#*science*

[mbari-blog]

When MBARI’s exploration meets @MontereyBayAquarium’s innovation 🤩✨️⁠ ⁠

Bloody-belly comb jellies, Lampocteis cruentiventer, are ctenophores, not true jellies. Like other comb jellies, they navigate through the water by beating their shimmering, hair-like cilia. These crimson beauties are found in the twilight zone, using their blood-red stomachs to hide a belly full of glowing (bioluminescent) prey. At these depths, red is nearly invisible, turning their vibrant color into the perfect camouflage.⁠ ⁠

This species was first observed off the coast of San Diego in 1979, but MBARI researchers, including Senior Research and Education Specialist George Matsumoto, officially named and described it in 2001.⁠ ⁠ The Aquarium’s husbandry team worked for years to decode the mystery of caring for these jellies, becoming the first to display them. Aquarium experts like Senior Aquarist Evan Firl have been able to extend the captive longevity of this species by reducing oxygen concentrations and mimicking the bloody belly’s deep-sea habitat. ⁠ ⁠ By combining our deep-sea and animal care expertise, the Aquarium and MBARI have made it possible for everyone to see these tiny translucent treasures in person and learn more about these captivating denizens of the deep.⁠

[amnhnyc]

Meet the dazzling Ocellated Turkey (Meleagris ocellata). This bird is a flashier relative to the typical Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) often associated with Thanksgiving. It sports a lustrous coat of colorful feathers and a blue head dotted with vivid orange bumps. The word “ocellated” in its common name refers to the eye-like markings on this turkey’s tail, which are similar to those found on a peacock’s plumes.

While the Ocellated Turkey is closely related to its North American cousin, don’t expect them to sound the same. This spectacular bird's gobble begins with a series of low frequency thumps—similar to the sound of a starting engine!

Photo: David Creswell, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0, flickr 

[the-wolf-and-moon]

M104, Sombrero Galaxy

[hellsitegenetics]

Behold! I, in my boredom and neurodivergence, have taken the organism archive (Faithfully updated by me) and converted it into a very messy genome!

6 pages of A, C, G and T! What could result when BLASTing this?

String identified: (all that)

Closest match: Napeogenes sylphis genome assembly, chromosome: 12 Common name: Clearwing Butterfly

(image source)

[the-wolf-and-moon]

Star Clouds of Andromeda

[the-wolf-and-moon]

Race Between Meteor and Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas

[analytically]

Astrology doesn't seem to work.

[karumakitsune]

Reminds me of the bitter strip test. PTC (pheylthiocarbamide) has a bitter taste for most people. However it is a 75% to 25% ratio. For the other 25%, it is tasteless (and I happen to be one of these people).

It comes down to evolutionary purpose. In the past we needed this taste, as it would clue us in if something was safe to consume (berries for hunters and gatherers mostly). Now we have no need for it, so people begin to be born without this innate ability.

So look back at what we know about evolutionary purpose… Why the fuck do we need to smell ants?? Is the world about to turn into some Hunter x Hunter shit??

imagine if your boyfriend was like I can smell an ant. and started tracking

[ur-daily-inspiration]

[protectoursharks]

The shape of a fish's caudal tail can tell you a lot about how fast the fish moves! A rounded tail is the slowest and a lunate tail is the fastest! The lunate tail has the most optimal ratio of high thrust and low draw, making it the fastest.

Ichthyology Notes 2/?

[the-cybersmith]

Creationism is so funny, because you can't explain this by appealing to hydrodynamics or greedy algorithmic trade-offs. God just said "what if we made a creature that had eyes, but could never see where it was going. For a laugh."

major traffic incident

[catchymemes]

[myjetpack]

my latest cartoon for New Scientist.

[prokopetz]

I've seen posts going around claiming that petting animals is basically tricking them into thinking they're being groomed, and it's bugging me because, like, there's no trickery afoot. Petting and scritching are grooming activities. They help to dislodge loose fur and foreign objects and more evenly distribute protective oils, among other things. Primates are social groomers, and the human impulse to scritch is the legacy of our primate ancestors. We see an animal we like, even a dangerous one, and the monkey brain says "groom that thing".