c0nc0rdance

@c0nc0rdance.bsky.social

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Molecular biologist from Texas, here to share my meanderings on science, history, politics, and zombies. Long threads a specialty.

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c0nc0rdance

The Bellamy Salute was the official way to salute the US flag under Flag Code, 1892-1942 ... although I forget why we changed it in 1942? Photo is from 1915.

4th of July Dad Joke: Many firework stands will accept live male deer as payment, but be sure to shop around, to get the most bang for your buck. #DJotD 🎆🦌

Today is the last day that someone will still have 10 fingers. Happy 4th of July to them!

During the Carboniferous Period (~300 MYA), insects grew to enormous sizes, like the dragonfly ancestor, Meganeura, which had a 2.5 ft wing span. Butterflies the size of hawks would be fanciful but terrifying & you wouldn't dare wear floral perfumes. (🔬: Stefan Diller, Science Photo Library)

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c0nc0rdance

A projection map of the Moon shows that the part facing us (between yellow lines) has all the dark spots (marias). Remember that being tidally locked means that we only see one side of the moon, which always faces towards Earth. So why is the visible side covered with dark 'mares'?

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c0nc0rdance

Denisovans lived for over 100,000 years on the Tibetan plateau, hunting snow leopards and golden eagles and other animals. Here's my story on these remarkable people [Gift link] 🧪 www.nytimes.com/2024/07/03/s...

How the Denisovans Survived the Ice Agewww.nytimes.com A trove of animal bone fragments from a cave on the Tibetan plateau reveals how Denisovans thrived in a harsh climate for over 100,000 years.

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c0nc0rdance

Burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia)🦉are found throughout the Americas wherever vegetation is low, and soil permits burrows. They're prevalent in the mountain states of Colorado, Texas and New Mexico, especially in areas where prairie dogs create convenient burrows. (Pic: Mac Stone)

The only species of penguins in the Northern Hemisphere (and just barely!) are the equatorial Galapagos penguins, which are the 2nd smallest penguin species on Earth. They're just these little guys.

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Apparently yesterday was World Porcupine Day. So, let me be the first to wish you a Happy Belated World Porcupine Day! #wildlife

Let's talk about Bergmann's rule. It states: within closely related organisms, as latitude increases (closer to the poles), average height and volume of an organism increases. For example, the size of penguins increases as a continuous function of latitude. (🧑‍🎨: Karel Frydrýšek)

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c0nc0rdance

Something that always amazes me: When you turn on the tap in your home, you're draining the water out of a giant tower, by gravity. From the point of view of the water, it must be a wild ride.

You're looking at the only known fossilized skeleton of a sauropod dino called "Amargasaurus", recovered from the La Amarga Formation in Argentina. One of the smallest sauropods at 13 m in length & 2-4 tons in weight, the distinctive 'neural spines' projecting from the vertebrae are a puzzle.

1919 map of peach orchards, with each dot representing 500 acres of peach trees. Millions of peaches! Peaches for me!

Colobopsis explodens use a strategy called autothysis (Greek for "self-sacrifice"), which only makes sense from a Darwinian perspective if the group being protected is very closely related, as in eusocial insects (the other example of autothysis is in eusocial termites, Globitermes sulphureus)

TIL I learned about Colobopis explodens (yes, that’s really their name) ants If attacked, they bite the predator, angle their bottoms towards it, and explode. The exploding ant dies, but releases a toxic, spicy-scented yellow substance which also kills the predator, protecting the colony

Well, I know what *I'm* making this weekend.

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Looking like someone clawing their way up from the grave is the reason that this fungus🍄, Xylaria polymorpha, is sometimes called "Dead Men's Fingers". Let's talk about how they might help remediate micropollution, with an ALMOST ZERO chance of turning people into zombies.

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Did you hear about the dolphin couple who struggled to communicate with each other? They just weren't clicking.

The Latin phrase for "A long cat" is: 'Longus catus'.

It's Georg Christoph Lichtenberg's birthday (July 1st, 1742). His discoveries paved the way for modern xerographic copiers, and led to an early understanding of electric discharges. Fun fact: his title in 1769 was "Professor Extraordinarius" (in German: außerordentlicher Professor).

Let's talk about Lichtenberg figures like this one created by subjecting an acrylic block to an electron beam charged to several megavolts with a pin embedded in the base. You're seeing the path that the charged plasma took through an insulating material. Like lightning, but crystallized.

SCOTUS announces 6-3 decision ruling that you can use the lab microwave for food.

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Things I've spontaneously said to animals. Mailing list: buttondown.email/rosemarymosco Patreon: www.patreon.com/birdandmoon

Let's talk about Sons of Hermann Halls. There are (at least) 140 of them in Texas, with membership >80,000. Here, they're famous as small venues for live country music, dances, small-town wedding receptions, reunions and the like. It all started with a funeral in New York in 1835.

I want to explain what this is, how it works and why it's hilarious to me, but it's going to take a few posts to explain. It appears to be the work of Rüdiger Trojok, a biologist and biohacker in Munich.

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Let's talk about James A. Harris, the co-discoverer of Rutherfordium and Dubnium, elements 104 & 105. He was the 1st African-American to be involved in the creation of a new element. Born Waco, TX in March 1932 BS in Chemistry at HBU Hutson-Tillotson College in Austin, TX.

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Littlewood's Law: A person can expect to experience a "1 in a million" event at the rate of about once every month. Named for English mathematician John E Littlewood (1885-1977), who calculated the odds. It calls into question 'miraculous occurrences' that are merely unlikely.

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What do *clumping cat litter* and *the origin of all life on Earth* have in common? Montmorillonite clay! So how is litterbox-filler responsible for the earliest appearance of life, and how did it shape us into the organisms we are today (evolved via cat litter)?

No.

Researchers craft smiling robot face from living human skin cells arstechnica.com?p=2034226

Researchers craft smiling robot face from living human skin cellsarstechnica.com Human cells isolated from juvenile foreskin are flexible enough to grin when moved.

The Van Leeuwenhoek microscope to the Leica 2 photon confocal w live cell imaging. 400 yrs of development.

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Iwasaki's snail-eater (Pareas iwasakii) is a snake native to the Ryukyu Islands of Japan. As the name suggests, they're specially adapted to eating snails. Rather than crushing, it strikes into the shell and pulls the prey out with a weirdly asymmetrical jaw (25 vs. 15 teeth). (📷: orthoptera-jp)

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Amanita phalloides is SO NUTRITIOUS that eating a single bite is enough to FEED YOU FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, which, in practical terms, is about 6-8 hours on average. (this is the death cap mushroom, which has a 50% case fatality rate, please do not eat.)