Why Do Cuttlefish Have W-shaped Pupils? What Purpose Does That Particular Shape Serve?

I could find uses for this! and it’s strange and really neat!!!

(does anyone have the source?)

Glass of Supervicious Fluid

This Medieval Italian Man Replaced His Amputated Hand With a Weapon

Archaeologists have found a fascinating puzzle in the shape of a man’s remains dating back to medieval Italy. It looks like this guy went through life with a knife attached to his arm, in place of his amputated hand.

The skeleton in question was found in a Longobard necropolis in the north of Italy, dating back to around the 6th to 8th centuries CE. Hundreds of skeletons were buried there, as well as a headless horse and several greyhounds, but this particular skeleton stood out.

He was an older male, aged between 40 and 50, and his right arm had been amputated around the mid-forearm.

The researchers, led by archaeologist Ileana Micarelli of Sapienza University in Rome, determined that the hand had been removed by blunt force trauma, but exactly how or why is impossible to tell. Read more.

Chemistry Valentine’s Cards by Nick Uhlig.

Is it possible to be involved with the anthropology "community" despite not having a degree in anthro?

I don’t see why not. I think we encourage interdisciplinary work. 

How 250 Siberians Became the First Native Americans

The Americas are a big place, but the Native American group that first settled it was small — just about 250 people, according to a new genetic study.

These people, known as a founding group because they “founded” the first population, migrated from Siberia to the Americas by about 15,000 years ago, said study co-lead researcher Nelson Fagundes, a professor in the Department of Genetics at Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, in Brazil.

Figuring out the size of founding groups is key, because it determines the amount of genetic diversity that gets passed on to the group’s descendants, Fagundes said.

That, in turn, could alter how effectively natural selection weeds out bad genes, Fagundes said.

“Large populations have very efficient selection, while in small populations, mildly deleterious alleles [versions of genes] can spread, which may increase genetic susceptibility to some diseases,” Read more.

Most Intact Australopithecus Unveiled

After 20 years of painstaking excavation, cleaning, and reassembling, the virtually intact skeleton of the Australopithecus hominid known as Little Foot has been revealed to the world.

Bones from the 3.67-million-year-old human ancestor were first identified in the 1990s within the Sterkfontein caves northwest of Johannesburg, in South Africa. Little Foot represents the most complete Australopithecus ever discovered.

Jelly donut anyone? These “dinner plate” jellies usually live in the deep sea, but were recently spotted closer to the surface around Monterey Bay. 

Local diver Dave Smith captured this video of one snacking on doliolids (the gelatinous things floating around in the water and also in the jelly’s pink gut tissue). Just in time for National Donut Day!

So I stumbled onto the Etsy shop of this academic who–in real life–is an expert on cuneiform–and on the side, makes little trinkets with Sumerian on them and OH MAN THIS SHOP HAS MADE MY ENTIRE WEEK For the price of about thirty bucks, you too can have a clay necklace that says “Like a farting butt, the mouth brings forth too many words” in the oldest written language on earth https://www.etsy.com/listing/537034173/choose-your-words-carefully-like-a?ref=shop_home_active_23

Or a necklace that declares “I have ferocious features that exude sexiness” https://www.etsy.com/listing/540406774/i-have-ferocious-features-that-exude?ref=shop_home_active_54 Or be the ultimate hipster and anti-capitalist before capitalism even existed with “Wanting more riches when already wealthy offends the gods”  https://www.etsy.com/listing/543598245/wanting-more-riches-when-already-wealthy?ref=shop_home_active_6

Sumerian erotic poetry? Got it. Sumerian drinking songs? Yep. A little something for everyone on your Akitu gift list.

you: lich

me, an intellectual: spelleton

So do I! Severed octopus limbs are still active and will try to act as though still attatched!!! they’ll reach for food and try to bring it to the mouth they don’t have anymore!

just woke up from one hell of a nightmare i need a distraction…