#the embryo hunts in secret

[marypickfords]

The Embryo Hunts in Secret (Kōji Wakamatsu, 1966)

[shihlun]

Kōji Wakamatsu

- The Embryo Hunts in Secret

1966

[mtonino]

The Embryo Hunts In Secret (1966) Kōji Wakamatsu

Taiji Ga Mitsuryosuru Toki aka The Embryo Hunts In Secret (1966)

[toiich]

The Embryo Hunts in Secret (1966), dir. Koji Wakamatsu

[kornstreifs-storys]

Tales of Origin, Mewtwo

To whoever finds this letter. I write these words not as an apology, but so that I may never forget what we, humanity has done in the name of progress. If you think you can’t handle staring into the abyss of human greed, don’t read any further.

I should have known that this project was screwed up from the beginning. The amount of funding and quality of equipment was beyond suspicious for a small team trying to research a long extinct Pokemon. No one pays a bunch of Paleontologists that well without ulterior motives. Yet when your a young Collage graduate, being offered a job at the pay level of a senior researcher you don’t just decline.

Log entry xx1: Nothing we tried so far is working. The fossils are just to fragmented, we will never be able to reconstruct the genome at this rate. Darn it all! This is my only chance, my only chance to see her again.

Well, things got even more suspicious when I learned that the team had actual knowledge of a living specimen of the Pokemon we were supposed to research. I mean why spend billions of Poké-dollars on DNA splicers and gene sequencing, in order to reconstruct the genome from fossil records if a living one is out there still. And don’t get me started on the cloning equipment.

Yet, whenever I asked, I was told not to worry about it and that the goal of our research was to maybe repopulate this species as only this one seemed to have remained and we couldn’t risk loosing this last specimen while trying to get the DNA needed. Turned out that was a bigger lie then when my teacher in school tired to convince us that Mega Stones had come from outer space, but I digress.

Log entry: xx3: Mew gave birth, we named the offspring Mewtwo. I was quite surprised when these Rocket guys managed to catch Mew in the wild and even more so when it turned out that it was pregnant. I would almost call it a turn of fate. A Mew embryo is all we could ever need, finally Team Rocket can have it’s biological weapon and I’m one step closer to bringing her back.

When I found out that they had actually captured Mew and experimented on it while it was pregnant I was furious, but the others didn’t seem to see any problem with it. They had simply discarded the Mew after they were done leaving it heavily injured. They never cared for it, they only wanted it’s DNA, getting an Embryo was like hitting the jackpot for them.

I recovered the Mew and nursed it back to health in secret, but it wasn’t looking to good. Obviously I didn’t want to take it to a Pokemon center, there was no telling what could happen if they discovered me. So I went out and hunted for Pokemon that knew healing moves and told my colleges that it was just my new hobby so they didn’t pry. I can only pray to Gaia that this works, I can’t let them get away with this, I will put an end to this madness. But I’ll need Mews help for that.

Log Entry xx5: Everything is going fine so far. Mewtwo is growing well, we haven’t run into any of the complications we had with the previous attempts. I’m starting to think we might really do it this time. Giovanni was beyond pleased as well, he even provided us with more funding. We can do this!

Log Entry xx6: Some of the researchers are growing suspicious. I might have to cut them loose, I won’t let them ruin this. Were already in to deep, I won’t back out now. This Mewtwo will grow, I will perfect the cloning technology. Then I will get her back. No one will stop me!

Dr. Fuji is seriously off the deep end, sometimes I think at this point he might be more dangerous than the Team Rocket guys backing him. He has locked out most of the researches, works almost on his own most of the time. I don’t think he cares much for this Mewtwo they’re creating, he has other stakes in this. And I’m somewhat scared to find out what they are.

Mew is recovering well. Tomorrow we plan to attack the research center and put an end to this project. Mew also wants to free it’s child. I trained up many strong Pokemon these last few months. Between my new team and Mew, Fuji and his team don’t stand a chance of stopping us. I can only hope we’ll be able to hide from team Rocket afterwords, they won’t be trilled at us stealing their “new weapon”, but I’m tired of just being a bystander.

I don’t plan to return here after words, so I’ll leave this letter behind. If you read this far, wish us luck. We’re probably going to need it.

Log Entry x10: It’s over. I failed. … A researcher secretly saved Mew and somehow trained up a Champion level Pokemon team. He stormed the facility yesterday with Mew and they destroyed everything in their path. The fossils, the cloning lab, all the collected data …, even Mewtwo, they’re all gone.

The other scientist all quit after that, I’m all alone now. Giovanni is furious at the loss of his weapon, but I honestly couldn’t care less. I never intended for the project to turn out like this, all I wanted was to research cloning technology, to find a way to bring back Amber. But I failed even that and now she’s really gone for good.

I wish I could have seen what this one researcher saw, then maybe all this tragedy could have been prevented. … Now I can only hope that he and Mew are safe out there. In the end, my wife was right. I really am a horrible person. Signed Dr. Fuji.

================================================

Index (Tales of Origin)

Well, the Tales of Origin page I worked on last week was a dead end. So instead I decided to write my take on the creation of Mewtwo and tell how this Pokemon came to be in the Universe of Ages of Ruin.

This time i also chose to write in the first person as opposed to the third person view I usually use for my other updates. I'll probably continue to experiment like that in future updates for Tales of Origin, so I hope you liked it.

[books-in-a-storm]

Snowflake Book Review’s

Title: Gator Bait MC #7 I'll Just Date Myself

Author: Lani Lynn Vale

Pages:282

Snowflake Rating:❄❄❄❄(4/5)

Synopsis:

Normally when you say, “I have a stalker,” you think bad thoughts. That wasn’t the kind of stalker Folsom was when it came to Kobe Sano. Folsom liked to call herself a “guardian angel in disguise.”

The first time he catches her attention, he’s been assigned to hunt her down and throw away the key. All she did was steal someone else’s child. Well, embryo, that is. What Kobe doesn’t know, though, is the man that hired him is up to no good, and she has no other choice but to run without looking back.

From that moment on, she spends the rest of her spare time running away from him while also digging into every nook and cranny of his personal life, finding every weakness he has and utilizing it any way she needs to keep herself one step ahead of him.

Only one day, when she goes to do her usual snooping, she finds out that not only is her favorite person in trouble, but he’s also in need of her help.

Too bad it takes her years to find that help.

Her next step is to break him out of the pokey prison-break style.

If she knew he’d go without question, she very well might have.

It didn’t take a genius to know when someone was stalking you. The signs were all there, and they eventually pointed right at Folsom.

When he figures it out, he plans to confront her and maybe address the silent sexual tension that’s been brewing between them for the last few years.

However, right when he’s ready to admit to himself that she might be the one—daughter who intimidates the hell out of him or not—she up and disappears for a year.

In that year, he spends every waking moment searching for her.

And eventually he finds her, confronts her, and is hit in the face with the secrets she’s kept from him for years.

One of which is a big one.

The daughter that she protects with everything she has—the one that he’s come to love with all his heart, just like her mom—is the very abducted child from his one and only unsolved case.

[silverspleen]

I have an OC question, any girls?

I mean yes, but I won't apologize for my blatant bias towards male characters. But it's very present.

You'll like Titan best I think. She's a Warhammer 40k OC, and the daughter of an Inquisitor who settled on an agri planet with a farmer lady he liked. Titan is his genestealer mutant daughter, she was born looking uncannily human and didn't develop her genestealer traits until she was older, in direct contrast to normal 1st gen genestealers. Basically this girl hit puberty and started growing extra limbs and weird armor and huge fangs. She's also significantly larger and smarter than normal, and has some mild psyker abilities. After her parents passed away she used her extensive knowledge of inquisition tactics (thanks dad!) combined with her genestealer canniness to take over her planet and start inserting her children, grandchildren, and greatgrandchildren into every aspect of planetary life.

Spooky South wise, the same setting Jake and basic bitch no AU Silas live in, I have Eliza, Friday, and Lillian.

Eliza is werecat James' ghost girlfriend/sugar baby. She helps both James and Silas out mostly for selfish reasons (they're hot and she want to bone them, also they get into SO much shit it's entertaining). Her attitude toward being dead is like "ooooh guess I can do what I want now >:3" and is a huge party girl and fashion diva. She's the brunette with branches and flowers growing out of her partially skeleton face that I've posted here a few times. She has notably powerful ghost abilities and can control plants to some degree as well.

Friday is the like, classic angsty monster hunter, her husband got killed by supernatural nonsense (James again) and she didn't handle it well and is basically in a very deep "dig two graves" revenge mindset. She spends basically all of her time prepping to hunt and hunting, mostly using surplus military gear, hunting gear, and sports equipment. She mellows out a little after she gets like... found family to hunt with.

Lillian, is the Found Family to hunt with that Friday gets, she was Silas' old cop partner but their paths almost completely diverged, he got so corrupt that he was bored with standard cop corruption and moved on the full criminal, and she got so bone-deep tired of official law enforcement corruption that she left the force completely. She's basically a private investigator now and works/lives with with Friday as her like... platonic life partner and they investigate supernatural stuff. Silas used to have a crush on her, but Lillian is very ace and he was savvy enough not to make it weird, it was just one more secret for the pile. Lillian (and their third team member Johnny) is the like "let's not be hasty and just randomly execute supernatural creatures" part of the team and basically took the knowledge of the supernatural existing with nothing but grace and patience.

Also I have various RP characters and character concepts that haven't been fully developed yet too so there's that.

Jennifer - RP character, a very normal teenage girl who's courier job basically got her involved in the supernatural and she cried into her iced coffee about it. </3

Ran - my Starbound character, a hylotl (alien amphibian people with a heavy japanese culture inspiration). I miss her and need to play again. She's very softspoken and kind and likes to stab things with the fart spear (toxic gas spear Q gave me that I adore).

"Mace" - in development, a mercenary who works escorts dinosaur embryos, she's got that "pathetic until she's super invested in a job and then becomes super efficient" thing going on. Ned to draw her more because I've been craving "dinosaurs and modern tech" stuff again.

Mother of Sin - big tiddy worm lady, a demon. Probably in the Spooky South setting if I can hammer her worm form down, though she's a little too fantasy leaning for the setting.

I keep trying to manifest another nasty trash dumpster girlfriend for Silas but so far nothing has stuck but it's always in the back of my mind.

I've also got monster lesbians but they're loose concepts and more just for drawing for fun. Plus some designs that need developing.

[xenopoem]

«Following the publication of Kenji Siratori's Blood Electric, the Japanese cyberpunk writer perhaps pioneered a movement among all non-English speaking writers whose languages are radically dissociated from the dominant Latin-Anglo-Franco-German linguistic germ-line on the one hand, and are, on the other, enthusiastically seeking to contribute to the diversification of the English language whose centrality has already been sabotaged in the wake of emerging cyber-societies.» — Reza Negarestani

«Siratori’s hypermodern project articulates the nonarticulation that currently dominates the substratum of much current discourse. Without the intense atomization of the individual, Siratori’s work does not resound. Yet, if we take pause, Siratori’s work resonates at a fever pitch, blaring at the limitless informational realm of our minds as it bursts the parameters of the skull. As a kind of accelerationist aesthetic, Siratori critiques technology by pushing it beyond its sensible potentiality; he cultivates alien cognitions where alternatives thrive, where semantic derangement is revolt, where epistemology uncoils. Ultimately, he uncompromisingly forces us to pause on the chaos of the glitch, to claim the instance where embodying the unquantifiable amounts to insurgency.» — Andrew C. Wenaus

«Kenji is making rather more sense than usual. Perhaps the lad is finally coming into his own as the literary avatar of our times.» — Bruce Sterling

«Kenji is a madman for sure, but if you scan his hallucinatory textual mashups in just the right frame of mind, they begin to make sense. And that's the scary part.» — Douglas Rushkoff

«Blood Electric is the black reverb of soft machine seppuku, a molten unspooling of sheet metal entrails and crucified memory banks into the howling void of violence. It is a cyborg crash nightmare of the new flesh, a final dispatch from mutant Hell where the embryo hunts in secret.» — Jack Hunter 

2024 redux edition of the long out-of-print 2002 cyberpunk cult classic

[cksmart-world]

SMART BOMB

The Completely Unnecessary News Analysis

By Christopher Smart

August 6, 2024

GOP TO SAVE EMBRYOS — GOD TO SAVE GREAT SALT LAKE

Our wonderful Republican lawmakers here in the Beehive State want to save zygotes. Bless their hearts. They don't care that the Utah Supreme Court ruled that their legislation calling for a total ban on abortion flies in the face of the state Constitution. Nah, they're just gonna work around that, 'cause saving embryos is God's work. So, they'll pass another bill with different language and hope to get a different ruling, which, as we know, is the definition of wisdom. Can't let a little thing like the Constitution get in the way. You know Wilson, it's amazing how our blessed GOP brethren spring into action when it comes to abortion, DEI, critical race theory or trans access to public restrooms. But for some reason when it comes to the desiccation of the Great Salt Lake and air pollution... well it's just another matter. As the lake dries up poisons from the exposed lakebed blow right into Salt Lake County, adding PM 10 particles to the smaller PM 2.5 respiratory challenges that make our air some of the worst in the nation. But what's the hurry. Maybe it'll snow a lot in coming years adding lots of runoff to the Bear River so that all the water sucked up by alfalfa farmers won't affect lake level. Our GOP lawmakers will save the embryos and God will save the lake. Yeah, that's it. Good plan.

TOP 10 THINGS AMERICANS FEAR

We live in fear. So says a nine-year study from Chapman University. Americans on the left fear MAGA will get even meaner. Folks on the right fear that Hollywood and progressives will take away their liberties. We've been terrorizing each other since Sen. Joseph McCarthy went on communist witch hunts in the '50s with his committee on UnAmerican Activities. For 2024, the staff here at Smart Bomb has updated Americans Top 10 fears:

10 – That Bitcoin might be a mirage

9 – Real Housewives will get cancelled

8 – Kid Rock will perform at Super Bowl halftime

7 – Inflation could push up beer prices

6 – Victoria's Secret will go out of business

5 – J.D. Vance is a bot

4 – Mountain Dew is fascist soda

3 – Elon Musk will buy Disneyland

2 – American Idol gets axed

1 – And the #1 fear Americans have is that Donald Trump will never go away

MOUNTAIN DEW IS RACIST — WHO KNEW

Hey Wilson, did you know that Mountain Dew is racist? J.D. Vance, the weird dude running with Donald Trump, told a campaign rally that white people are always being accused of racism. “I had a Diet Mountain Dew yesterday and one today, and I’m sure they’re going to call that racist, too.” And you thought Mountain Dew was just caffein-loaded soda. That brings us to DEI that used to stand for diversity, equity and inclusion. DEI programs in colleges, corporations and government agencies sought to help make room for minorities in a white majority society. But now we find that it makes white men feel bad and is actually racist against them. DEI is the right's new four-letter word. You might have heard, Wilson, that Kamala Harris is a DEI hire — roughly translated: she was only selected to be vice president because she is a woman and a minority. You might also have heard that Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., is actually an African. You may have heard that the husband of Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., who is black, is a “thug.” And you may have heard that Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas is a “reptile with no balls.” As we now know from Chief Justice John Roberts, racism is no longer a problem in this country — so for goodness sakes hide the Mountain Dew.

Post script — That's going to do it for another enchanted week here in Zion where the state motto is, “Don't Worry Be Happy.” The Republican-dominated Utah Legislature came up with the new slogan for more insurance that GOP lawmakers won't have to pay a political price for their white male Mormon views on everything from open government to women's healthcare. The journey from the priesthood to the legislature is a short one — but you can always count on a free lunch. The priesthood makes its decisions behind closed doors for good reason. What the people don't know can't hurt them. The runner-up for the new state motto was, “Ignorance Is Bliss.” Nice. Speaking of mottos, the Trump campaign has apparently adopted a new one, too: “Don't Worry Be Angry.” Donald Trump and J.D. Vance are tearing it up on the campaign trail. Man, are they pissed off — and you should be, too. Kamala Harris is not only a “bitch,” according to Trump, but she uses AI (artificial intelligence) to make her campaign rally crowds look big. It's bologna because no one has bigger crowds than Trump — not Martin Luther King, Jr., not Gandhi, not even Jesus. That's what Trump said and he almost never lies... Well, OK, only when he has to.

So Wilson, it wasn't too long ago that folks were describing Kamala Harris as the invisible vice president. But now she's like the Phoenix risen from the ashes of the Biden campaign. She's on fire, kindling hope wherever she goes. Truth is, she was always there waiting for her time. You and the guys in the band know the theme song, Wilson, so hit it:

You can get it if you really want You can get it if you really want You can get it if you really want But you must try, try and try, try and try You'll succeed at last Persecution you must fear Win or lose you got to get your share You've got your mind set on a dream You can get it though hard it may seem now You can get it if you really want You can get it if you really want You can get it if you really want But you must try, try and try, try and try You'll succeed at last Rome was not built in a day Opposition will come your way But the hotter the battle you see Is the sweeter the victory now You can get it if you really want You can get it if you really want You can get it if you really want But you must try, try and try, try and try You'll succeed at last

(You Can Get It If You Really Want — Jimmy Cliff)

[bluestar22x]

Chapter 5: Kamilah

Alien Son - Chapter 5: Kamilah

Series Masterlist

Series Summary: Unbeknownst to him, Cade was a product of an experiment with the goal of raising a super solider. Saved from that fate by his adoptive parents, he is still hunted. Eventually, as it always does, his past catches up with him, though now there’s another plan for him, one he could’ve never imagined.

With the help of friends, Cade must escape his captors again, resuming his life on the run in hopes of finally ending it once and for all, before another generation of his family line has to suffer the consequences.

Rating: 18+ series (explicit content, sensitive topics)

Chapter Word Count: 1,270(ish)

Series Warnings/General Info: Science fiction, mpreg (due to fictional science), violence, angst, hurt/comfort, fluff, friendship (found family), romance (male x female), eventual love scene, violation of autonomy (by the antagonists), cloning, inter-species relationship (sort of - Cade is part human/more human than not), xenophobia, alien super human abilities

— Don’t like, don’t read or comment! —

xxx

“You’re joking,” Cade said flatly, in disbelief.

“We have the technology,” Marquis declared, throwing a picture of a mutant looking womb in front of him. “This is an artificial uterus that can be attached to the wall of the abdomen to secure it in place. It was made to get its blood supply from the small intestines so enough nutrients can reach the fetus. It’s a somewhat precarious set up, but it’s very promising.”

“It won’t work,” Cade argued, in an attempt to dissuade him. “You’re just going to kill me. Long before the baby could survive in the outside world.”

“Do you know a thing or two about reproduction?” Marquis questioned. “Beyond a middle school anatomy class and the act itself?”

“My parents taught me everything they knew, scientifically.”

Marquis chuckled at his clarification. “Well, not everything. They didn’t teach you about Alosians, after all.” He moistened his lips. “Alosians are quite similar to humans, but they are different enough for it to matter. Through our time studying them, we discovered that they are physically tougher and heal faster than any human. We also concluded that, in theory, they could survive an ectopic pregnancy because of it. By the way, ectopic pregnancy is when an embryo implants outside the uterus – in case that wasn’t a part of your studies. Anyway, point is, the artificial uterus is for the fetus; not the parent. It protects it like a real uterus would. Again, yes, in theory it also makes it a little less dangerous for the parent too, but the Alosian carrier likely wouldn’t die from it.”

“In theory it’s safer.” Cade scoffed at him. “You’re willing to take such a risk? Especially when I’m not even truly half Alosian?”

“We harvested plenty of DNA from you when you first came in,” Marquis stated in a matter-of-fact manner. “If you died, it wouldn’t be much of a loss. We’d just need to keep experimenting with human women until we got it right.”

Cade fought against his restraints. “How are you getting away with all of this?”

Marquis grinned. “Money, promises, and inside men. We know when we’re going to be inspected. We either pay them off to look the other way or we hide our little secret projects away. And we have a great accountant.” 

“Wow.” It was all Cade could say. The corruption in the Pena Corporation was deeper than he could’ve ever imagined.

“I know this is a lot to process,” Marquis said, “So I think it’s time you go back to your room and let it soak in.”

“Why did you tell me all this?” Cade inquired. “Why bother?”

“I was hoping by explaining everything you would be calmer in the long run,” Marquis told him.

Cade grunted. “You mean tamer.”

“I mean both,” Marquis corrected him. He leered at him. “After all, stress won’t be good for the baby.”

Cade spat at him. “You’re insane.”

“We’ll see about that soon enough,” Marquis said. He pushed himself up out of his chair and opened the conference room door, beckoning two unfamiliar men over to drag Cade back to his white room.

X

Cade spent all afternoon in survival mode, trying to find tools to help him escape, to find weakness in the white room’s structure. Unfortunately, there was no weakness, nothing to use, and clawing at the walls did nothing but chip away at his already short fingernails. He eventually fell to his cot, exhausted.

He was later startled out of his slumber by the beep of his door being accessed. A burly man in white scrubs strolled in with a young woman following. Her beauty took Cade’s breath away for a moment. She had long black hair and bronzed skin, she was curvy in all the right places, and when her brown eyes met his he found a spark of kindness there. He was immediately both entranced and hopeful.

“Cade,” she said firmly. Her voice sounded like honey. He felt something deep inside him do a little flip-flop. “I’m Kamilah, your caretaker,” she continued. 

“What are you going to do to me?” he inquired warily, survival instincts kicking in, winning over his hormones.

“I’m just going to take your vitals,” she assured him as she pulled a stethoscope out of one of her deep pockets. “If you cooperate, we won’t need to do anything else.”

She didn’t sound cold in the slightest. In fact, her tone was inviting and calming. It gave him the sense that she was different from the other Pena employees. Cade nodded, deciding it would be in his best interest to submit to the exam, at least for today. At least until he figured out whether or not she was truly different. In the back of his mind, he prayed she was, because she might just be his only hope of getting out.

Kamilah cautiously approached him like he was some caged beast, and he tried not to be offended by it. Of course she’d be worried he’d attack her. She didn’t know him. He was just the alien half-breed her boss had locked away in his secret basement facility. It was basically a given that he would have to work at gaining her trust.

“Kamilah’s a pretty name,” he commented as she listened to his lungs.

“Take a deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth,” she ordered.

He obeyed. She moved onto his heart. Then felt for his pulse at his wrist.

“Everything normal?” he asked as she backed away.

“For someone of your mixed heritage,” she finally replied.

Cade blinked at her, outrage flaring internally. “What does that mean?” It was becoming increasingly difficult for him to not feel offended.

Kamilah flashed him a knowing smile. “I only meant that your vitals are higher than a regular, full-blooded human’s. Faster heartbeat, more breaths per minute, etc. But it’s not worrisome considering the vitals they have written down in your record from when you were a toddler. Compared on a scale, it is equal to the changes in vitals humans experience with age. Our hearts all slow down with time when we are infants.”

In that moment Cade’s stomach chose to randomly rumble loud enough to be heard by her and she laughed. It was genuine, and it was beautiful. Cade couldn’t help but smile with her. “Sorry. They haven’t fed me all day.”

“That’ll change,” she promised. “I’m going out to get your food from the kitchen after this. And they plan on giving you three meals a day, every day. Unless there’s a medical reason not to.”

Cade studied her face. The full lips, soft cheeks, and the slightly smaller than normal nose, before meeting her eyes again. “You seem nice. Not like the others. What is a woman like you doing working here?”

“You’d be surprised,” Kamilah replied. “Most of us do have hearts. We just believe in the results.”

“Even though it costs innocent lives?” Cade inquired.

She tilted her chin up, her expression turning cold. “In order for people to land on the moon, a dog had to die first.”

“I’m not a dog,” Cade protested.

“I didn’t mean it that way,” Kamilah told him. “But you can interpret it any way you want. I have more important things to do than debate this with you.”

She charged out of the room, and Cade slouched against the wall behind his cot in defeat. He’d been wrong about her. Those chocolate brown eyes lied. She wasn’t any better than the people who’d been dragging him around all morning at Marquis’ will.  

What was he going to do?

xxx

Series Masterlist

[xtruss]

Meerkats adults spend a lot of time teaching their young how to handle dangerous scorpions, a favorite prey. Photograph By Thomas P. Peschak, National Geographic Image Collection

Why Animal Teachers Are So Rare—And Remarkable

Biologists have a definition for teaching that very few animals actually meet, such as orcas and meerkats. Here are a few more from the head of the class.

— By Brian Handwerk | Published: August 31, 2022

Animals do all kinds of amazing things—and how they learn do to them has long intrigued scientists.

Some knowledge is inherited: Monarch butterflies, for instance, migrate from Mexico to Canada using a roadmap in their genes. Other species mimic skills and behaviors, like a gray wolf cub observing its pack hunt an elk. And still others learn how to survive via trial and error, such as the New Caledonian crows that figured out dropping pebbles into a pitcher raises its water level.

But among non-humans, the true teacher is a rare breed, with only a handful of species, such as some birds, primates, and insects, making the grade.

For a long time, “there was a real resistance to believe that animals teach, because it really is one of the hallmarks of humanity that makes us special,” says Lisa Rapaport, a behavioral ecologist at Clemson University.

Biologists also have created a specific definition of what constitutes an animal teacher: They must change their behavior in front of a student, with no immediate benefit to themselves, and the student must show that they’ve gained knowledge or skills, says Rapaport. Here are notable animal teachers who make sure school is always in session.

When Your Food Bites Back

Meerkats of sub-Saharan Africa live in social “mobs” of up to 30 animals, in which hands-on instruction is part of the job for parents and other adult helpers who collaboratively teach youngsters.

Various species of scorpions are prominent on the meerkat menu, but their deadly sting means they require careful handling. That’s why, at first, parents deliver the arachnids dead to their newborns. As the pups grow, meerkat teachers make their lunch lessons gradually more difficult, such as removing the stingers from live scorpions to render them harmless and letting their young practice dispatching them.

As pups gain skills and confidence handling the scorpions, their teachers bring them gradually more able-bodied scorpions until the pupils have learned to safely remove the stinger and kill prey for themselves.

Though adult meerkats dedicate time to teaching that could be spent on other activities, it works to their advantage. Since many meerkats in a mob are closely related, keeping more of the group safe and alive perpetuates the family genes.

Music Lessons

Taking early learning to the extreme, these Australian birds begin teaching their young before birth. The mother superb fairy-wren sings to her eggs as often as 30 times per hour, exposing the embryos to a secret musical passcode that’s unique to each female. Once out in the world, the hatchlings will use the sound to ask for food from mom and dad, who also learns the tune.

In one study, Sonia Kleindorfer, a biologist at Flinders University in Adelaide, and colleagues swapped eggs between nests of wild birds and found that hatchlings produced the call of the foster mother who sang to them, showing that the young don’t have a genetic understanding of the calls.

There’s a good reason for these singing lessons: Cuckoos often lay eggs in the wrens’ nests so that they can pass off the burden of incubating and raising their own young, a phenomenon called brood parasitism. But cuckoo parents do this too late for their embryos to learn the call, so caring only for young that know the call ensures wrens don’t waste valuable time and food on feeding imposters.

Showing a Friend the Way

When a rock ant finds a new food source or nest site, it leads another ant there with a technique called tandem running. The knowledgeable ant guides the novice along the route, pausing along the way so that the student can memorize each landmark. The teacher relies on feedback from the pupil, which affirms when each lesson is learned; an antenna tap lets the teacher know it’s time to move on.

“The teaching ant gets another individual into the process of agreeing on a much better nest site. This will benefit all of the ants in the colony and help them pass their genes more abundantly into the next generation,” says Nigel Franks, emeritus professor of biology at the University of Bristol in the U.K., who co-authored a study in 2006 documenting the behavior—the first published evidence of a non-human animal teaching another.

Franks is currently experimenting with robot teachers to learn which aspects of ant education are the most crucial for success.

Risky Water Maneuvers

Depending on where they live, killer whales, or orcas, eat very different prey. In Norway, orcas work together to round up schools of herring into dense clusters, then stun the fish with their tails before feasting. In Antarctica, they team up to wash Weddell seals off the ice and into waiting jaws. Scientists believe that in some of these unique situations, parents teach their young to catch prey.

Off Patagonia, for instance, some orcas hunt sea lion pups at the shoreline by intentionally beaching themselves. Adults show the young how to perform this dangerous maneuver well before they even begin hunting, helping to push their students back into the water when needed.

In Alaska waters, orcas have been observed training their young to capture prey in stages, first stunning seabirds with their flukes so that the young can get the hang of handling them and practice their own slapping technique.

These lessons are not only examples of teaching, but also culture, which occurs when a group accumulates social knowledge and passes it on to the next generation, National Geographic Explorer and wildlife photographer Brian Skerry has said.

“They are not only teaching their offspring the skills that they will need to survive, but they're teaching them their ancestral traditions, the things that matter to them.”

Foraging Master Class

Golden lion tamarins of Brazil’s Atlantic Forest must take a master class in foraging that features over 150 different kinds of fruits, insects, tree frogs, lizards, and other prey.

“If you’re a young kid in the forest, where in the heck do you stick your hand to actually find something without being bitten or stung?” says Rapaport, who has studied teaching and learning among tamarins.

That’s why adults use a “come and get it” call that initially attracts young for food handouts, then introduces them to progressively more difficult foraging situations, from recognizing a type of fruit to digging into a tree hole for prey.

“During the period where adults were doing this behavior, the foraging success for prey for kids just skyrocketed, so there’s circumstantial evidence that it was working,” Rapaport says.

Adults were also more likely to offer new foods to their young, she says. “That indicated to me that the adults were paying attention to what the kids did and did not know.”

Rapaport also observed the adults performing what she believes is an incredible trait in non-human teachers: Focusing their energy on those who needed it most.

“We didn’t have the methodology to say unequivocally that they reserved teaching for kids who were slow learners, but that was my impression,” she notes. “I’d love for someone to really look at that in a careful way."

[marypickfords]

The Embryo Hunts in Secret (Kōji Wakamatsu, 1966)

[shihlun]

Kōji Wakamatsu

- The Embryo Hunts in Secret

1966

[understandingfertility]

IVF and Ovarian Reserve Testing

IVF and Ovarian Reserve: Your Guide to Baby-Making Magic at the Best IVF Center in Indore

Hello there, future moms and dads! Today, we’re going to embark on an exciting journey to uncover the secrets of making babies through IVF and understand a very important part called “ovarian reserve.” We’ll make sure everything is easy to understand, and you’ll soon be a pro at this baby-making adventure!

What’s IVF? Let’s start with the basics. IVF stands for “In Vitro Fertilization.” It’s a magical way to help moms and dads have babies when nature needs a little extra boost. It’s like a super recipe for making babies, but we do it in a special lab.

Meet the Best IVF Center in Indore Before we dive into the ovarian reserve, you should know that the best place for this baby-making journey is right here in Indore — the best IVF center in Indore. It’s like a treasure trove of knowledge, filled with caring doctors and a friendly team ready to help you have your dream baby.

What Is Ovarian Reserve? Now, let’s talk about something called “ovarian reserve.” This is like a special vault in a mommy’s tummy where the baby-making ingredients are stored. The ingredients are called eggs, and we need them to make a baby.

Why Ovarian Reserve Matters? Ovarian reserve is super important because it tells us how many eggs are in the vault and how good they are. High-quality eggs are like the best ingredients for making a super-duper baby. Knowing about ovarian reserve helps us plan the baby-making adventure.

How Do We Check Ovarian Reserve? Here’s where things get exciting. Our experts at the best IVF center in Indore use special tests to check ovarian reserve. These tests help us understand how many eggs you have and how good they are. Let’s talk about a few of these tests:

1. Blood Tests: We take a small sample of blood to measure certain hormones that give us clues about your ovarian reserve. It’s like a mini detective mission inside your body.

2. Ultrasound: A gentle ultrasound scan helps us take a peek inside your tummy to see your ovaries. We can count the number of eggs and check their quality. It’s like a magical egg treasure hunt!

3. Antral Follicle Count: Our experts can count the small, special places where eggs grow in your ovaries. The more of these little places, the more eggs you have.

4. AMH Test: AMH is like a secret code that tells us about your egg supply. A simple blood test can reveal this code.

What Do the Tests Tell Us? These tests help our experts understand your ovarian reserve. If the results show that you have a lot of high-quality eggs, it’s like having lots of shiny gems in your treasure vault. But if the tests show that you have fewer eggs or they’re not as good, don’t worry. Our best IVF center in Indore has ways to help.

What If Ovarian Reserve Is Low? If the tests reveal that your ovarian reserve is a bit low, it’s not the end of the world. Our experts at the best IVF center in Indore have ways to help you make your baby’s dreams come true. We can use special techniques to get the most out of the eggs you have.

Fertility Preservation: Saving the Magic Sometimes, we help moms and dads save their baby-making magic for the future. This is called “fertility preservation.” It’s like keeping your superpowers safe until you’re ready to use them. You can freeze your eggs, embryos, or sperm so they’ll be ready when you are.

Planning the IVF Adventure Knowing about your ovarian reserve helps us plan the IVF adventure just right. If you have a good ovarian reserve, it’s like having a map with lots of paths to success. If it’s a bit lower, we’ll choose the best path to make your baby’s dreams a reality.

Success Stories at the Best IVF Center in Indore At the best IVF center in Indore, we’ve helped many moms and dads on their baby-making journeys. We celebrate with them when they have their cute little babies, and we can’t wait to celebrate with you too.

The Money Part: How Much Does It Cost? You might be wondering about the money part. Well, starting the IVF adventure doesn’t have to be super expensive. Our best IVF center in Indore offers affordable options to make it work for you.

Your Unique Baby Journey Remember, every baby journey is special, just like you. Ovarian reserve is just one part of the adventure, and our best IVF center in Indore is here to support you every step of the way.

Making Your Baby Dreams Come True When you choose IVF at the best IVF center in Indore, you’re giving yourself a great chance to become a mom or dad. And when that little baby finally arrives, it’s like winning the best prize ever!

Final Thoughts So, there you have it, young adventurers! IVF and ovarian reserve are like pieces of a magical puzzle, and we’re here to put them together for your amazing baby adventure.

Your baby dreams are super important to us, and our best IVF center in Indore is here to make sure you have the best experience on your journey to becoming parents. If you have any questions or want to start your incredible baby adventure, just reach out to us. We can’t wait to see your smiling faces when you welcome your new little one into the world!

[edgemarquess]

ars Paradoxica - an oldie but a real goodie, a tightly written time travel about a scientist who accidentally warps herself back to WWII America and is immediately inducted into secret government experiments

VAST Horizon - a spacefaring ark sent to colonize a new planet encounters a critical crash, resulting in most of the crew abandoning ship, with the exception of the resident biologist, the ship’s AI, and several thousand embryos in stasis

The Hidden People - a young woman’s doppelgänger shows up to hunt her down, kill her family, and ruin her life, revealing to her the world of the fey and far greater stakes at play. also a sapphic romance story

The Amelia Project - a death-faking agency takes on a wide variety of increasingly strange cases. you will get attached to these people and you will *feel* things by the end.

Kingmaker Histories - a fantasy story about a runaway seamstress fleeing the wrath of the most powerful witch in the land alongside her traveling companions, a former chef and former royal advisor both turned smugglers

does anyone have podcast recommendations? I need on that will rip my heart out and leave me sobbing for atleast a week

my favs are tma, w359, red valley and malevolent

[mtonino]

Cinediario 2020 - maggio

The Embryo Hunts in Secret (1966) Kōji Wakamatsu