#BIOLOGY IS SO FUN TOO!!!

[chickenchirps27]

hello denizens of tumblr i come with humble offerings

they wish to romance you

[harbingersecho]

grif's surgery but just a little more... obvious?

I actually rly rly ADORE frankengrif but I don't have an in-show reason why he'd have extensive long-term allogeneic skingrafts on his face 😔

[beeb-oob]

i like to imagine that when i'm not using oc's as much i'm sending on a lil vacation so they can forget the horrors i chase them through

[garfieldcultist]

if i had a nickel for every person that fell into the underground id have eight nickels which isn’t a lot but it’s weird it happened eight times right?

[kilalulu-elsie]

My UNprofessional opinion on The Last Ronin: Lost Years' new turtle team's species

because no one else is doing it WHERE ARE THE EXPERTS???

Warning: I didn't read the comics, all I know about the little 1's comes from au's, fanon contents, the snippets of comic pages I collected across the internet, and analysis videos (I can't read The Last Ronin comics, my heart can't take it), so don't take me too seriously, these are just guesses. Also, I don't know much about turtles, I just read a book one afternoon to find out more about the Rise turtles' species and take a look around the other turtles out of curiosity. And I read somewhere that they might not be just one species but a special combination of turtles to make the perfect soldiers? But I don't know, I still wanna do this so here we go (forgive my bad english):

So for starters, the first time I saw Uno I was automatically like "oh they used a Diamondback Terrapin hell yeah" and I'm pretty confident about my first guess because look at this:

just look at it:

I don't think I need to explain myself here. Sure he doesn't have the diamond shape in his shell and his shellshape doesn't exactly match but I believe those are more of artistic choices rather than eliminating factors. Also I've never seen any other turtle species that has this color scheme (and again, I didn't see many) and I've seen so many Diamondback Terrapin designs for Venus and it's awesome, so

My first guess is Uno is a Diamondback Terrapin.

For my second guess, Moja, I have a lot of leads because her colors are more of brown tones rather than green and well, most turtles are green. So I looked up brown, light spotted turtles and I found a species called Eastern Box Turtle. Maybe not exactly spot on but I think its pretty close:

Ornate Box Turtles have various spots on their bodies so that would kinda match with her spotty skin and face markings.

But the shell is bugging me. Because Box Turtles have a very bumpy and round shaped carapace but Moja's shell is flatter and has an interesting shape that I think should be considered.

But I don't know so I'll leave it at that.

My second guess is Moja is an Ornate Box Turtle.

Now,

for Odyn,

I have no clue.

I don't wanna say Snapping Turtle because Rise Raph is already a Snapping Turtle and Odyn's shell is not spikey anyway. But I couldn't find any turtles that has spiky skin and smooth carapace so I went with vibes. And I found the Loggerhead Musk Turtle. Just look at how silly it looks:

I think their sillines match and that's all I need.

My third guess is Odyn is a Loggerhead Musk Turtle.

Lastly, for lovely little Yi, I have a pretty good guess. Now if we look at her the most obvious clue that we have is her yellow markings across all of her body. They're not like Moja's spotty and round shaped markings tho, they're more stilty and linelike. Also her plastron is yellow enough to get my attention. And she's small. My guess doesn't really support that but at least they're smaller than my other guess, Florida Redbelly's. So, I propose: Yellowbelly Slider Turtle.

I'd say that's pretty close.

My fourth guess is Yi is a Yellowbelly Slider Turtle.

Maybe I should've considered their name's origins like Uno is Italian for one, Odyn is Ukranian or Russian for one, Moja is Swahili for one and Yi is Chinese for one, but I'm lazy.

Now please science side of Tumblr, turtle nerds, certain autistic fellas, TMNT fans, and all who's interested, correct me and my mistakes so that I can know their species I need to know I tell you I need to know.

[theres-whump-in-that-nebula]

When you have to take off your socks to change into clean socks and your bare feet touch the floor for exactly fifteen seconds and the dry, smooth sensation makes you want to chop your toes off

[mysicklove]

I LOVE BIOLOGY!!!!!

[creepyscritches]

At least twice a week since July I've had people thanking me for my neuroendocrine cancer education and telling me how often they use the resources I built them :') idk imposter syndrome is ever present and in healthcare you can even have thoughts of "Man, am I spending too much time educating/researching on poorly understood cancers?"

I'm still struggling to decide on format, but I'm currently compiling my research and resources to make a self-guided cancer education resource for my team. I really enjoy my job rn but I think focused cancer education would be nice to springboard into later in life once I finish learning about the inner guts of the ACA. I'm finally healthy enough to consider higher education, but the catch is my employer insurance is the only reason I can get my medical care...and leaving for school to be able to focus more officially on cancer education means I'd lose that medical care security :(

[lets-try-some-writing]

The Grim Dark Archives: Statement #002 Symbiote

[Statement taken from [Redacted] on the 5th of September 2004, one year and a month after the Autobots have made their presence known and begun corresponding with human personnel. So far there have been no issues with [Redacted]'s presence in [Redacted: Classified information] aside from their occasional bouts of paranoia.

[Redacted] has proven useful in compiling information and cataloging data for government agents when not having their statements taken. There has been little for us to ask them as we have been processing their prior statement and doing our best to apply what useable information came with it. However the Autobots recently requested access to high caliber machinery and vehicles. They claim it is so that they can scan the vehicles in question and take on their form as they have already shown possible with their acquisition of alternate modes in the form of civilian transports.

This request caused some concern amongst high command, and so to gain greater insight before we offer a response, [Redacted] was asked to explain in greater detail the process by which Cybertronians take on their vehicular modes and what it entails. As usual, their statement is concerning but fascinating.

Statement begins.]

══════════════════'

Ah yes, our ability to adapt yet again rears its helm, or I suppose head would be the proper term for you organics... Whatever the case, it is a fascinating subject. Compared to the mental adaptation we Cybertronians undergo when associating with a new race, our physical adaptations are less... prominent. Well, at least to you organics.

We didn't always have T-cogs you know. In the very beginning, when the first of us were forged... we had no such ability. Only one of the original Thirteen possessed the ability to transform, and it was from his great gift we have the ability now. But of course, with all gifts from gods, there is a price attached to it.

Nothing is ever without consequence.

Are you confused yet? I suppose you would be. You don't even know who the Thirteen are do you? That is a story for another time. For now all you need to know is that the Thirteen are the minor deities that serve our creator, and each of them had gifts and powers, some of which have been granted to us. Enough of that though, I should get back on topic.

The T-cog is one of our most vital organs when it comes to surviving on other worlds. However it is not a natural part of our biology, at least not when we are first forged. The T-cog is a symbiote that we infuse into our beings. With that said, it is not an easy symbiote to obtain for all sorts of reasons. Aside from the plethora of medical complications that come from attempting to swap T-cogs or infuse a mech with a symbiote from one of the dead, T-cog symbiotes only come from the Well with the newly forged. A grown mech cannot go down to the Well in search of a new symbiote and hope to survive. The symbiotes down there would simply avoid or devour the mech in question, sucking them dry of power and serving no purpose without the vital co-dependent growth that our young and the symbiote undergo together.

Yes, yes I will explain the specifics of what the T-cog does in a moment. Do not rush me. The history is just as vital as the function.

Now, as I was saying, the symbiote attaches itself to a developing protoform long before the spark of it is fully connected. The symbiote leeches off the energy being used to grow the protoform and so to survive and continue feeding, it adapts. The immune systems of our young can sense an invader once the spark fully settles, so to avoid being destroyed, the symbiote changes to match our biology as much as it can. It reads our innate preference for adaptation and it shifts. It looks into the code of our newsparks and deep in the dark of our maker's frame it merges with the body of its host.

That concept must be terrifying to you humans, right? Such a leech would kill you, but for us? No, for us the T-cog is a blessing that comes with a few... downsides.

The T-cog constantly feeds off us in a steady drain. Thus to remain stable we consume energon more frequently as we age until our systems settle and the symbiote fully merges with our biology and receives energon as much as the rest of our frames. It can be rather painful during those early vorns as the symbiote settles and energon is siphoned from other organs. We always take great care to watch over our young during that time. While it is undesirable and quite possibly a death sentence, an overactive T-cog can and often is removed during this stage. If the mech is lucky, they may be able to acquire another due to their youth, but as a general rule, mecha who fail to bond to their T-cog are bipedal for life.

That whole bonding process takes up to ten vorns, roughly two to three hundred years for you little things. Once complete, the T-cog finally brings some benefits. The symbiote has no intelligence, but it has enough of a mind to be able to force our innate ability to adapt into overdrive. It merges with our already present minor transformation capabilities to grant us the ability to take on the vehicular mode of machines. Of course what we can transform into depends on the symbiote, how fully it integrated, and how large the mech in question is.

There is a great deal of biological lingo involved that I neither know or care for, so to put it simply, the T-cog attaches to our sensory and processing systems. It gains a certain degree of control and we gain the ability to take on the forms of other vehicles through mass displacement and simple reformatting. By the time the symbiote settles there aren't usually any issues, but if damaged it can begin acting strangely. There have been cases where removed T-cogs have been returned to their hosts only to then fail to allow the mech to replicate an alternate mode properly. Those situations... are often rather disgusting to see, even for our kind.

The forms those poor mecha bear due to the damage sustained to their symbiotes... it is safe to say they often forgo transformation unless required, hoping and praying that it fixes itself.

To conclude this statement, I would guess that the Autobots are asking for higher caliber vehicles simply so that they need not waste energy obtaining more alternate modes. It consumes a great deal of energy and the symbiotes are more likely to... cause great bodily distress if pushed too far with too many new alternate modes. I personally wouldn't worry too much about it. Alternate modes are merely our way of blending in, at least on a backwater world like yours. If your technology was more worthy of note, I would say hide your vehicles, but as it is, my kin are more dangerous in their root modes than in their alt.

══════════════════'

[Statement ends.

It was rather concerning how calm [Redacted] was when giving their statement compared to their prior experience. It seems that [Redacted] is most comfortable discussing topics of old history and biology and panics when asked to answer questions relating to more recent history or events.

This information is useful, but it does raise a few concerning questions.

How often have these aliens altered their forms and biology? What even are they at their core? Its obvious by interacting with [Redacted] that not all Cybertronians are as [Redacted] claims, but that makes me wonder... Do these aliens even know what they are? Or has it all been lost with time, war, and constant adaptation?

Whatever the case, it is currently irrelevant. [Redacted] will reveal more with time, and eventually I am sure these questions will answer themselves.

Agent Witwicky signing off.

Recording ends.]

[buggbuzz]

lemonade leak just updated so we are celebrating with another bit of art!!! i was gonna wait to post til my account got unshadowbanned but screw it here we go

(fanart of the lemonade leak by @turtleinsoup!!!)

[stuck-in-the-ghost-zone]

GMMM!!! now that u are a little bit into worm & have had the first instance of the word being used & such, im curious as to what u think the title means! why do u think it's called worm so far? :333

I DONT ACTUALLY KNOW. BUT THAT IS SOMETHING IVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT !!!!!!! i always think the "OUAHGH THEY SAID THE TITLE IN THE THING" type jokes are really funny so i locked onto the word right away LMAO. catch me keeping track of every use of the word worm in this million word long story . its a good word !!!!!!

ANYWAY. my first thought now is obv like... something to do with taylors powers??? but im not sure if she can actually control. worms. not to get too biology brained about it but the vague knowledge i have so far is that she can control BUGS but that is not specifically limited to *insects* . because she can also control spiders which are arachnids (though they are also usually lumped into "bugs" which is not a real classification it just kind of refers to things that people find creepy crawly) HOWEVER . the thing that arachnids and insects have in common are being *arthropods* which is like. the overall classification of Things With An Exoskeleton. WORMS are not arthropods they are . well it depends actually. worm is kind of like bug in the fact that its a general word for things that are kind of similar and not the name of a specific group. bc youve got earthworms which are annelids and . like. mealworms which ARE insects but still called worms. so maybe she can control worms also!!!! i really like this sort of . playing with the meaning of the word i guess. some people colloquially will call worms bugs as well even though theyre not. so it becomes a rhing like. are her powers based in LOGIC or science or whatever or are they based in. perception. i guess. because taylor is Bug there can also be Worms. does this make any sort of sense. this might be absolutely nothing bro is burning the food bro is not cooking the kitchen is empty 🔥🔥🔥

it could also be like... worm as a word not meaning the animal. like a cartoonishly evil guy referring to his minions as worms. or like the context in that sentence i posted like. worming your way in somewhere. which now that i think about it makes a lot of sense considering taylors whole plan to join a villain group undercover. wait. i may have just . rendered my whole biology paragraph useless. sad! well there are other insane things i could talk about i guess

all this to say i think shes gonna do something super fucked up with worms in the bug way. i hope <3

THIS IS A FUN QUESTION THOUGH because i know the other story is called ward. and i already have somewhat of an idea of what THAT means bc of armsmaster. so i can assume at least a little bit of what that story is about. but its cool that i dont have that same context for the one im CURRENTLY READING

[treecakes]

lol i shouldn’t have rbed that neanderthal post bc now whenever it shows up in my notes i get teary eyed. so many of the capstone projects this past year in my program were on neanderthals so i’ve been seeing so much abt them but they were humans just like us. they made art and cared for their sick and elderly and made good food and made clothing like us. we have no records of their languages but they are so genetically and physiologically close to us that it would make little to no sense if they didn’t have languages like us. and clearly we cared about them enough and found them similar enough to us for their dna to be carried on in us today.

[arolesbianism]

Some concepts for the siblings

[honkowo]

wheeeee figured out a couple of plants for angel homeworld!!!! + a little beast youll find in just about every biome on that damn planet

cherubs are the result of a wild subspecies of angel mixing naturally w a meat car(this was not intentional). cherubs build their nests via ripping up/off whatever plantmatter is available. nestbuilding is a group effort, often involving 30-50 cherubs building elaborate structures in whatever crack, crevice or cave system is available. angels use these guys to teach their children about teamwork & the importance of choir-building(which may or may not involve colourful puppet cherubs lmao).

the 2 plants shown here(1 moreso than the other) are seen most often on angel homeworld. one is a single leathery leaf that joins up with others of its species to create giant colonies of the same plant. angels often uproot them due to the fact that they make climbing cliffsides really fucking difficult(they r both tightly joined together & VERY SLIPPERY). the other plant is a treelike plant that grows inbetween cliffs & large crevices. their stringy bark is favoured by cherubs.

[gamebunny-advance]

Random Thought

So, a while back I posted a pic of all the Pokemon dudes that I like despite knowing basically nothing about Pokemon, and it's become a very shocking fact to me that despite their apparent popularity, the train dudes do basically nothing in their home game.

[idlescience]

So one of my all-time favourite scientific theories is endosymbiosis, because I think it's crazy cool. And there has been some big news in the science community lately because they think they've found a nitroplast!

If you haven't heard the theory before, it basically goes like this. Way back in the day, our ancestor cells did not have mitochondria to produce their energy. Instead, cells would produce energy throughout the cell, pretty inefficiently. Then one cell decided to eat a bacteria, business as usual. Except in this case, the cell ate it wrong and essentially forgot to digest it. So this bacteria kept living in the cell, dividing with it. And after a lot of evolution they became completely dependent on one another. The mitochondria receives compounds from the cell, and creates energy in return.

That's thought to be the first event, but it's not the only one. Plants came about because of endosymbiosis as well. A cell failed to eat a photosynthetic bacterium one day, and boom. Suddenly it can eat sunlight.

Both of these endosymbiotic events are pretty crazy, and pretty rare. Until recently, we only knew of it happening three times in the last 1.5 billion years or so (mitochondria, chloroplasts and the chromatophores of Paulinella). But now scientists are proposing a fourth.

The nitroplast!

Nitrogen fixation is an incredibly important process for the Earth, which involves turning nitrogen from the air into usable nitrogen in soil and water systems. If you've ever used a nitrogen fertilizer on plants, you get why this is an important process.

It's always been considered the domain of bacteria, but now they have found a nitrogen-fixing organelle inside an algae (Braarudosphaera bigelowii), making this event number four! You can see the arrow pointing to it below. Look at these cuties hanging out.

Endosymbiosis is so cool, seriously.