That was straight up witchcraft, I am so impressed!

Wow, if I had read that in a book, I’d have considered it ridiculously far-fetched. What an amazing finding!

Photo by my spouse of Miles, a white and gray shorthair cat with a blue eye, an opaque white eye, and a tipped ear. He has a somewhat derpy concerned expression with a blep of tongue sticking out. I had just walked out of the room, and he has questions.

Come for the occasional science rants, stay for the adorable former street cat pics.

Well, it could be haunted.

Fuck SpaceX

Fund NASA

Knowing the torture gov scientists do to acronyms, they probably get pronounced like “C’MUPS”.

…honestly, if they don’t it’s a waste, and I’m frowning at them as a Gov scientist who will never have the opportunity for such an groan-worthy acronym.

Today, I’m appreciating that no astronauts, sharks, or whales were harmed in this splashdown. It is a win, and I’m taking it.

However close it WAS, it is now moving away at speed. Poor thing was probably terrified. 🥺

(I now have the entire “Imagine you’re a deer” monologue from My Cousin Vinny in my head, but it’s now about an innocent shark.)

Definitely worth keeping an eye on. I’ll certainly be forwarding the article to some of my more wildlife-type pathologist friends. (I do some wildlife, but we get maybe one wild raptor a year, so I’m less likely to find these guys myself.)
Great paper and excellent blog post on it!

I’m definitely curious about whether they were permissive to developing into the trophozoite stage from an infectious stage, like happens in the duck, or whether it was a lateral transfer of the troph stage that just made the best of it, despite that not being a usual route for these guys.

Neat! Myxozoans are some of my faves!
For the eagle, I suspect either incidental ingestion of the invertebrate host from eating a fish or scavenging on an infected duck carcass. Since these are coelozoic and I’m guessing they just ascend from the GI, accidental ingestion of an opportunist is my bet.

"Just remember that given the abundance of neurodivergent people in science, it's far more likely that autism causes vaccines."

Spot on:

Wow, I’ve never played, but that sounds like a very unpleasant game to be conscripted into.

You gotta get that hollow warble at the end or it just doesn’t haunt the shit out of the small furry creatures, apparently.

It was, in fact, a barred owl call I did last night 😆.
Poor cat was SHOOK.
I am not allowed to do owl calls in the house anymore.
(The other cat was disconcerted but not viscerally horrified.)

This whole thread has made me smile, but this was the first one I loled at. 😆

I made an owl sound in the house, and it was TOO REAL.
My tuxedo cat has puffed up to the size of a corgi and left the room in a blaze of Absolutely The Fuck Not.

Uh. I have SEVERAL concerns. 😬

That’s a handy skill to have. You’re welcome to hang out with me anytime 😂
I swear the only thing more annoying than dull knives are dull scissors.
I keep saying I’m going to buy my own set at some point and just hiss at anyone who tries to touch them.

Tis a sacred duty and worthy of much respect.

For reference, an elephant autopsy takes a large team, among which there is at least one person whose only job is to continuously sharpen knives. Nonstop. For like 8-10 hours.
To enter the chest, I recommend a powered saw to get through those ribs.

But sure, Guy With Pointy Stick, you got this.

Haha. Hahahaha. Hahaha. Omg.
I have autopsied elephants.
Even a robust *metal* spear would not be enough for a human to reliably kill an elephant before it trampled you into red mud.
Please also note that they are fully capable of grabbing spears and whacking you or throwing them back at you.

Dude, Summer Sons was some of the queerest shit I’ve ever read long before any guys in it kissed. Fully saturated. Absolutely glorious.
Mad props from a fellow Southern queer.

You absolutely nail the creepy-hot balance, too!
Respect.

instead of watching the new harry potter trailer, why not pick up some horror books by trans and nb writers for the trans rights readathon?? there are so many good options.
For example, check out some of these writers:

+ the incomparable @leemandelo.bsky.social, esp for Summer Sons (modern Southern Gothic) and The Woods All Black (historical horror). His stuff is haunting in the best way.

+ the diabolical @kmenright.bsky.social whose MESSYQUEER horror-fantasy is an amazing ride, starting w Mistress of Lies.

Oh heck yeah! This is rad, the author is excellent, and the cause is outstanding!

A smol scabby white and grey cat curled on a lap, eyes closed, fully tucked in. He is noticeably smaller and less fluffy than the more recent picture posted previously. Based on his teeth, he was several years old, just very undernourished.

Faster than my guy, it took him a whole day of “OMG I’ve been abducted, will hide in this drawer” to turn into, “Wow, your lap is warm; sure you can trim my nails, but I demand belly rubs.”
He now prefers to flop next to me vs a lap and doesn’t love toenail trims, but he isn’t rude about it.

I am so impressed by this!