Fantastic fungi found with ability to freeze water The foundational research discovers a new class of fungal ice nucleating proteins with bacterial ancestry.

17-Mar-2026
Fantastic #fungi found with ability to freeze water

ie #iceNucleationProteins

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1120225

#science #ecology
#lifeonTheEdge

One year ago, the surface of both lagoon islands was raised & capped with new shingle in different grades (thanks to #LIFEontheEdge & the #SolentSeascape). So far, vegetation colonisation has been limited to a gorgeous balance of tufted growth & open shingle, perfect for nesting Gulls & Terns.

Tortico cat on a cat tree perch with a leg and tail spilling over the side

#caturday life on the edge

Photo by @eddieschumannphoto.bsky.social

#cats #catsofbluesky #tortico #biggirl #lifeontheedge

tiny survivors Tardigrades (water bears) have often appeared in my writing as an example of remarkable resilience under extreme conditions. Our shared history goes back to the German edition of Life on the Edge, which came out in 1997, and from there they spread into the pages of Astrobiology. I just noticed I even created a tag for them back in the 00s when they took up space travel. Since then, they even landed on the Moon. Surprisingly, however, I haven't had a full feature dedicated to them. As there have been several new developments in the field of tardigrade evolution, ecology and resilience accumulating in the last few months, and as I often use the first feature of the new year to describe "fantastic species", I felt the time had come to put the spotlight on tardigrades. In the process, I learned that apart from individual specimens surviving the most horrendous physical conditions one can imagine, their lineage has also survived the last three of the five big mass extinctions. Hence it isn't even a an exaggeration to call the feature: **Ultimate survivors** Current Biology Volume 35, Issue 1, 6 January 2025, Pages R1-R3 FREE access to full text and PDF download (will become open access one year after publication) See also my Mastodon thread where I highlighted all CB features of 2025. The thread for 2024 is here . Much about the distribution, ecology and physiology of tardigrades remains to be explored. (Photo: Frank Fox/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0 DE).) Update 7.4.2025: A tardigrade has just been voted Invertebrate of the Year!

Last year's feature about #tardigrades is now in the #OpenArchive. proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2025/01/tiny-survivors.h... #science #ecology #LifeOnTheEdge #astrobiology

Lots of folks struggle with how assistance programs do not cover the middle ground between poverty and being self sufficient. Right wing says these are temporary and transitional programs. Let’s use that rhetoric against them to reconstruct aid programs
#rightwing #leftwing #humanist #lifeontheedge

Edgy Notes on the back of an envelope

virtualspacetravel.blogspot.com/2025/11/edgy... #lifeontheedge #where'smycoffee

Female bighorn sheep making her way along a steep canyon wall with fall colors in the Colorado foothills

Living her best life on the edge

#WildlifePhotography #LifeOnTheEdge #BighornSheep #LifeInNature

And I'm delighted to have worked with the lovely folk at we-are-bright.com to develop the interpretation for this amazing corner of #BeautifulScotland! #HiddenGem #LifeOnTheEdge

Got a new job, updated linkedin, didn't post about it. #LifeOnTheEdge

Biiiig squash

Rude.

Okay this is a lot of canning.

I have NO idea what this squash I planted is. Smells like watermelon. Think it might be a weird spaghetti squash/ uchiki kuri cross fertilisation. I’m canning it for pumpkin puree so- fingers crossed. It BIIIIIIG. #allotmentlife #mutantveg #lifeontheedge

youtu.be/4yCk7c5PqCs
Bond of Bravery enters BT22 with some surprisingly insane combos. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like living life on the edge in the Digimon Card game – look no further.
#digimon #digimoncardgame #agumonbondofbravery #bondofbravery #lifeontheedge #deckprofile

Deep life’s survival secret: Crustal faulting generates key energy sources, study shows Chinese researchers have recently challenged the long-held belief that "all life depends on sunlight." In a study published in Science Advances, the researchers identified how microbes in deep subsurface areas can derive energy from chemical reactions driven by crustal faulting, offering critical insights into life deep below Earth's surface.

18-Jul-2025
#DeepLife’s survival secret: Crustal faulting generates key #energy sources, study shows

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1091679 #science #astrobiology #ecology #LifeOnTheEdge

BAM! 💥 Another wild explosion goes off 🎇 in #LotLizardNews! Strap on your seatbelts folks, it's gonna be a crazy ride! 🎢 Join us for more: https://sub.dnpl.us/SAA #RockingTruckStop #ViralVlog #LifeOnTheEdge

KEVICC Year 7s brought endangered insects to life through art with South Devon National Landscape. From junk bugs to embroidered species, their creativity shone! 🐛🎨 Exhibition coming this November, can’t wait to share their work! #LifeOnTheEdge #KEVICC #YouthArt

Original post on mastodon.social

9-Jul-2025
Four newly-discovered species of #cave-dwelling #pseudoscorpions have jaws like dragons and are completely blind

not sure if it's a great idea to use imaginary animals as reference point to describe a new species?

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1089740 #science #evolution […]

#BlueSkyArtShow A #narrow path through landslide zone on the #AnnapurnaCircuit in Nepal

(Srsly, less than a foot / 30 cm in spots)

#lifeontheedge #hiking #adventuretravel

deep down As an armchair explorer of life under extreme conditions, I always enjoy reading the accounts of people who dare to go to these dangerous places themselves. One of them is Susan Casey, whose book on deep sea dives is informed by her own participation in some of the exploration as well as by immersing herself in the weird and wonderful world of those people who are prepared to go to the bottom of the oceans. While I had covered the 20th century explorations in my books, it was enlightening to read about the recent multi-record breaking exploits of Victor Vescovo who visited the deepest points of all five oceans in solo dives (the Five Deeps project completed in 2019). The book is called > The underworld: Journeys to the depths of the oceans > Susan Casey > Penguin 2024 and my review is out now: **Oceanic exploration** Chemistry & Industry Volume 89, Issue 6, June 2025, Page 30 access via: Wiley Online Library (paywalled PDF of the whole review section) SCI (premium content, ie members only)

my #bookreview of The underworld: Journeys to the depths of the oceans
Susan Casey is out in this month's issue of C&I
proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2025/06/deep-down.html #science #LifeOnTheEdge #DeepSea #exploration #MarineBiology

Original post on mastodon.social

19-Jun-2025
When Earth iced over, early life may have sheltered in meltwater ponds
Modern-day analogs in #Antarctica reveal ponds teeming with life similar to early multicellular organisms

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1087674

#science #astrobiology #snowballEarth #LifeOnTheEdge […]

Biodiversity in Antarctic soils may be greatly underestimated after surprising discovery Researchers used high-throughput DNA sequencing to measure biodiversity along a transect – a succession from recently exposed to mature soil – in front of a glacier in Antarctica. To capture a detailed ecological ‘time sequence’ they distinguished between intracellular and extracellular DNA from living versus dead or locally extinct species. They found an abundance of previously unsuspected interactions between eukaryotes and prokaryotes, eg, algae with heterotrophic bacteria and fungi with actinobacteria. The results imply that novel mutualistic interactions play an essential role in shaping this system, and that biodiversity in Antarctica may be much greater than previously thought.

21-May-2025
Biodiversity in Antarctic #soils may be greatly underestimated, surprising discovery suggests.
New methods reveal unsuspected #biodiversity in #Antarctica, enabled by #symbiosis

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1083858

#science #ecology #LifeOnTheEdge

Afternoon babz, hope you are having a fab one.. I'm off out to scarify the lawns... #LifeOnTheEdge x

Side-by-side releases are so much better than they used to be, and yet I still feel a pang of fear when I decide to give .NET Preview releases 'a go' on my main dev machine 🤦

#blazor #risktaker #lifeontheedge

Lost in the thrill of outdoor intimacy, exploring passion under the open sky. Dare to indulge.

More on Patreon www.patreon.com/LandofAIMen

#PassionUnleashed #OutdoorDesires #IntimacyUnderTheStars #RawAndReal #LifeOnTheEdge #WildAndFree #DaringEncounters

Studying how seals adapt to extreme environments could lead to benefits in human reproductive health Wild animals that have acquired adaptions to maximize their reproductive output in some of the world’s most extreme conditions may provide answers to some of the most pressing problems in the field of human reproductive health. •           A new journal article by Michelle Shero, assistant scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's Biology Department, examines how the study of seals in particular can benefit human health, and synthesizes various research on the topic. Several aspects in the life history of seals that could provide significant insight into their reproductive physiology – as well as that of humans – include female seals’ ability to undergo lengthy fasting and lose about 30% of their body weight while nursing a pup. Seals also have an exceptional ability to hold their breath for up to two hours in some species for long dives. Additionally, seals have the ability to ‘pause’ pregnancy, through a process known as embryonic diapause, so they can give birth during benign environmental conditions. •           In seeking ways to improve human health, we should be looking to the extraordinary feats of wild animals. They have often found the most innovative solutions.

15-Apr-2025
Studying how #seals adapt to #extremeEnvironments could lead to benefits in human #reproductiveHealth

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1080569 #science #ecology #LifeOnTheEdge

nearly expired creamtop chocolate milk #LifeOnTheEdge

Been to two parties this weekend

A 90th and an 80th.

#lifeontheedge 🤘

Fab! Exciting seeing things starting to pop up here and there isn't it! #LifeOnTheEdge 😂

‘Lego and tardigrades’: when humans finally destroy the world, what will remain? Milnesium tardigradum is only 0.5mm long and has survived all five great extinction events – plus it’s cute

a shoutout for #tardigrades www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/26/... #science #ecology #environment #LifeOnTheEdge #extinction