Art restoration- “The Assassination of Archimedes”

do this to ariana grande

Foster mom welcomes another baby into her litter.

“Yes, good, this is also my baby. Put her with my other babies.”

I’ve introduced kittens to foster moms before! Some cats are so taken up with parental instinct they’ll accept a new baby instantly, but some can hiss and see the baby as an intruder that can potentially harm her kittens. When this happens, I like to to rub the new kitten with a piece of cloth that smells of the mom’s kittens, ideally whatever was being used as bedding when she gave birth. They go like “Oh! A baby I haven’t cleaned yet? Unacceptable! Hand them over”

That was the cutest addition to an already adorable post.

Babies! Soft Babies!

You can do that with other animals too! Or put the same scent on mama and foster baby. It’s called “grafting” and it can be very helpful in livestock like sheep.

A Total Solar Eclipse Over South America

On Dec. 14, 2020, a total solar eclipse will pass over Chile and Argentina.

Solar eclipses happen when the Moon lines up just right between the Sun and Earth, allowing it to cast its shadow on Earth’s surface. People within the outer part of the Moon’s shadow will see the Sun partially blocked by the Moon, and those in the inner part of the shadow will see a total solar eclipse.

The Moon’s orbit around Earth is slightly tilted, meaning this alignment doesn’t happen on every orbit. Total solar eclipses happen somewhere on Earth about once every 18 months.

During a total solar eclipse, the Moon blocks out the Sun’s bright face, revealing its comparatively faint outer atmosphere, the corona. This provides Sun-watchers and scientists alike with a rare chance to see the solar corona closer to the Sun’s surface than is usually possible.

Scientists can take advantage of this unparalleled view — and solar eclipses’ unique effects on Earth’s atmosphere — to perform unique scientific studies on the Sun and its effects on Earth. Several NASA-funded science teams performed such studies during the total solar eclipse in the United States on Aug. 21, 2017. Read about what they’ve learned so far.

Watching the eclipse

We’ll be carrying images of December’s eclipse — courtesy of Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile — on NASA TV and on the agency’s website starting at 9:40 a.m. EST on Dec. 14.

We’ll also have a live show in Spanish from 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. EST featuring views of the eclipse and NASA scientists.

If you’re observing the eclipse in person, remember that it’s never safe to look directly at the uneclipsed or partially eclipsed Sun. You can use special solar viewing glasses (NOT sunglasses) or an indirect method like pinhole projection to watch the eclipse in person.

For people in the path of totality, there will be a few brief moments when it is safe to look directly at the eclipse. Only once the Moon has completely covered the Sun and there is no sunlight shining is it safe to look at the eclipse. Make sure you put your eclipse glasses back on or return to indirect viewing before the first flash of sunlight appears around the Moon’s edge.

Mira el eclipse en vivo comentado por científicas de la NASA de 10:30 a 11:30 a.m. EST el 14 de diciembre en NASA TV y la página web de la agencia. Lee más sobre el eclipse y cómo observarlo de forma segura aquí: https://ciencia.nasa.gov/eclipse-de-2020-en-america-del-sur Y sigue a NASA en español en Instagram, Twitter, YouTube y Facebook.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.

Asteroid Bennu, the Storyteller

Asteroids are the storytellers of our solar system’s youth. They are the closest we can get to the original material that makes up the sun, planets, and moons.

This week, our OSIRIS-REx spacecraft made history when it touched a pristine, ancient asteroid named Bennu to collect a sample from the surface. The intrepid spacecraft will now bring the asteroid sample – and its stories – back home to Earth.

Why is it that asteroid Bennu holds the history of our origins? Let’s go back to the beginning…

About 4.5 billion years ago, our solar system began as a spinning, swirling cloud made up of tiny bits of gaseous and rocky material. Most of that material – more than 99% of it – gathered in the center and went on to become the Sun.

The leftovers began to spin around the Sun, colliding into one another and forming larger and larger objects, eventually becoming planets, dwarf planets, and moons.

But asteroids didn’t become part of planets or moons. So, while the material in planets and moons were superheated and altered during the formation of the solar system and weathered by geologic processes over time, asteroids remained pristine.

Each asteroid holds knowledge from that special time in our solar system’s history. Each one contains information about the chemicals, minerals, and molecules that were present when the solar system was just starting to form.

With missions like OSIRIS-REx, we are going on a journey to these ancient worlds, seeking to learn what they remember, seeking to expand our knowledge, and deepen our understanding of our origins.

Learn more about the OSIRIS-REx mission HERE, or follow the mission on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

Today the lady behind me in line at the grocery store checkout politely tapped my shoulder and when I turned around she motioned toward my giant bundles of kale and asked: “what do you do with your kale? Do you cook with it, or make juice, or…?” And i admitted there in front of god and the world “oh I feed it to my peacocks.” And she just looked so taken aback that I said “I’m sorry that’s not the answer you were hoping for”

And that’s how I learned other people don’t really know what to do with kale either. We’re all pretty sure it’s edible, though.

People are sending me kale recipes like they honestly believe I will try to eat bird food

Brassicas like kale make great livestock food! Best way to eat kale: grow forage kale as a cool-season forage. Graze cattle or sheep on it. Eat resulting steak/lamb chops.

How to surreptitiously stretch within reach of kisses

...There I was, veritably myself again.

my wonderful best friend picked this one out. hopefully y’all like him!

Azigen !

Me: What good herding dogs! 

Camera: *pans over past the hula hoop*

Me: A TWIST I DID NOT EXPECT

This is the most bored farm kid shit I’ve ever seen and one of my farm kid friends were Moose Farmers.

@geekhyena

Tagging @allthecanadianpolitics

tl;dr: basically, they don't know yet if vaccinated people can still be asymptomatic carriers, so people will have to continue wearing masks until most of us are vaccinated.

here’s a bubblegum frog! (pink tree frog) 🐸

Continue Reading.

We Just Found Water on the Moon’s Sunlit Surface

When the first Apollo astronauts returned from the Moon in 1969, the Moon’s surface was thought to be completely dry. Over the last 20 years, orbital and impactor missions confirmed water ice is present inside dark, permanently shadowed craters around the poles. But could water survive in the Moon’s sunnier regions? Using SOFIA, the world’s largest flying observatory, we found water on a sunlit lunar surface for the first time. The discovery suggests water may be distributed across the Moon’s surface, which is a whopping 14.6 million square miles. Scientists think the water could be stored inside glass beadlike structures within the soil that can be smaller than the tip of a pencil. The amount of water detected is equivalent to about a 12-ounce bottle trapped in a cubic meter volume of soil. While that amount is 100 times less than what’s found in the Sahara Desert, discovering even small amounts raises new questions about how this precious resource is created and persists on the harsh, airless lunar surface. Learn more about the discovery: 

Water was found in Clavius Crater, one of the Moon’s largest craters visible from Earth.

The water may be delivered by tiny meteorite impacts… 

…or formed by the interaction of energetic particles ejected from the Sun. 

Follow-up observations by SOFIA will look for water in additional sunlit locations on the Moon.

We are eager to learn all we can about the presence of water in advance of sending the first woman and next man to the lunar surface in 2024 under our Artemis program. What we learn on and around the Moon will help us take the next giant leap – sending astronauts to Mars.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

hi hello CATS!!!! CANNOT!!!! BE VEGAN!!!!!

i cannot believe i have to fucking say this.

dogs are omnivore and IF YOUR VET APPROVES your pooch MAY be able to go on an APPROVED(!!!!!) commercial vegan dog food like the brand “v-dog” which has all the essential vitamins, protein, etc. (the oldest record winning dogs have been vegan)

cats are CARNIVORE and cannot fucking live on a vegan diet. a vet would laugh in your face and probably find some way to have your pet taken away from you because you’re obviously not fit to have an animal if you think you can feed a cat a diet based on your own ethics

i’m vegan but this is so fucking harmful.

it’s about minimizing your harm, not putting your animals on risky diets in an attempt to be perfect.

DON’T FUCKING DO THIS TO YOUR PETS

Idiot people

If you see someone you know doing this, report them for animal cruelty and neglect.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

This posts, and many of the notes on it, are bothering me. Ladies, gentlemen, esteemed colleagues from outside the confines of the gender binary; gather ‘round. Let’s throw some science in this joint.

1. Humans. Humans are not cats. Humans are not dogs. One would think this obvious, but people have a tendency to attempt such interspecies comparisons when discussing diet. Humans are order omnivora; we have essentially evolved in a manner that attempts to give us as much dietary flexibility as possible. We do, however, require a substance called B12 (or cobalamin), which is extremely important for brain and nervous system functions, as well as the synthesis of DNA and the construction of red blood cells. We cannot produce this vitamin ourselves–no animal, plant, or fungus can. The enzymes used in cobalamin production are essentially unique to bacteria and archaea–some species of which hang out in the digestive tracks of other animals. We get cobalamin in a roundabout way from fish, shellfish, meat, eggs, milk, and dairy products. While there is no naturally-occurring, vegan source of the vitamin that has been demonstrated effective in a human study of statistically significant sample size, effective synthetic forms do exist and can be used as a substitute.  Cyanocobalamin is one of the most common and is frequently found in fortified foods and vitamins. In short: Humans are omnivores. Humans have evolved for dietary flexibility, including viable vegetarianism. Humans did not evolve for veganism (be extremely suspicious of people who tell you that we did, as they are lying), but due to modern technologies, veganism is also a viable diet that humans can thrive on, should they so choose.

2. Cats. Cats are order carnivora. Cats require (amongst other things) an amino acid called taurine. We’re not quite sure how, exactly, but we know that it’s extremely important to feline heart wall tissue, retinal tissue, and brain tissue amongst other things. Cats cannot manufacture their own taurine, and must get it from other sources–primarily shellfish, fish and meat. Taurine breaks down when heated, so feeding your cat a home-cooked diet rich in this foods is also not necessarily a good idea (talk to a vet). Secondary (read: SUPPLEMENTARY. NOT A SOLE SOURCE OF TAURINE.) sources of taurine for cats include dairy, eggs, and seaweed- or yeast-based taurine supplements. In nature, cats don’t really need to worry about getting enough taurine, because (as you may have noticed), taurine sources are indeed the things that cats tend to catch and eat. However, a cat that lives in a human household is dependent on humans for food, and sometimes humans are utter fucktrucks. In short: Cats are obligate carnivores. Their primary source of nutrition is meat. They must eat meat, preferably as close to raw as possible. They have digestive tracks designed for digesting meat. There are vegan/vegetarian cat kibbles on the market. Do not buy them. Your cat is neither vegan nor vegetarian, and if you adjust their diet as if they were, you are a terrible person who is harming and possibly killing your pet. You suck. End of discussion.

3. Dogs. Dogs are slightly more nuanced here. They are facultative carnivores–meaning that they optimally should eat meat, but can survive on other things if resources are scare. Dogs also need the amino acid taurine, but can technically manufacture it themselves if the proper building blocks are in their diets. They also need vitamin D–D3 is preferable, but D2 can be used to some degree. Dogs are somewhere between us (the true omnivore) and the cat (the true carnivore). A vegan or vegetarian diet will keep a dog alive, certainly, but is unlikely to allow your pet to thrive as it lacks the recommended nutrients. You should probably be feeding your dog meat. The exception here–some dogs are allergic to conventional dog foods, or find symptoms of certain diseases alleviated by vegetarianism. In this case, a veterinarian (not you, layperson, I mean an actual trained veterinarian) may determine that the benefits of putting your dog on a vegetarian/vegan diet outweigh those of feeding your dog meat. This is relatively rare, but does occasionally happen. And no, actually, the oldest dog is not vegan–Bramble is the only dog on this list that I found had some indication of veganism. The oldest dog on record is an Australian Kelpie named Maggie, who was not vegan. It is more likely that Bramble lived that long despite the veganism, not because of it. In short: If a vet thinks that your dog may be allergic to dog food/require a special diet and recommends you try feeding it a vegetarian/vegan diet, listen to your vet. Otherwise? Dogs are carnivora. They do need vegetables and other sources of nutrients, but their optimal fuel, as it were, is meat. Your dog needs meat to be happy. Fucking feed your dog. 

Now, I did manage to find two veterinarians who disagree with every other study I dug up and the American Veterinary Medical Association. Their articles are here and here. They don’t really have sources, and are essentially wholly dependent on anecdotal evidence (“my dog is a vegetarian and hasn’t died!”), but for those of you data cherry-pickers reading this, there you go. 

As a rule, dogs and cats need meat. If that makes you uncomfortable, that is your problem, not theirs. If you try to implement a vegan or vegetarian diet for your pets because you implemented one for yourself, you shouldn’t have those pets. That is animal abuse. (By the way, those of you not feeding your cats and non-allergic dogs the food they need to survive and thrive? What the fuck is wrong with you? Do you not love your pets?)

TL;DR If you do not want a pet that must be fed meat, you should under no circumstances acquire a cat or a dog. Thank you for your time.

Rebloobing for the more detailed info on B12 and obligate carnivore vs true omnivores

Always reblog.

one of the most important things ive learned from upper level biology education so far is that dna isnt the god-like all-powerful beacon of similarity between all living beings on the face of the earth as high school science textbooks will lead u to believe but actually is, in fact, the molecular equivalent of a smoldering dumpster fire that’s in a constant state of chaos and cellular scandal like some highlights: 

-the parts of dna that just casually detach on a physical level from the main strand, do some sick skateboard tricks in the cytoplasm, and land somewhere else with 43552342 copies

-the parts that would do A Thing if they wern’t physically spooled up so tightly that the Make Thing Happen machinery couldnt get to them

-the dna thats in ur mitochondria bc the mitochondria used to be a bacteria that our bigger, buffer cellular ancestors just vored in the primordial ooze 

-the dna that’s in chloroplasts in plants for the same reason

-rna….bitches be crazy like what is she gonna do next?? o she gonna act like a protein now and do shit?? im on the edge of my seat 

-sometimes u just gotta make more chromosomes man like sometimes u just be hanging out and u gotta make ur genome 64 sizes larger and then change ur mind only 100,000 years later and delete half of it and thats just how it is on this bitch of an earth

-random shit from like 5 BCE is just casually left over everywhere like no susan i told u to leave that gene alone we might need it to fight dinosaurs again u just never know!!!!!

dna is earth’s biggest and brightest train wreck and honestly i wouldnt trust a dna molecule to water my plants let alone run my body but here we fucking are 

I am feeling physically very unstable after reading this. 

I’m a genetics professor and everything here is true.

There’s a fern that has 1,260 chromosomes. That’s 630 pairs of chromosomes. No, we don’t know why.

Oh, and everyone should know that the person who first presented evidence for endosymbiosis (the official name for cells eating each other and then turning into mitochondria or chloroplasts instead of being digested) was this woman, Lynn Margulis, in 1967: 

 Her paper where she presented the theory was rejected 15 times before it got published. Over the next decade, her work was mocked and ignored. Now every biologist knows that she was right.

The bits of DNA that move around (“jumping genes”) were discovered by this woman, Barbara McClintock, in the 1940′s: 

Her work on them was ignored and derided for about two decades before some people started to take it seriously. In 1983 she won a Nobel Prize for it.

Something of a derail, but I feel strongly about talking about the contributions of these two women.

it’s never not the time to learn about cool women in science

Remember a Kitten Grows into a Cat, 1920s

Note to self…

pink in the night

If there is a time I don’t reblog this it will be because the apocalypse got me

same

The best thing about working from home 

(via)