In ‘Wild Design,’ Vintage Illustrations Expose The Patterns And Shapes Behind All Life On Earth

Disposing of all our products in the last day in lab. So many scint vials... 

Day in the life of a scientist

Me, at an art store: I need a paint marker with low toxicity and a delicate tip.

Employee: What kind of project are you working on?

Me: It's for a research project. I just need bright colors.

Employee: What medium are you using? Canvas or paper?

Me: uh....spiders.

Employee: Plastic or felt?

Me: ....live spiders. Like, from the forest.

Employee: ....

Employee: I have to get back to the counter.

SCIENTISTS SAY SPIDER-MAN CAN’T EXIST BECAUSE HUMANS ARE JUST TOO BIG

Sorry, Spidey. Any real-life Spider-Man would have to have size 114 shoes (sticky ones) or have 40% of his body covered in sticky pads in order to climb walls. 

what do you think about chemical weapons and the use those weapons had against humanity? how do you feel about something as great as chemistry being used for such horrible things?

I’m sorry I just found this message buried in my inbox, so I don’t know when I received it.Short answer: Use chemistry for good. War bad. Chemical based war very bad. Be nice to other humans. Be nice to chemistry 

it he @ultrainfinitepit

A snake story, based on an experience I had while I was in Florida.

i think i did something actually worthwhile in science this week.

i was asked to review a children’s science book for accuracy, and upon doing so i noted that every scientist mentioned by name was a man, and the vast majority were white. i pointed this out to the publishers in my review letter.

surprisingly, my comments seemed well received. i was thanked for noticing what everyone else had missed, and they told me they were going to change the list of scientists they discussed to be more representative. so, yay? i may have actually had a positive impact on science education?

what am i even doing still stuck at the bench, pipetting shit.

Periodic table showing the cosmogenic origin of each element.

Via APOD

Original source: Wikimedia Commons (Nucleosynthesis periodic table)

That one time my roommate couldn't watch Shane's Asagao Academy stream so I live-texted it to her instead.

@didyouknowshaning‘s asagao stream part 1/part 2

This beautifully diverse group of sea slugs can be found in oceans worldwide, but its greatest variety is located in the magical habitat of warm, shallow reefs. It’s name comes from the Latin for “naked” (nudus), but it’s often informally called a “sea slug.” Today, a profile of a group of marine gastropods called Nudibranchia.

Unlike other mollusks (think snails), most nudibranchs have lost their shells, evolving other mechanisms for protection. For example, some are able to ingest and retain poisons found in prey, later secreting them for defense.

All known nudibranchs are carnivorous, feeding on a variety of sea life including sponges, other sea slugs, and barnacles. One species, Glaucus atlanticus, is known to prey on the Portuguese man o’ war!

Hermaphroditic, nudibranchs have a set of reproductive organs for both sexes, which means any creature can mate with another. That said, a nudibranch can’t fertilize itself.

According to National Geographic, “some nudibranchs are solar-powered, storing algae in their outer tissues and living off the sugars produced by the algae’s photosynthesis.”

The creature has very simple eyes (able to distinguish little more beyond light and dark), but have cephalic (head) tentacles that are sensitive to touch, taste, and smell. Its gills are uncovered, located behind their heart, and protrude in plumes on their back, making for a large surface area that grants more efficient oxygen exchange.

(Image Credits: Creative Commons, clockwise, richard ling, Raymond, Peter Liu Photography / Source: National Geographic, Wikimedia Commons, Earth Touch, Murky Secrets: The Marine Creatures of the Lembeh Strait)