was particularly curious to see who you really are."

"What curiosity, you are obviously not convinced!" A British scholar with freckles next to him pulled the rug right under his feet.

The researchers had heard of Lucien before he arrived. After all, Lucien had already made a name for himself in the academic world. This "Genius Scientist from the East” can be seen in top academic journals and on the most-watched science programs in the United States.

These young doctoral students are also the pinnacle of the human race and naturally have some arrogance in their hearts, so they will inevitably have some judgment about Lucien, who is so "high-profile".

"But after working together, your ability convinced us." The British scholar took a sip of beer and said, "When you return to China, according to your strength and talent, you should become a big figure in the academic world in the future!"

"You are too kind.” Lucien, who had been listening to them, loosely leaned back in his seat, his cheeks flushing under the effect of alcohol. But even in such a relaxed moment, Lucien's eyes remained clear, they seemed to be separated by a thin layer of frost as if giving the people around him a certain amount of trust while maintaining a subtle distance from them without a trace.

"The field I want to explore back home is still at the stage of building the foundation, forming the framework, and creating the top layer… I can't do all these complicated tasks by myself. I'm just standing on the shoulders of my predecessors, hoping that the seed will germinate in my place."

Lucien rubbed the edge of the glass with his fingertips, thought for a long time, and the corner of his lips curved in a meaningful arc.

"Hopefully this time, luck will be on my side."

Everyone looked at each other and smiled as they raised their glasses to Lucien.

"Then I wish Professor Lucien all the best when he returns to China!"

Lucien also raised the wine glass, the clinking glasses made a clear, crisp sound.

"There's still a long road ahead."

"Perhaps we will have the opportunity to work together again."

[Chapter 3]

A week before his return, Lucien called a moving company to pack up the things in his apartment in America.

After the worker stepped into Lucien's house, they were a little surprised.

"Your home is really empty."

Hearing that, Lucien was slightly stunned, and couldn’t help but look at this place where he had lived for several years –

The big living room is simply furnished with a few pieces of furniture, except for a few paintings on the walls, it is almost impossible to see the preferences of the owner of the house, as well as the traces of life.

"However, it may also be because the room is too big... that's why the house looks empty and lifeless."

The worker saw Lucien's silence and was worried that his words might have been too abrupt, so he smiled again to make up for it. Lucien only lightly lifted the corner of his lips, he had heard such words from professors or scholars who came to his home, but he didn't pay much attention to them.

"Whoa… All these certificates need special packaging, right?" In front of the cabinet that occupied the whole wall, the worker scanned the certificates on the shelves with astonishment, rummaging through the bag to find the tape and bubble wrap, but Lucien just smiled and shook his head.

"No need." Lucien looked at the certificates in the cabinet with a calm expression.

"Just pack it up like any other item."

When the worker was packing his belongings in the living room, Lucien went to his study alone and continued to organize the organization chart of the "Lucien Bioscience Research Center" on his laptop.

The core team of the research institute has been formed, he slides the mouse, browsing the information of each member. These are scholars that Lucien has interviewed one by one, some because he especially admired them; some are personally recruited by Lucien.

Lucien's eyes rested on the information of a white-haired professor on the screen, a professor who was well-known both in his country and abroad. Lucien still remembered the moment when he brought the blueprint for the construction of the institute and invited this scholar, who was far more experienced and knowledgeable than himself, to cooperate.

"Every scientist who joins the research team will have maximum freedom in research. There are no financial restrictions on any worthwhile project, and the research institute will do its best to give maximum technical support."

The old professor listened to Lucien's introduction while flipping through the information in his hand, tapping his fingertips on the armrest of the seat.

Lucien saw that he was interested, and added without haste.

"The institute I'm starting is not just a research institute in the traditional sense, it will involve a lot of research beyond the cognition of ordinary people… So I think the addition of a distinguished scientist like you will bring some unexpected sparks to the team."

The old professor slowly closed the information in his hand and took off his glasses.

"It seems that times have indeed changed, and your generation of young people is very bold and courageous. I greatly appreciate it, and also willing to do my part. After all, the future is in your generation's hands."

"But I'm curious." The professor looked at Lucien, a wisp of interest crossed his eyes, "How did you, a young scientist, accumulate so many resources and wealth in a short period of time?"

Lucien just lightly chuckled and faintly lowered his eyes, "Because I've been preparing for this moment since a long time ago."

The sound of bubble wrap and packing rustled outside the door, allowing Lucien to snap out of his thoughts.

He looked at the completed structure diagram on the laptop, in fact, these members are not all experienced scholars, there are also a number of outstanding interns in school. When his mouse swept over the name "Pete", Lucien paused for a moment.

He had a certain impression of this person, and during the online interview, although he was still a student, he had a lot of internship experience, and he was also a serious and careful person, and he always managed to catch some key points that were difficult to find in his previous project.

When Lucien's eyes swept over the words "lab assistant" after his name, the worker's voice came from the living room, saying that his belongings had been packed.

Lucien responded and looked at the screen again, finally confirming that the diagram was complete, he closed the laptop, put it in his bag on the desk, and walked towards the outside of the study.

[Chapter 4]

(T/N: 4th and 5th part of this R&S take place somewhere between S2 Chapter 38-39, you can read S2 ch 39 here)

"Professor Lucien, I just received a call from your assistant, Pete, saying that you want to cooperate with our laboratory on dark matter. I didn't expect that you would come here in person not long after."

In the first-floor office of Hubble's underground laboratory, a middle-aged man in a white lab coat held a cup of hot tea and placed it in front of Lucien. Lucien nodded slightly in acknowledgment, then turned his head to look out the window: the huge comet loomed in the sky like a painting. Like a frozen frame.

These days, most of Loveland city is already enveloped in the "overlap zone", and the scope is constantly expanding.

The words of π the wandering lighthouse seemed to ring in his ears again, Lucien's expression became a little dignified. He clearly knew in his heart that the calmness of the city is only temporary, and there is not much time left for them.

"Time was short, so we came straight here."

Lucien met the man's eyes and stated his intentions straight away, "I would like to collaborate with your laboratory. To show our goodwill, my institute can provide models that can be used to explore the concentration of dark matter, and we can also help you with resources and technology, together with the Ultima Bioresearch Centre."

Lucien looked at his assistant, Pete, who immediately nodded in understanding and walked to the side of the desk. A few moments later, the buzzing sound suddenly sounded.

"You can think of this machine as a miniature world detector," Lucien explained to the man, "It can detect the effects of any force acting on the surrounding environment at a certain distance. After our many tests and evaluations, the accuracy rate can reach 96.3%... If you apply it to your current experimental project and use the exclusion method to target areas of higher dark matter concentration, you can greatly improve the speed and accuracy of the project."

Maybe because he didn't expect Lucien to start the conversation in such a straightforward manner, the man looked a little surprised.

Just when he was in deep thought, he suddenly heard Pete's voice.

"Professor, please have a look."

Pete took several A4-sized sheets of paper and handed them to Lucien, filled with dense numbers and coordinate symbols, Lucien only briefly scanned the data and handed it to the man across the table.

The man curiously took it, browsing the information on the paper word by word, a look of amazement surfaced in his eyes.

"This result is indeed the same as what we measured before... I didn't realize that the technology your research institute holds has far exceeded my imagination."

The man looked at Lucien with interest, his fingertips tapping the paper twice, "But I don't understand one thing, since you already have such advanced technology, why don't you carry out your own research?"

"Because the Hubble Underground Laboratory has more experience in studying dark matter."

"Cooperating with you can reduce our trial and error costs, and I want to achieve the goal in the fastest time possible."

Lucien didn't hesitate to answer, and the man's face showed a smile of satisfaction.

"Thank you, Professor Lucien, for being so frank, and I will gladly accept this invitation to collaborate. I will now have the researcher bring your team here, along with the model provided for inspection in the mine."

"Then I'll go back to the research institute now and inform the other colleagues."

When Pete was about to go out, Lucien spoke before he did.

"No need."

Lucien stood up, the light in his eyes reflected clearly under the incandescent light.

"I'll go over there myself."

[Chapter 5]

After a bumpy ride, the man led Lucien to the front of the mine.

They took an elevator and descended into a deep mine shaft, lit only by faint mine lights. After passing through the protective doors, the two came to a huge laboratory where researchers in protective suits were conducting detection work in an orderly manner.

"One might find it hard to imagine that the very substance that can influence our future destiny is hidden in such a dark and cramped underground."

Amidst the humming of the instrument, the man's tone carries a bit of humor, yet reveals more determination to succeed.

"Professor Lucien, with the model you provided to us, we will be able to move forward with our research at a significantly faster pace."

"Let's hope so."

"However, the current regional test has only just knocked on the door to reveal the truth of the dark matter." Lucien's face was stern. Dark and unclear emotions were hidden in his deep eyes.

"After that, there will be more questions waiting to be answered."

After checking the progress of the experiments at the mine, the two returned to the surface to further discuss the next research protocols.

During the break, the man looked at the alternative stars hanging in the distant sky and said casually: "This strange phenomenon is indeed very unusual, as far as I understand, many scientific institutions are cooperating in research, hoping to be the first to reveal the reasons behind the occurrence of this phenomenon..."

“Speaking of which, I've heard from some of the staff that there's also some interesting public opinion on the internet about how there are now rampant blood diseases and some unusual celestial events. Many people are speculating whether this could be some kind of ominous sign – perhaps a sign that the world is coming to an end?"

The man smiled and looked at Lucien beside him, his tone relaxed, "Although this is just nonsense, if the world is really in danger, I think my life will definitely end on the way to the experimental project inspection… How will Professor Lucien spend it?"

Lucien paused, his mind unexpectedly struck with the figure of a girl.

"I'll go see the person I want to see, and then…"

"Continue with the experiment in hand."

"I don't think the end of the world is an unsolved problem, so I'll spend until the very last second trying to solve it."

The two looked in the direction of the mine, standing side by side for a while, and suddenly Lucien looked at his watch.

"I'm going to leave for a while, I'm going to pick up someone."

The man raised his eyebrows, “Seems that the person is a great scholar, even Professor Lucien needs to personally pick them up.”

"No." Lucien denied it, but the emotions in his eyes unconsciously softened a bit.

"But she's a really important person, both on this project and in many other ways."

The man nodded his head and extended his hand towards Lucien.

"Well, then, I hope we can work well together."

Lucien also shook hands in response, the man seemed to think of something and suddenly laughed lightly.

"Professor Lucien, in fact, before you came to the laboratory, there are many organizations that want to cooperate with us, but I refused."

"Then it seems that we are a little more fortunate."

The man smiled and shook his head, "We did a lot of background research on you and your research institute after we received your call to collaborate. I've always been a person who relies on logic and reason rather than intuition, but for some reason, after reading those resumes and results, I suddenly had a miraculous feeling."

The man looked at Lucien who was unperturbed, and his voice became firm.

"-I just think that by working with such a person, we might really be able to do something to change the fate of mankind."

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Christopher F. Rufo

Published: Apr 29, 2024

Stanford University, its campus lined with redwoods and eucalyptus trees, has long been known as a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship. But in recent years, another ideological force has taken root: “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” a euphemism for left-wing racialism. DEI, in fact, has conquered Stanford.

I have obtained exclusive analysis from inside Stanford outlining the incredible size and scope of the university’s DEI bureaucracy. According to this analysis, Stanford employs at least 177 full-time DEI bureaucrats, spread throughout the university’s various divisions and departments.

Stanford’s DEI mandate is the same as those of other universities: advance the principles of left-wing racialism, hire faculty and admit students according to identity, and suppress dissent on campus under the guise of fostering a “culture of inclusion” and “protected identity harm reporting.”

Julia Steinberg, an undergraduate and journalist at the Stanford Review, believes that DEI is a “black box” system of rewards and punishments for enforcing ideological adherence. “I’ve observed as students are reported by their peers for constitutionally protected speech,” and professors are denounced and accused of discrimination by other students “for the crime of not being PC enough in their research or in class,” she says. “Who fits or doesn’t fit into the DEI caste system determines a student or professor’s summary judgement.”

DEI’s growth at Stanford has been fast. In 2021, the Heritage Foundation counted 80 DEI officials at the university. That number has more than doubled since then.

Sophie Fujiwara, a recent graduate, explains that DEI has become “unavoidable” for students, with “mandatory classes” and “university-spon.sored activities.” Left-wing students increasingly believed that this wasn’t enough. Following the George Floyd revolution of 2020, these students “demanded more initiatives and funding from the university for DEI-related subjects.”

Stanford’s DEI initiatives are not limited to humanities departments or race and gender studies. The highest concentration is in Stanford’s medical school, which has at least 46 diversity officials. A central DEI administration is led by chief DEI officer Joyce Sackey, with sub-departments throughout the medical school. Pediatrics, biosciences, and other specialties all have their own commissars embedded in the structure.

In the sciences, DEI policies have advocated explicit race and sex discrimination in pursuit of “diversity.” The physics department, for example, has committed to a DEI plan with a mandate to “increase the diversity of the physics faculty,” which, in practice, means reducing the number of white and Asian men. Administrators are told to boost the representation of “underrepresented groups,” or “URGs,” through a variety of discriminatory programs and filters.

Ivan Marinovic, a professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, says that DEI programs have had a disastrous impact on campus. He describes DEI as a “Trojan horse ideology” that undermines “equality before the law, freedom of expression, and due process.”

Given Stanford’s current trajectory, DEI will likely keep growing. At each step, it will degrade the quality of scholarship and academic rigor. The question is whether dissenters—professors, students, and alumni who reject the ideological capture of the university—will have enough power to dislodge more than 100 full-time bureaucrats. Stanford’s new president, Richard Saller, was hired in part to moderate ideological influence on campus. But according to sources familiar with Saller in his previous role as dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences, he probably lacks the strength to push back against DEI.

The fight ahead will be tough. As it has been before, Stanford may once again serve as a leading indicator of where American higher education is going.

[ Via: https://archive.today/WSzFI ]

==

I've never thought about it that way before, but it really is a caste system, with the straight white males as the Dalits/untouchables, and the trans, black, disabled lesbian being the Brahmins.

[peptech123]

Seaweed Extract (Ascophyllum Nodosum)

Seaweed Extract (Ascophyllum Nodosum): A nutrient-rich solution promoting superior plant growth, increased yields, and environmental stress tolerance.

[unholycourier]

Hey do 1 and A for all of your Fallout blorbos >:3c ❤️❤️❤️❤️🥰🥰🥰🥰

oh, you know the way to a man’s heart, sweetheart 🥰💕💕 thank you for these questions @valentineenjoyer !! more under the cut.

1. what’s the maximum amount of time your character can sit still with nothing to do?

lecter d. longfellow ( far harbor hunter )

surprisingly, lecter can sit still for hours at a time but for what he’ll have to be really enthralled in a book or activity to be able to do so. otherwise if there’s no stimulation whatsoever, the longest he can go sitting still is about thirty minutes at best, a few minutes at worst. sometimes he just needs to relax and be by himself with only his thoughts, but sometimes anxiety gets the best of him and he needs to pace and wander. it’s 50/50.

graham hoolahan ( pilot and railroad agent )

graham is surprisingly able to sit still with nothing to do for a significant amount of time! almost a full hour. it usually leads to him falling asleep wherever he’s sitting though.

abigail chambers ( bioscience scientist )

abigail has no time to sit down with nothing to do. she’s got things to do, people to see, and work that needs to get done! who needs rest? definitely not her (it’s definitely her).

quinn higuchi verger ( courier six )

like, five minutes, tops. he can sit down for a quick second and be fine but if nothing is stimulating his brain, he will be a menace. when the first minute kicks in, he’ll start fidgeting and bouncing his leg, by the second minute my man has to do something or he’ll explode. his brain got so fucked up by benny that his untreated adhd basically makes it impossible for him to just do nothing for any period of time. he has to do something; whether it’s collecting mugs for muggy, petting rattle, or cleaning every spec of dust off his weapons.

agnes higuchi verger ( mercenary )

unlike her twin brother, agnes actually loves to sit down with nothing to do. being a mercenary means you’re on your feet most of the time, and making your own clothes means you’re sitting and still working. so, really, she’ll take not doing something for once and just sit for an hour simply relaxing and daydreaming about whatever (bonus points if she gets to cuddle her girlfriend while at it.)

sycamore higuchi ( vault 76 wastelander )

honestly, they’re prone to sit for hours on end and do nothing but stare out into the open. they’re prone to sudden bursts of the inability to still and won’t be able to sit for more than a few minutes without doing something. it’s also 50/50 for them.

rory lavender ( former vault-tec scientist )

sitting down tinkering with weapons is his job, physically cannot just sit around and not do something. he’ll do nothing when they’re dead or asleep.

rattle ( quinn’s pet nightstalker )

rattle is just a little creature who shares the same inability sit still as her owner. she’ll sleep for an hour and jump right back up to bother anyone or anything she can.

egan ( hybrid deathclaw )

egan can sit for hours without nothing to do. being part aquatic, his favorite past time is to rest underwater and just watch the fog and the angler lights move across the surface of lakes.

rowan ( sycamore’s ( deceased ) deathclaw )

rowan was trained to hold still, stalk, and watch for potential dangers; so truly, similar to egan; he also had no qualms over sitting still and was able to hold position for just as long, though far more eerily still like a gargoyle statue.

a. why are you excited about this character?

BOY HOWDY DO I HAVE SO MUCH TO SAY ABOUT THIS. i adore all my ocs equally and they all make me just as excited when i talk about every each one of them, but for this, i’ll set the stage lights on quinn and lecter.

for one, lecter was the first fallout oc i ever made. he was originally a sole survivor, but as time went on and i played thru far harbor, i noticed that the main story for sole survivor didn’t click with me and i didn’t enjoy this pre-made story set on my character, so i turned him into a synth sole, and eventually, into his own oc, who was raised by longfellow and was later replaced by a synth (unbeknownst to synth lecter). his story is one of not feeling as though he belongs. that he’s a burden, unwanted, and a mistake; something that’s symbolized through his hastily put together framework. and his story progression and development just make me proud of him, even more so when some of his mental health and sentiments about himself are part of my own, i’m proud to see my little dude heal. i’m proud to make him his own oc to the fallout universe.

i played fallout 4 thru my formative years, and i also played fallout new vegas thru my formative years, and out of the two i think new vegas has left an even bigger impact on me because i can’t even think of that game without getting emotional. and that’s why, my courier quinn, is so beloved and special to me. he’s unhinged, he’s insane, he’s a menace and i love him for it. despite playing this franchise for so long i didn’t fully develop quinn’s behavior and personality until now and i wouldn’t have it any other way with how he turned out as a character. he’s an immature lil mf with a sassy tongue and i love it. i’ve developed even a whole ancestry line for him and I’m so invested in his family tree as a whole. there is so, so much to him as a character as there is as a creation of mine that i hold extremely close to me. like, i can’t even fathom playing new vegas without just making quinn over and over again lol.

not to mention that you gifted me fallout new vegas when we met, @valentineenjoyer, so that also makes both the game and quinn a super, super cherished memory. ;)

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved in our archive (daily updates!)

University of Queensland-led research has found inflammatory markers in the blood of long COVID patients which could explain why many experience ongoing cardiovascular issues.

Associate Professor Kirsty Short said the team set out to investigate the cause of persistent chest pain and heart palpitations commonly reported by many long COVID sufferers.

"We discovered elevated levels of cytokines, proteins which help control inflammation in the body, in the blood samples of people at about 18 months post-infection with SARS-CoV-2," Dr Short said.

"Lab studies showed these trace-level cytokines had a direct effect on the functionality of cardiomyocytes, the cells of the heart responsible for its pump function.

"These particular types of cells are fundamental building blocks for our heart, so damaging them can lead to cardiovascular symptoms."

Dr Short said until now, the role of chronic inflammation in cardiovascular symptoms hadn't been clear, particularly in individuals with symptoms persisting for over a year after infection.

The study involved analysing the blood of 50 participants across Australia who had either suffered long COVID for more than a year, had recovered from COVID, or had never had the virus.

The researchers used 'immuno-storm chip' nanotechnology developed at UQ's Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) to discover trace elevated cytokines in the long COVID cohort, along with cardiac tissue damage markers measured at single-molecule resolution in blood.

"It's only early days and these results require validation in additional patient cohorts, including those infected with more recent SARS-CoV-2 strains," Dr Short said.

"We're now curious to know whether our findings could be applied to other symptoms of long COVID such as neurological disease or respiratory disease, as this study actively recruited sufferers with chest pain and/or heart palpitations.

"Despite these limitations, this work offers some important new insights into this complex disease, and hopefully offers opportunities to improve the diagnosis, treatment and understanding of long COVID."

The research was led by UQ PhD candidates Jane Sinclair from the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences (SCMB), Courtney Vedelago from AIBN and Dr Feargal J. Ryan from the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute.

The research was a collaboration involving UQ's SCMB, School of Mathematics and Physics , AIBN, Institute for Molecular Bioscience and Faculty of Medicine as well as the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Flinders University, the University of Adelaide, the Australian National University, Mater Health Queensland, Mater Research Institute - UQ and QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute.

The samples for the research were provided by the COVID OZGenetics study, the Central Adelaide Health Network and the David Serisier Research Biobank at Mater Research.

The research paper was published in Nature Microbiology.

Study link: www.nature.com/articles/s41564-024-01838-z

[ramayantika]

Reflections

If you all read my previous post about loneliness, FOMO, feeling lost and alone as young teens and questioning if it's all gonna be worth it in the end or if you are actually in the right place now especially while preparing for entrances or just navigating through life as a high schooler and getting overwhelmed about life and the sudden changes it's throwing at you, this post is not going to be any gyan dena moment rather my own reflection over certain things.

I stay less online nowadays or even when I am using social media, it's to watch classical dance related posts or things related to women scientists, pharmacy and other bioscience subjects that I have interest in. No more random scrolling or reading two people debate in the comments be it on any xyz topic.

I began meditating again. I wish I would have actually done it before in my drop year. Perhaps I would have produced a better result due to a calm state of mind. Anyway, at least I started now. Each time I have meditated, I have found many answers to different things, be it about spirituality or questions related to my future. I have found the answers in those small moments of silence. I am no master at meditation, but somehow I have had many intense experiences which I don't post much often about because I myself doubt over it, but I can never forget those visions.

Let's talk about simple plain hate. I remember feeling rage over watching people hating on each other because the other person is from a different sex, religion, country, race and caste. Online or offline it happens everywhere.

Men hate women, women hate on other women, men hate other men and all of it pits one against the other. Hindus hate Muslims and Muslims hate hindus. The upper caste still looks at the lower with disdain especially some of our elders. Straights hate lgbtq and really want them to not exist. A colleague hates another one who got a promotion and inside the family someone hates the hater and literally prays for their downfall.

So?

This was from one of my early morning meditations. My mind drifted to news articles, podcasts by men saying demeaning things about women, and religious hate about both Hindus and Muslims where I saw some Muslims making fun of Hindus and Hindus taking pride in not having a single Muslim friend putting a jai shri ram status. It then moved to how people living in a single country, eating the produce of the farmers and being protected by the army still wrote things like what has been really given to us? Why to be proud of the Indian scientists (the chandrayan fiasco here on tumblr) and then to foreigners hating on India etc.

I remember the disturbance in my body, the blinding rage over how we humans have a problem with any person being different from us, and sometimes that problem leads to such anger and such hatred in us that we want them to remove them from existence or worse have them die a very bad painful death.

Some blogs write about oh how Indian culture sucks and how bad everything all is etc etc. I am not going to delve deeper into it and tbh I am not even worried if this falls into the feed of those same types of blogs. While meditating I found out how they themselves hated simple people who just had fun with their gods goddesses and spirituality. They were right to put awareness but wrong to make a assumption about oh yes they are too the same, they will hate and abuse other religions and stuff like that.

I have received hate anons which I always deleted but somewhere it used to be in the back of the mind making me fear about am I really wrong why would they write that for me?

And when i meditated that day it all became clear. Everyone, all of us, as we grow up, we are conditioned by the society, our family, school and media. Sometimes the influence is good and sometimes bad. Hate has existed in humanity since the start.

It only takes one single difference, be it ideology, caste, sex, and religion to trigger the hate button. And there you go we hate and hurt our own fellow beings.

We all have had various prejudices about various things. Maybe yes some weren't as vile as wanting tje other person off from earth but yes we all have had confused looks and questions thinking that what we believe and we say is right. The other person is always wrong in front of me.

And then vishnu gave me the answer. Detachment. Haan bhai ab kya moh maya se durr hone vala concept idhar bhi?

One has to know what is going on around the world. You will encounter articles, dramatic debates, blogs and people having their varied viewpoints. You can argue as long as you want and all those seemingly civil debates turn to abusive words, and hate messages.

The people online, those articles etc are just a fraction of people. Shit exists, bad things happen and ALL OF US ARE WRONG in many ways for many things. The simple lone knowledge of our dark thoughts for another person being different than us is enough to actually pull the reigns of the mind and to not give in to hate and ill will.

Now I still read news about how one community fought the other, look at the Twitter hashtags and just let it be. And for online apps, i scroll away from posts that talk about their own thoughts about the happenings in the country because it will be tempting to know what others think and ofc I will have problem in my head with another person if they go against than my belief. It literally happens to everyone sabko sabse dikkat hoti hai bas tum uspe kaam na karke usko buri baatein na suna dena na. Na uska soch badlega na tumhara.

And then at one point, the rage cooled down with a simple thought: I can't change anything. I am not perfect in thoughts and so does the other person.

Discrimination, war, poverty exists and we can never completely remove it. The least we can do is not hurt the other person if we don't like them.

I haven't seen a lot of life. I am still young but from my experience living in cities and amongst different sections of the society, this is what I learnt and the lesson got deeply engraved into me.

None of us are perfect. Let's try to learn to listen to one another and not go into blind anger. All those twitter tags, hate filled posts and articles are worthless.

100 baat ki ek baat. Sab badme marrne vale hai aur tum jisko hate karte ho agle janam usi community ya religion mein paida hoge just so you learn especially the damn soul to love everyone.

[macbioscience]

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[curatebio]

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Curate Biosciences is a leading company in the field of innovative cell treatment systems. Their cutting-edge technologies include immune targeted therapy, cell therapy machines, and cell isolation systems that enable the development of advanced treatments for a range of diseases.