I Think Sparrabeth Making It To The Finals Would Be Fun And Sexy But There Is A Part Of Me That Doesn’t

"i’m really tempted to start writing potc fic but i’m afraid i’ll get WAY too into describing how the vessels are rigged etc instead of actually having a plot. who wants 6 chapters of me possessing jack and getting him to explain the difference between square rigging and fore and aft rigging to an unmentioned second person"

Red-shouldered Bug (Jadera haematoloma), taken April 4, 2025, in Georgia, US

Just a little guy posing for a picture! He seemed to be following the camera as I tried to get different angles. This insect has two adult morphs: long-winged (macropterous) and short-winged (brachypterous). The short-winged morph has, as you could infer, shorter wings that leave part of the abdomen exposed. I've seen both forms in a solitary setting, though this species apparently tends to have higher rates of short-winged adults when they live in groups. Less need for wings when you don't have to go anywhere to find a mate!

"Orlando Bloom signed to the movie the day before he showed up to shoot this. He came right in and just got the character. He had about ten minutes to work on the stuff with the sword. The flip and everything like that... But just how well he plays this scene is just amazing. Everything about the character you need to know comes across here."

Stuard Beattie, Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio and Jay Wolpert - Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl audio commentary

beating you over the head never forget the service ac crispin did for us when she made jack canonically into dominant women she was a hero for that

Girls will be like “oh I’m just running some quick errands” and then spend all day in the wetlands appreciating the unique flora and fauna

This magnificent boat-tailed grackle strutting around in the sunlight… he knows what he’s doing here

WILLABETH wednesday…

Todays shark is...

The Epaulette Shark!

Fun Fact: The Epaulette Shark has the ability to survive low oxygen conditions by the switching of non-essential brain functions, which is helpful when hunting in tide-pools with low oxygen!

this leucistic turkey vulture was spotted perched on a telephone pole in florida. animals with leucism produce a reduced amount of pigments, resulting in either an entirely ‘faded’ body or a ‘pied’ appearance. like albino animals, leucistic animals are particularly vulnerable to predators and harassment from their own species.

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TWO INJURED SEA COMBS CAN FUSE INTO A SINGLE ENTITY, AND THRIVE

In a surprising new discovery, scientists have found that two injured individuals of Mnemiopsis leidyi, a species of comb jellies or ctenophores, can fuse into a single entity. This phenomenon, which challenges our typical understanding of biological processes, reveals just how remarkable these planktonic creatures truly are.

Ctenophores, known for their translucent beauty and delicate movement in the ocean, appear to lack a mechanism called allorecognition—the ability to distinguish between self and non-self. This means that, when two comb jellies are injured and placed close together, they can merge, not just physically, but also functionally. Their nervous systems combine, allowing them to share nerve signals (or action potentials), and even their digestive systems become one.

The discovery was made by Dr. Jokura and his team, who were observing comb jellies in a seawater tank. After removing parts of their lobes and placing them side by side, they were astonished to see 9 out of 10 injured comb jellies fuse to form a single organism. Even more fascinating, the newly formed organism survived for at least three weeks, with its muscle contractions fully synchronized within just two hours. The digestive system also fused, enabling food taken in by one mouth to travel through their shared canal and exit through both anuses—although not at the same time!

While the exact benefits of this fusion are still unclear, the researchers believe that studying this phenomenon could provide valuable insights into how organisms integrate nervous systems and even how tissue regeneration occurs. It may also offer clues about immune system functions in species where the lines between individual organisms become blurred.

This discovery offers a glimpse into the hidden potential of the ocean’s lesser-known inhabitants, challenging what we think we know about biological boundaries and cooperation.

Video: Kei Jokura

Reference: Jakura et al., 2024. Rapid physiological integration of fused ctenophores. Current Biology