#Researchers

[archivegeo]

So proud of my maps from this past week. I'm testing the hypothesis.... I'm noticing patterns! Plus plus this week is cph pride week and I'm volunteering every day, so it is only natural I fall in love

[transastronautistic]

I can't handle how cute this is. i want a slime pet too

Link to the Tweets. And here's a link to the study. ID in alt text and below the readmore.

Image 1:

tweet by e. @MelytraMithra reading "oh my goddddd

researchers built a smartwatch heart beat monitor that uses a slime mold for its operation. the slime mold has to be fed and cared for, so the users in the trial… developed an emotional attachment to it [two sobbing emojis]"

The Tweet includes a screenshot from the paper, described in next image.

Image 2:

The tweet's screenshot, which reads:

Developing a connection.

All participants expressed various feelings of connection with our device. P1, P2, P4, and P5 all described it as a little friend and/or pet. P2 expressed, “it’s always good to be accompanied by some living creature, I really like different, animals or plants. (. . .) carrying this little friend also made me feel happy and peaceful”. P4 noted that she would be reminded by the slime mold’s presence by its smell, even stating that it felt endearing, “my cat’s kind of have a smell, dogs have a smell, the physarum, I recognize the smell and it smells kind of, organic, it’s kind of yeasty but not like decaying, it smells alive”. In recalling an experience where she had to take a long drive, P4 explained, “oh, I gotta bring my little pet mold friend, during the drive, I was also thinking about how I used to be really into Tamagotchis (. . .) with the physarum, (. . .) it has this smell to it which your Tamagotchis don’t have, it has a sense of physicality, (. . .) they’re definitely different”. P1 stated that their personal care routine ended up linked to the device’s care routine “I think every time I fed myself is when I would remember to at least check it, I think that was actually quite linked”. While she was sick, P5’s partner helped take care of her as well as helped to take care of her device. P5 recounts, “I was taking care of the slime and feeding it oats and stuff, my partner was also feeding me oatmeal because I was sick and so she was like you’re my little slime and I was like yeah, I am (. . .) then she started calling me her slime because I mean me and the slime, like, we were eating the same stuff, (. . .) we were both being fed and watered”. P2 & P4 also stated that the visual appearance of their device affected their mood. P2 explained that growth made them feel refreshed. P4 associated the bright yellow of the physarum with happy feelings, noting this affective quality several times in her diary entries and in her interview.

Image 3: A reply tweet from the original tweeter reading "well nourished. in my lane. lively. growing." There's a photoset from the study described as "a slime mold oscillating between living and dormant stages." There are four images of the slime mold, which is a yellow color. The first shows it "dried / dormant / not growing." Second shows it "water added / resuscitated / growing." Third shows the slime "well nourished / lively / growing." The fourth shows it once again "dried / dormant / not growing."

[basicallyanotherwitchesthing]

Andrew MacKenzie - Apparitions & Ghosts - Arthur Barker - 1971 (jacket design by Tom Simmonds)

[zooliminology]

I had a dream I was golbo. It was very nice

That sounds pleasant... I once dreamt I was a prince.... It was fucking terrifying

Kappa

[nicknaysayer]

SMILE! 🌟🌟

[mysharona1987]

[jstor]

You're pretty good at searching here and there, but there's a lot more to academic research. This is why we put together this free, self-guided course!

Because three is the magic number (look it up!), the course is made up of three modules of three short lessons and three sets of practice quizzes. Try it try it try it!

[queerbrownvegan]

Decolonize Research through Critical Ecology

How do we ask better questions about what it means to be a researcher? My work with Critical Ecology Lab, featuring Dr. Suzanne Pierre, allowed me to understand more of how research must also extend itself to liberation rather than extraction for science.

----------------------------------------------------

If you want to learn more about her work, I highly recommend watching the episode- love you all!

[redhairclara]

Justine Johnstone photographed by Ira L. Hill, 1920. From my collection.

[chroniclesofachemist]

STUDENTS! RESEARCHERS!

I got a lil tricky trick for you;

You can use chatgpt to write highly specific database/library search strings. I realise not everyone is good at this skill so having a tool do it for you can be really beneficial for big literature reviews et cetera.

Try it sometime!

[adambibliophile]

History speaks for itself.

[archivegeo]

On the food poisoning diet 🥰 Super ripe bananas and white bread 🍞 😍 Aside from trying to keep my gut from killing me, I can explain a little of my research gig: right now I've been running map analyses to test the hypothesis that UNESCO heritage sites on international borders are not just products of contested territory but possibly constitutive of shared identity. They tell us all at once about land use, history, population density, conflict, eurocentrism, commerce, diversity, etc.! On an academic note, my research advisor has sent me multiple emails to apply for the 4+4 Denmark PhD scheme and I am trying to remain strong, but flattery really is persuasive 😂 And they pay so well here... spray me with a water bottle please 🙏

[stormsonjupiter]

The only three words women want to hear is, “accepted without revisions”.

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Hassanain Qambari and Jayden Dickson, rodent optic nerve head showing astrocytes (yellow), contractile proteins (red), and retinal vasculature (green). 

2023 Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition

[zooliminology]

what are everyone’s pronouns? also glad to see the Delta appreciation club represent— your professionalism is commendable (besides, who else would stop the others from The Longlegs)

I suppose if everyone is going to overshare on the educational blog, followers might as well refer to them correctly. I will outline the pronouns of those necessary:

Delta (Myself)- They/she Nu- He/They/It Gamma- He/him Kappa- He/they Pi- I am genuinely not sure.

Additionally I would appreciate askers if they would not refer to me as "Deltoid."