nerdquirks:

genannetics:

Five Fingers of Evolution (by TEDEducation)

Having trouble remembering the 5 processes that impact evolution (small population, non-random mating, mutations, gene flow, adaptation)?  Learn the five-finger trick, and you’ll always have them at your fingertips (see what I did there?)!

This is really cool, you guys would appreciate it!!

This is so well explained! I swear what this teaches in minutes, my lecturers take 5 hours to explain!

So this little guy is the zebrafish, not really much to look at, but he truly is bringing hope to so many people!

There are many organisms that can regenerate lost limbs, flat worms can regenerate a whole individual from just 0.5% of itself and even humans can regenerate up to 70% of their liver (cheers from university student everywhere). But the zebrafish takes the award for the most impressive skill.

The zebrafish has a 2 chambered muscular heart that pumps blood around its body, very similar to humans. As soon as their heart is damaged (even up to 60%) the zebrafish immediately clots the hole and begins repairing it, regrowing new muscle and most importantly revasculizing them. Meaning it literally grows itself a new heart!

There is a huge amount of research now going into this area of study to see how this happens and apply it to humans. It’s really exciting stuff! There is a recent paper below to read, but if you can’t get on to it the British Heart Foundation (also linked below) has more detail.

 Wang, J. et al. (‘11) Development, 138, 3421-30. “The regenerative capacity of zebrafish reverses cardiac failure caused by genetic cardiomyocyte depletion.”

British Heart Foundation - Mending broken hearts

generalgeek-ness:

Walking with Dinosaurs - The Arena Spectacular

I want this to tour the UK again so much!! It would just be amazing!

Ok ok ok I had a minor freak out earlier - Its back in the UK!!!! You don’t know how excited I am! http://www.dinosaurlive.com/

I have to book tickets.

liamdryden:

staceythinx:

Thanks to a great gallery by Twisted Sifter, I now know that the aptly named Glasswinged butterfly exists. 

woah

This women is my new hero and inspiration. She didn’t get incredible grades, go to Oxbridge or get a phD (to begin with anyway). She was shy at University, and after she graduated took a ‘safe’ job at a museum. But with hard work and alot of luck she ended up discovering one of the most important links in vertebrate evolution. She found the missing link of how vertebrates evolved to walk on land.

the BBC have recently done a programme on her called Beautiful Minds (http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01fq4yh/Beautiful_Minds_Series_2_Professor_Jenny_Clack/) and I would recommend everyone watches it. She is so humble and inspirational I am ashamed I have only just found out about her. Especially after reading so many of her papers!

DFTBA.

crownedrose:

nationalpost:

‘Animal Inside Out’ shows the inner workings of real creatures frozen in time forever
The exhibition features approximately 100 plastinate and capillary specimens displaying the anatomical structure of many spectacular creatures. The animals were preserved using the technique of plastination by the same team behind Gunther von Hagens’ “Body Worlds” exhibition. (Photos: Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

I need to go see this.

This looks incredible!

pompouspaul:

They died so we may live…

frozenplanet:

Grebes join together to renew their partnership. The ceremony starts with a series of graceful duets, in which one partner echoes the actions of the other. But the real test comes now. Only the strongest and the most faithful are prepared to join together for the final exultant dance.

intrinsicallylinkedlife:

The fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) is a small nocturnal fox found in the Sahara desert of North Africa. Its most distinctive feature is its unusually large ears. The fennec is the smallest species of canid (canine, dog) in the world. Its hearing is sensitive enough to hear prey moving underground.

Just be thankful your not a female fruit fly….

Normally flies sleep at night and then have ‘siestas’ during the day. However scientists saw that female flies had different behaviour.

It has been shown that after female Drosophila melanogaster are mated they become more active. After investigation (including cauterising and castrating male flies) it was found a sex peptide in the semen caused this raised activity - the females become more domesticated, looking for places to lay eggs, preparing for birth and producing up to 100 times more eggs for up to 8 days. This causes females to have shorter life spans! They literally work themselves to death.

To me, this seems a little unfair.

DFTBA x