#heres my bugs.

[tyziaspilled]

[emjaydoubleyou]

this post is fearmongering. the results of this study are concerning and should definitely be a matter of public discussion, but this is certainly not the conclusion the researchers came to.

the point of the study was to assess the risks of exposure to toxic metals- something one of the co-authors notes are “ubiquitous” fwiw- via menstrual products. Their research confirmed that these metals are indeed present in tampons, but no further conclusions are drawn. it is possible the metal entered into the cotton from the soil, which is a well-known phenomenon; cotton is so good at lifting heavy metals that it has actually been suggested as a part of the solution for revitalizing polluted ground.

the authors conclude with an acknowledgement that the study should be repeated- their sample size was 60 tampons- and a suggestion that further testing ought to be done to indicate whether or not these metals can even leech out of the tampon in the first place, let alone whether or not such leeching could occur at levels deleterious to human health.

there is, in fact, a body of research- too small, for sure, but much larger than this single study- indicating that long-term proper tampon use has no observable negative impact on health. i am grateful and thrilled that more research is being done and i hope that this study is the first of many on this line of questioning, but i am really frustrated at this post and the response it got.

obviously, if this study alters your approach to menstrual health, more power to you. consumers should be informed-risk-takers, and menstrual health is double-obviously a very personal choice. but it definitely wasn't the researchers concluding that you ought to “avoid using tampons at all cost," only this tumblr user did. the lead author of the paper, in fact, specifically says that she hopes people do NOT panic about the results.

(the notes of the post were disappointing. people affirming that they knew they were right to be suspicious of tampons all along, or even recommending alternatives that actually have very little to no research regarding the safety of long-term use, etc. it’s a different conversation, but categorical distrust of tampons is old-school misogyny. you certainly shouldn't wear them if you don’t want to, but there is nothing inherently scary or wrong about them, and people who prefer them are not being reckless or crass.)

((if you're really worried about exposure to heavy metals, you may want to turn a critical eye to fast fashion, as an aside))

[reblogforsamplesize]

🐛 caterpillar - the returning champion of the 2023 race at 41.6% of the votes

🐌 snail - runner up of the 2023 race at 38.3%, only 3.3% behind the caterpillar.

🪱 worm - placed last in 2023, with only 20.1% of votes

🪲 beetle, 🐞 ladybug, and 🐝 bee are new competitors!

[ra3kiv]

[krmljam]

more bugs more drinking

[aquamarinebling]

isafrin measurements comic based off this post of mine; bc someone asked, and I am a lady of my word (sometimes) <3

[raticalshoez]

They're like a packet of fruit snack gummies

[iizuumi]

whoever decided to give astarion a gun ily

[sheerricetorrent]

I dont have my ipad for a couple days but i had to get this idea down somewhere

[dazzelmethat]

Some crickets and grasshoppers and my thoughts about them.

I've always been interested in bugs since I was real small.. I should draw them more often.

[canisalbus]

I kidnapped ur long-nosed cat for a sec

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[lilybug-02]

It's the bug gang!

Bug Fact: Caterpillars have 12 eyes! Kinda. They have simple eyes called, stemmata, all along their body. Vision is very blurry.

V2 First // Next

Volume 2 Masterpost

▴♥︎▴ Patreon ▴♥︎▴ Buy Me A Coffee ▴♥︎▴

[l3irdl3rain]

btw guys I drove up to Madison yesterday

[wasyago]

welp, didn't manage to get everything out before season 10 started, but i gotta post it one way or another so here we go! heard there was a fandom swap game going on, wanted to do a couple promts of my own :D

[ensiasilverash]

hoarding bug just checkin out your blog for any good posts to loot

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[hood-ex]

Dick and Bruce made progress in the affectionate arm gesture department.

Batman: Urban Legends #22

Detective Comics #1086

Batman #149