Nartagnan ⏚
boosted
Anke
boosted
Anke
boosted
A marine iguana venting electrolytes secreted by its cranial salt glands. Fernandina Island, Galápagos. #iguana #reptile #salt #sneezing #ocean #nature #physiology #osmoregulation #homeostasis #biology #Galapagos #Ecuador #Amblyrhynchus
Nemoudeis
boosted
Troisième jour, il pleut il mouille c’est la fête à la grenouille, mais n’importe laquelle : la grenouille des bois américaine, qui vit dans toute l’Amérique du Nord, même au Canada et en Alaska où les températures tombent très bas en hiver. En fait elle tombent même en dessous de zéro, et notre gernouille gèle… puis revient au printemps. Je vous explique ça en dessous si ça vous intéresse ⬇️
Bastian Greshake Tzovaras
boosted
iNaturalist Enshittification Update:
So you know the Q&A they promised to host about their Generative AI project back on (checks notes) June 11, 2025? Well it is finally scheduled! I got the email for it (because it was a form sign up, unlinked to iNat account, yes my iNat account is deleted).
They managed to *completely* avoid using the term "AI" in the entire email. They announced it as, "Register now: Scaling Identification Expertise webinar". They are desperately trying to rebrand this, do not fall for it. (Update: they finally had to in the webinar, they confirmed they are using Gemini but only in the chat window, never spoken about so it might not even been recorded? https://scicomm.xyz/@astrodisastro/115656803556190100 and https://biodiversity.social/@ClimateJenny/115656989250805843)
Furthermore, the webinar is tomorrow, and it's not a Q&A, and it sounds like the demo is ready to go. I have friends still on iNat and it sounds like there is no notice of Generative AI scraping comments, or opting in (or out of) such projects. This leads me to think that they are just going to scrape the entire site, considering their refusal over the past SIX MONTHS to even promise us this much - that our content won't be scrapped without our opting in to the program. Considering this, I wonder if your stuff is being scrapped as I write this, if you still use iNat (conjecture, yes, but a very real and legitimate one).
I also love how they cherrypicked two users who are full on board with GenAI as their "user experts".
I am laughing at their attempts to reframe this, because they *know* they had to lock the blog posts about this because hundreds of users were overruning it with their dismay. They *know* GenAI is not liked in the iNaturalist community at large.
I hereby announce that instead of my usual Karstmas postings for December, I will be instead posting things for #DivestDecember and encourage other people to join me in creating this hashtag! What is it for? Anything that helps people move away from harmful companies, corporations, AI, GenAI, and whatever other monopolistic and/or silicon valley type stuff you can think of!
My own posts will be focused on other ways to improve your identification skills and naturalist skills. I won't be able to post every day, but hopefully you can at least follow that hashtag for tips. It is also my hope that it will take off and others with their own areas of expertise can share their knowledge of how to get away from these harmful systems, or at least, decrease our use of them. Some examples:
- How to install / use LibreOffice
- Which grocery stores are employee-owned
- Amazon alternatives
- Writing help without relying on chatGTP for those who struggle with grammar
And anything else you can think of! It is my vision that this hashtag will be either simple and easy tips, or, well-written step by step foolproof as many things I see are written assuming lots of prior knowledge of the topic.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to write in an accessible way.
#iNat #AI #GenAI #enshittification #nature #science #iNaturalist #naturalist #biology #ecology
Mre. Dartigen [maker mode]
boosted
A radiation-eating fungus, Cladosporium sphaerospermum, thrives inside the Chernobyl reactor. Scientists theorize its melanin pigment may perform "radiosynthesis," harnessing deadly ionizing radiation for energy like plants use sunlight. While not yet proven, the fungus demonstrably grows better in radiation and may even act as a radiation shield, a stunning adaptation to a man-made disaster.
https://www.sciencealert.com/chernobyl-fungus-appears-to-have-evolved-an-incredible-ability
Researchers used diffusion MRI to track water movement in brain tissue across nearly 4,000 people, from infancy to age 90.
Turns out that the brain doesn't age like a slowly ticking clock. Instead, it goes through a few major "upgrades" and "reconfigurations" at key life stages which define how we grow, mature, and eventually decline.
Fabrizio Musacchio
boosted
🚨Our latest paper, Electrical Spinal Imaging: A noninvasive, high‑resolution approach that enables electrophysiological mapping of the human spinal cord is out now in PLOS Biology
https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3003116
It's not only fancy figures, let me show you ⬇️
🧵1/8
manisha
boosted
What if the best crop protectors aren’t chemicals — but the viruses living inside fungi?
In this video, we explore how mycoviruses could become powerful, self-spreading tools for sustainable agriculture — reshaping plant health from the inside out.
https://youtu.be/CGxSWkF762g?si=NERFkJY2J1bHdxFw
#fungi #mycology #agriculture #ecology
#aspergillus #education #academia
#phd_life #phdone #forest #mushrooms
#virus #mycovirus #crop #food #mycovirus #Science #nature #Farming #fungus #plants #foraging #Health #biology
Troisième jour, il pleut il mouille c’est la fête à la grenouille, mais n’importe laquelle : la grenouille des bois américaine, qui vit dans toute l’Amérique du Nord, même au Canada et en Alaska où les températures tombent très bas en hiver. En fait elle tombent même en dessous de zéro, et notre gernouille gèle… puis revient au printemps. Je vous explique ça en dessous si ça vous intéresse ⬇️
iNaturalist Enshittification Update:
So you know the Q&A they promised to host about their Generative AI project back on (checks notes) June 11, 2025? Well it is finally scheduled! I got the email for it (because it was a form sign up, unlinked to iNat account, yes my iNat account is deleted).
They managed to *completely* avoid using the term "AI" in the entire email. They announced it as, "Register now: Scaling Identification Expertise webinar". They are desperately trying to rebrand this, do not fall for it. (Update: they finally had to in the webinar, they confirmed they are using Gemini but only in the chat window, never spoken about so it might not even been recorded? https://scicomm.xyz/@astrodisastro/115656803556190100 and https://biodiversity.social/@ClimateJenny/115656989250805843)
Furthermore, the webinar is tomorrow, and it's not a Q&A, and it sounds like the demo is ready to go. I have friends still on iNat and it sounds like there is no notice of Generative AI scraping comments, or opting in (or out of) such projects. This leads me to think that they are just going to scrape the entire site, considering their refusal over the past SIX MONTHS to even promise us this much - that our content won't be scrapped without our opting in to the program. Considering this, I wonder if your stuff is being scrapped as I write this, if you still use iNat (conjecture, yes, but a very real and legitimate one).
I also love how they cherrypicked two users who are full on board with GenAI as their "user experts".
I am laughing at their attempts to reframe this, because they *know* they had to lock the blog posts about this because hundreds of users were overruning it with their dismay. They *know* GenAI is not liked in the iNaturalist community at large.
I hereby announce that instead of my usual Karstmas postings for December, I will be instead posting things for #DivestDecember and encourage other people to join me in creating this hashtag! What is it for? Anything that helps people move away from harmful companies, corporations, AI, GenAI, and whatever other monopolistic and/or silicon valley type stuff you can think of!
My own posts will be focused on other ways to improve your identification skills and naturalist skills. I won't be able to post every day, but hopefully you can at least follow that hashtag for tips. It is also my hope that it will take off and others with their own areas of expertise can share their knowledge of how to get away from these harmful systems, or at least, decrease our use of them. Some examples:
- How to install / use LibreOffice
- Which grocery stores are employee-owned
- Amazon alternatives
- Writing help without relying on chatGTP for those who struggle with grammar
And anything else you can think of! It is my vision that this hashtag will be either simple and easy tips, or, well-written step by step foolproof as many things I see are written assuming lots of prior knowledge of the topic.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to write in an accessible way.
#iNat #AI #GenAI #enshittification #nature #science #iNaturalist #naturalist #biology #ecology
A radiation-eating fungus, Cladosporium sphaerospermum, thrives inside the Chernobyl reactor. Scientists theorize its melanin pigment may perform "radiosynthesis," harnessing deadly ionizing radiation for energy like plants use sunlight. While not yet proven, the fungus demonstrably grows better in radiation and may even act as a radiation shield, a stunning adaptation to a man-made disaster.
https://www.sciencealert.com/chernobyl-fungus-appears-to-have-evolved-an-incredible-ability
What if the best crop protectors aren’t chemicals — but the viruses living inside fungi?
In this video, we explore how mycoviruses could become powerful, self-spreading tools for sustainable agriculture — reshaping plant health from the inside out.
https://youtu.be/CGxSWkF762g?si=NERFkJY2J1bHdxFw
#fungi #mycology #agriculture #ecology
#aspergillus #education #academia
#phd_life #phdone #forest #mushrooms
#virus #mycovirus #crop #food #mycovirus #Science #nature #Farming #fungus #plants #foraging #Health #biology
🚨Our latest paper, Electrical Spinal Imaging: A noninvasive, high‑resolution approach that enables electrophysiological mapping of the human spinal cord is out now in PLOS Biology
https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3003116
It's not only fancy figures, let me show you ⬇️
🧵1/8
jonny (good kind)
boosted
My #introduction needs a refresh.
I'm a #PhD student at the University of #Vermont, studying the #Evolution of #Evolvability. I'm into #AI, #ALife, #Biology, and #Philosophy, because I want to understand #life, #adaptation, and #intelligence using my native language of #ComputerScience. I share my musings and #research on my #blog. I love #science generally, and am full of bitchy #AcademicChatter.
I was a #SoftwareEngineer in #SiliconValley for many years, but left in 2021. I'm glad I did, and now I feel a bit betrayed by the #TechIndustry. I've been going back to my #FOSS roots, and gradually #DeGoogle ing my life. I still love to talk about #code #craft, #UX, and healthy #engineering #culture. Recently I've been enjoying #gpu #programming, mostly in #taichilang.
I have a wife and a #cat. I love #nature, #photography, #cooking, and #yoga.
All kinds of people are valid and worthy, but #trans people, folks on the #autism spectrum, and #bipoc get a shout out right now because they need our support.
Ben
boosted
A Cell So Minimal That It Challenges Definitions of Life
https://www.quantamagazine.org/a-cell-so-minimal-that-it-challenges-definitions-of-life-20251124/
#HackerNews #Cell #Biology #Minimalism #Life #Science #Definitions
Moss is tougher than we thought. Scientists sent moss spores to the International Space Station, where they survived for nearly a year exposed to the vacuum, radiation, and freezing temperatures of space. Over 80% of the spores were still able to grow upon their return. This discovery suggests moss could be a key plant for creating future ecosystems on Mars.