Abortiporus Biennis, 2019-08-26

Paleontologists Discover 52-Million-Year-Old Bat

The fossil represents the earliest-known species of the flying mammal

The fossil record is biased against bats. The flying mammals are small, making their fossilized remains very hard to find. And their light skeletons—ideal for flying around—mean it takes special circumstances for their bodies to be preserved. And yet, against these odds, paleontologists recently uncovered the exceptionally complete skeleton of what now stands as the earliest known bat.

To date, the most complete early bat fossils have come from an area paleontologists call Fossil Lake in Wyoming. The rock layers are world-famous for containing beautifully preserved fish, birds, mammals and other organisms that lived in the area about 52 million years ago. Among the stunning fossils recovered from these rocks, Naturalis Biodiversity Center paleontologist Tim Rietbergen and colleagues report Wednesday in PLOS One, are fossils of a new bat species the researchers have named Icaronycteris gunnelli. By comparing this new species with other early bats, paleontologists are beginning to develop a deeper understanding of how bats spread around the world in that period.

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I'll miss micro lab...

TSIA, Citrate, TSIA

Do I have like 3 other microbiology courses in my future? Yes. Will I miss this lab? Also yes, a lot. I loved this lab. My first introduction to real microbiology. The lab that made me realize I want to go into microbiology in the future. I'm happy to have taken it :)

As you're a proper phd scientist who made it through the gauntlet of higher education, I then assume that you have done some classes that have landed you in a fly lab or two. Do you happen to have a favorite Drosophila melanogaster mutation? Mine is apterous because they're flies who cant do the one thing they're named for (they can't fly).

I managed to avoid the fly labs, but I had amazing lectures by the inimitable Dr Vernon French during my bachelors at the University of Edinburgh about evo-devo and Drosophila. No better way to develop a deep fascination with HOX genes and other transcription factors. Off the top of my head, I think Bithorax is pretty nifty.

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[Hotwheels gen. nov., a new ground spider genus (Araneae, Gnaphosidae) from southwest China]

The generic name refers to Hot Wheels, a collectible die-cast toy car made by Mattel, as the long, coiled embolus of this new genus resembles a Hot Wheels track; neuter in gender.

Liu & Zhang, 2024

Rosy bonnet mushroom, Mycena rosea Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Filoboletus manipularis is found in south-east Asia, Australia and other parts of the world. No one would guess that these seemingly ordinary mushrooms glow at night like magical toadstools in a fairy wonderland.

Photographer Callie Chee

FOTD #066 : cornflower bolete! (gyroporus cyanescens)

the cornflower bolete (AKA bluing bolete) is a species of bolete fungus in the family gyroporaceae. it is found in asia, australia, europe, & eastern north america. most often, this bolete grows on the ground in coniferous & mixed forests :-)

the big question : can i bite it??yes !! it is choice. there are many online tutorials on how to cook it, too.

g. cyanescens description :

"the yellowish to buff cap surface is fibrous & roughened, & reaches up to 12 cm (4.7 in) in diameter. the thick stem, roughly the same colour as the cap or lighter, is hollowed out into chambers. all parts of the mushroom turn an intense blue colour within a few moments of bruising or cutting."

[images : source & source] [fungus description : source]

This NPR interview with with Angela Saini about how race science never really left the global scientific consciousness is super interesting! I’m gonna read her book!

i complain alot when it comes to uni and my course, but not gonna lie, here on my final year i've started to fall in love with it again, the way the fascination started when i was younger and learning new things was exciting.

throughout learning it always felt like i was not built for it, that I just cannot for the life of me focus and dedicate myself on anything. and i was just doubting myself and i should change courses or drop out because I was not meant to do this. and now on my second last semester, things kinda clicked. It may be hard for me to understand and learn, but it's worth it. To see the universe in all of its beauty, its ugliness, its complexity, its charm; it's a struggle but I'll endure it for you.

and I find myself really hoping I get to continue down in the stream of sciences and contribute to something for nature and for humanity as well, or at least deepen my understanding of how this universe works and widen my view of how intricate and special this world we live in actually is, how caring it is, how every single thing is worth something, and nothing from nature is ever truly useless