Physarum Pulcherrimum + Beetle

hi- quick question since I know you're someone who's written several papers- Do you know if you/other people who have written scientific papers are okay with emails about questions about those papers?

I'm someone who studies hyenas- amateurishly -and papers about extinct species of hyenas are really interesting to me but I can't exactly digest them very well because I don't understand the words being used. Like, what in heavens names is a 'metaconid' what does this mean!!!!!

In general authors are happy to receive such questions, but might not have enough time to give you the answer you are looking for. Still, always worth reaching out.

A metaconid is a part of a molar. But I understand this is just an example among of the general issue you are trying to illustrate. What I have learned from years of reading unfamiliar jargon, and listening to podcasts like The Tetrapod Zoology Podcast that use jargon with reckless abandon, is that in general either (a) the words that are encoded in jargon aren't *that* important to understand the grand themes of what is being discussed, or (b) their meaning can be deduced based on context cues. When I come across one that is key but really cannot be deduced, I will google it, and often Wiktionary or similar will have an answer.

The more you read, the more familiar you will get with the jargon, and the less you will need to google or ask. So, I encourage you to read broadly, and chase those interests!

It's not the best "microbiology" art, but it has a very interesting background. Two bacteria from two different clinical cases were inoculated on the TSCB medium. This metallic blue spilling bacterium is of course Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The yellow one (positive reaction on TSCB medium) is Vibrio metschnikovii isolated from chronic UTI in a dog. It was an unusual microbiological diagnosis. But what can you do when even your dog has a better holiday than you? Problems with urination (in this dog) began just after returning from the Mediterranean, the owners and the dog intensively used the charms of warm and salty water.

by Edward Jones on yt

the Guardian

Flora, fauna and … funga: campaigners call for new term for conservation talks

Fungi should be recognised and protected on equal footing with plants and animals, says Fungi Foundation

Mycologists, mostly from Latin America, established the term “funga” five years ago. It refers to the levels of diversity of fungi in any given place, and is analogous to “flora and fauna”, which refer to plants and animals. Unlike flora and fauna, it is not a Latin term but was chosen because it is morphologically similar. “Just like mycelium, mycologically inclusive language will spread unseen but profound [sic], permeating public consciousness (and policy) to acknowledge fungi’s vital role in the grand web of life on and in Earth,” it said. Government agencies in Australia, Brazil, Iceland and elsewhere have picked up on the word. Its creation and use reflects an increasing appreciation of the fungal kingdom and how it connects the plant world through an underground mycelial network.

[...]

Giuliana Furci and the biologist and author Merlin Sheldrake wrote: “Accounts of the living world that do not include fungi are accounts of a world that doesn’t exist. “Fungi have long sustained and enriched life on Earth. We are unthinkable without them, and yet we are only just beginning to understand the intricacies of fungal lives. It’s time we give them the attention they deserve."

Rosy bonnet mushroom, Mycena rosea Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Compressed Know-How: General Classifications used in Microbiology

Taxonomy - It is the systematic arrangement and classification of organisms into related groups

It can be divided into Kingdom and System Classifications.

Kingdom Classification used today is the 5 Kingdom formulated by Robert Whittaker. It contains the following: Animalia, Plantae, Protista (protozoa + algae), Fungi and Monera (bacteria).

Criteria used for the 5 Kingdom Classification:

Cell Type (Prokaryote or Eukaryote)

Cellular Organization (Unicellular or Multicellular)

Nutritional Type (based on Food Acquisition, Energy Source and Carbon Source)

System Classification can be either through Phenetic or Phylogenetic classifications.

Phenetic (Taximetrics) are based on their observable traits or overall similarities.

Eg. Morphology of bacteria, Staining reactions and Metabolic rate of bacteria.

Phylogenetic (Phyletic) is based on the evolutionary development and genetic composition. This will include the familiar taxonomic levels:

Domain

Kingdom

Phylum

Class

Order

Family

Genus

Species

Rules in properly naming bacteria:

In the Binomial System of Nomenclature, it involves the Genus' name, then species epithet eg. Staphylococcus aureus

The name should always be italicized or underlined

Genus' name: 1st letter is capitalized, and the only name that can be abbreviated. (S. aureus)

Species epithet: 1st letter is a small capital letter, or it can be all capitalized (STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS)

Common names of bacteria, as listed below:

Punctelia reddenda

This gorgeous foliose lichen grows in rosettes up to 6 cm in diameter. The upper surface is gray-green to yellow-green with white, punctiform (point or dot like) pseudocyphella which turn into soralia which produce granular or nodular soredia. The lower surface is black toward the center and lightens to brown near the rounded margins of the overlapping lobes. P. reddenda grows on mossy tree trunks and rock in Africa, Macaronesia, North and South America, and Europe.

images: source | source

info: source | source | source

microscopy lab dump :]

Hiiii!!

Could you guys please vote for my agar art in this contest? 🌿🌸

It would mean the world to me 🥹