So Mediocre it Hurts

ohyeahcomics:

Via Bizarro

LOL. Totally going to be a unicorn.

And only partially true. Depends on cell potency. Unless imagination and risk taking is a quality dependent on cell potency for said stem cell in said comic. Okay. Shutting up. Not going to ruin the joke any further.  

mothernaturenetwork:

Scientists coax bacteria to produce pure gold nuggets

Money may still not grow on trees, but scientists from Michigan State University have discovered the next closest thing: bacteria that can transform toxic chemicals into pure, 24-karat gold, according to MSU News.

The bacterium with the Midas touch, Cupriavidus metallidurans, was coaxed into producing real gold nuggets simply by exposing it to copious amounts of gold chloride, a toxic liquid substance with no actual value but which is found naturally in the environment. The bacterium gobbles up the gold chloride, ingesting all of the liquid’s toxins and waste, and leaves behind only solid gold. It just goes to show that one bacterium’s waste is another organism’s treasure.

“Microbial alchemy is what we’re doing — transforming gold from something that has no value into a solid, precious metal that’s valuable,” said Kazem Kashefi, assistant professor of microbiology and molecular genetics at Michigan State University.

Kashefi, along with associate professor of electronic art and intermedia Adam Brown, conceived of the method. Rather than get rich, the two professors are instead using their gold-producing bacteria as part of an art exhibit titled, “The Great Work of the Metal Lover.” The exhibit makes use of the researchers’ odd visionary combination of biotechnology, art and alchemy to produce gold in front of an audience. The work received an honorable mention at the Prix Ars Electronica cyber art convention. (There was no evidence of the researchers paying off the judges with gold nuggets.)

“This is neo-alchemy. Every part, every detail of the project is a cross between modern microbiology and alchemy,” explained Brown. “Science tries to explain the phenomenological world. As an artist, I’m trying to create a phenomenon. Art has the ability to push scientific inquiry.”

The analogy to alchemy, the ancient practice of transforming base metals into noble metals like gold or silver, is an apt one. Although the practices of ancient alchemists have been widely debunked as pseudoscience and charlatanism, Kashefi and Brown’s method could rewrite the history books.

The gold produced using this method is also as pure as it gets: 99.9 percent pure. But is lab-produced gold as valuable as natural gold? Kashefi and Brown have yet to test the market on that, but they suspect the method they use in the lab is similar to how many gold nuggets get produced in nature. After all, both gold chloride and Cupriavidus metallidurans occur naturally. All it takes is for the two of them to naturally run into each other.

Given that the price of gold is currently through the roof, you might already have gotten the idea to begin duplicating this process in your garage. But before you get that twinkle in your eye, keep in mind that Kashefi and Brown have already crunched the numbers, and they attest that the experiment is not cost-effective enough to turn a worthy profit.

And besides, if gold really was so easy to produce, its value would undoubtedly sink.

Man oh man. The wonders of biotech. Imagine what it would be like to be an undergrad, or I guess even a grad student, who’d collaborate with the profs on this project. 

Gold encrusted micropipettes man.  Oh. That is so bling. 

(via byakuyaatogami)

sciencecenter:

motherjones:

So, there’s that.

(via)

The science is undeniable. 

Except for, well, all of it.

Well Jasmin. Glad you are taking our inconsistencies seriously. Because someone has to fight for our superiority over ducks. Damn those fine feathered cretins wanting better than us humans. GOOD FOR YOU. You deserve a pat on the back. 

Next thing you know, we’ll have the sea sponges walking all over us, and let’s not even talk about the legions upon legions of microorganisms around us. Ssssh they’ll hear us!

taxonomynow:

Spider Version of Bigfoot Emerges from Caves in the Pacific Northwest

ScienceDaily (Aug. 14, 2012) — The forests of the coastal regions from California to British Columbia are renowned for their unique and ancient animals and plants, such as coast redwoods, tailed frogs, mountain beavers and the legendary Bigfoot (also known as Sasquatch). Whereas Bigfoot is probably just fiction, a huge, newly discovered spider is very real. Trogloraptor (or “cave robber”) is named for its cave home and spectacular, elongate claws. It is a spider so evolutionarily special that it represents not only a new genus and species, but also a new family (Trogloraptoridae). Even for the species-rich insects and arachnids, to discover a new, previously unknown family is an historic moment.

Continue Reading

Guys. Guys. We need to go drive out to these caves if anyone is around in Oregon. Or better yet, if any of you know which caves. Gotta figure out what they eat.

This guy looks too adorable. Guys, you don’t understand. I need one. Or at least need to stare at them for a long while and poke at them (gently) with a stick now and then.

zoo-logic:

For just one day a year, millions of ants across the UK take to the air in what is known as the nuptial flight - those in the London area may have noticed that for this region, that day was yesterday. This annual event is the time for winged ‘princesses’ - virgin queens - and male drones, collectively known as alates, to get a taste of the outside world where their sterile female workers roam during the rest of the year. The ants choose their day carefully based on temperature (warmth makes it easier for them to fly), humidity (damp soils are softer to dig new nests) and day length (the ritual always takes place in summer). Amazingly, flights are somehow coordinated between nests in the same region in order to maximise the chances of meeting with ants from other colonies to mate. How this is done is not yet fully known, but it is likely to be through a chemical signal. After emerging, the princesses release pheromones to attract male suitors, and ensure they get the strongest mate by outflying the males so that they must work to keep up. During her nuptial flight a princess will usually mate with several drones, storing the sperm in a ‘sperm pocket’ that will last her a lifetime: after mating, she loses her wings and buries underground, where she will start a new colony and use sperm reserves to fertilise tens of millions of eggs over the course of up to 15 years. The males, on the other hand, have completed their role in mating and die shortly afterwards.

The Society of Biology is studying patterns of flying ant emergence across the UK to determine country-wide levels of synchronisation and is calling on the public for your help - if you have noticed any flying ants in your area submit your sightings here!

Ref: BBC News, 2012. Who What Why: How do flying ants know it’s mating day? [link]
Mccarthy M., 2012. Cleared for take-off: it’s the day of the flying ants. The Independent [link] 
Nuptial flight: When Flying Ants Mate in the Skies. AntArk [link] 

Whoa. I did not know there was such a thing as flying ant day. Strange how they all take off on the same day. Haven’t really gone to read the links, but I am guessing it is environmental triggers activating specific pathways in development that will allow this to happen.