A Cell So Minimal That It Challenges Definitions of Life | Quanta Magazine The newly described microbe represents a world of parasitic, intercellular biodiversity only beginning to be revealed by genome sequencing.

@jakebuehler.bsky.social on a cell so minimal that it challenges definitions of life. it can't even metabolize food, what is it even doing... www.quantamagazine.org/a-cell-so-mi...

Flying out to Chicago tonight for #SciWri25! Looking forward to reconnecting with fellow science writers and editors, many for the first time since the 2023 meeting in Boulder.

elections should follow mario rules

Long-lost sailback shark rediscovered after more than 50 years The rare sailback houndshark, which has an unusually large dorsal fin, was first described by scientists in 1973. That was the last record of its existence, until now

🦈 #shark

@jakebuehler.bsky.social writes in @newscientist.com about the rediscovery of Gogolia filewoodi, the sailback houndshark, a species not seen by scientists since 1973.

www.newscientist.com/article/2493...

Punctuated equilibrium, a concept introduced by paleontologists in 1972, reimagines evolution’s tempo as a stochastic burst rather than a steady beat. A new model finds support for their theory in both molecular and fossil data. @jakebuehler.bsky.social reports www.quantamagazine.org/the-sudden-s...

Season 2 Episode 18 - Frame 993 out of 2685

Season 2 Episode 18 - Frame 993 out of 2685

‘Things keep evolving into anteaters.’ Odd animals arose at least 12 separate times Findings speak to the dramatic impact ants and termites can have on mammalian evolution

Crab-like creatures are famed for having evolved five times in evolutionary history. But anteaters have evolved at least 12 times--in half the evolutionary span. Cool story by @jakebuehler.bsky.social for @science.org

The Cells That Breathe Two Ways | Quanta Magazine In a hot spring at Yellowstone National Park, a microbe does something that life shouldn’t be able to do: It breathes oxygen and sulfur at the same time.

Take a deep breath. You’re using oxygen to free molecular energy from the food you eat. But not all organisms on the planet live or breathe this way. @jakebuehler.bsky.social reports: www.quantamagazine.org/the-cells-th...

Sort of an intentionally confused chicken vs egg situation.

Who knew a fish could express "What the fuck was that?" with such ease.

"We are ruled by fathers who have never changed diapers" is becoming my go-to description of the present crisis.

6 Things You Can Do to Secure Your Phone as You Reenter the Country After Traveling In some instances, government agents can search your digital devices legally after an international trip

So sad that my former colleague Ed Baig had to write this story for AARP.

6 Things You Can Do to Secure Your Phone as You Reenter the Country After Traveling.
In some instances, government agents can search your digital devices legally after an international trip
www.aarp.org/travel/trave...

Medical Journals Get Letters From DOJ At least three journals received letters from a U.S. Attorney asking about 'competing viewpoints'

"When a US Attorney wields the power of his office to target medical journals because of their content and editorial processes, he isn't doing his job, let alone upholding his constitutional oath,"[…] "He's abusing his authority to try to chill protected speech." www.medpagetoday.com/special-repo...

A fair point!

a crowd of people sitting in a room with the words she doesn 't even go here ALT: a crowd of people sitting in a room with the words she doesn 't even go here

Gray wolves to dire “wolves”:

‘I Messed Up At Work Again,’ Crestfallen Michael Waltz Texts Wife, National Geographic Editorial Staff

‘I Messed Up At Work Again,’ Crestfallen Michael Waltz Texts Wife, National Geographic Editorial Staff

im not texting my friends about BOMBING YEMEN

The mystery of how iguanas crossed the Pacific Ocean may be solved The iguanas' 8,000-kilometer trip — one-fifth of the Earth’s circumference — is the longest made by a flightless land vertebrate.

Iguanas may have arrived in Fiji via ultra long accidental cruises. by @jakebuehler.bsky.social

I love this esp because in @restingdinoface.bsky.social 's new book she talked about OTHER species who may have made this sort of a journey. www.sciencenews.org/article/igua...

This is Arya.

She has maple syrup eyes and is, of course, a very good girl.

Chart shows partisans are increasingly divided over whether misinformation, harassment and civility are major problems on Twitter.

Partisan views of Twitter (X) – have shifted, with Republican users’ views of the site growing more positive and those of Democratic users becoming more negative.

The share of Republican users who said the site is bad for American democracy fell from 60% in 2021 to 21% in 2023.

A road sign that says DO NOT LET MOOSE

YOU FOOLS. YOU LET MOOSE.

Thank you!

Awesome! Can you add me please?

Huge-Jawed 'Terminator Pigs' Unfairly Painted as Predators, Researchers Say Ancient entelodonts are routinely portrayed as brutal carnivores, but they probably kept to the same menu as today's pigs and peccaries.

Entelodonts also probably weren’t that “hellish”, diet-wise. This story of mine from 2023 details research suggesting the undoubtedly intimidating animals probably just dined on veggies mixed with scavenging. Not true pigs, but they ate like them. No predatory pork here.

gizmodo.com/terminator-p...

Finally, here’s the snout of an entelodont (Archaeotherium). Entelodonts are sometimes called “hell pigs” for their immense, buffalo-like proportions and wide jaws full of sharp teeth. But these were actually close relatives of early hippos and whales.

Ok last marine mammal I swear: Wimahl chinookensis, a relative of dolphins dating back about 18 million years. The fossil was found along the banks of the Washington side of the mouth of the great Columbia River.

More marine mammals. Here’s Allodesmus, an extinct sea lion-like pinniped that was really athletic, nearly half a ton in life, and honestly a little horrifying? These guys lived along North Pacific coastlines roughly 10 to 15 million years ago.