A Tiny Hawaiian Squid, Euprymna Scolopes, Has Become A Model For Thinking About This Process. The “bob-tailed

A tiny Hawaiian squid, Euprymna scolopes, has become a model for thinking about this process. The “bob-tailed squid” is known for its light organ, through which it mimics moonlight, hiding its shadow from predators. But juvenile squid do not develop this organ unless they come into contact with one particular species of bacteria, Vibrio fischeri. The squid are not born with these bacteria; they must encounter them in the seawater. Without them, the light organ never develops. But perhaps you think light organs are superfluous. Consider the parasitic wasp Asobara tabida. Females are completely unable to produce eggs without bacteria of the genus Wolbachia. Meanwhile, larvae of the Large Blue butterfly Maculinea arion are unable to survive without being taken in by an ant colony. Even we proudly independent humans are unable to digest our food without helpful bacteria, first gained as we slide out of the birth canal. Ninety percent of the cells in a human body are bacteria. We can’t do without them.

As biologist Scott Gilbert and his colleagues write, “Almost all development may be codevelopment. By codevelopment we refer to the ability of the cells of one species to assist the normal construction of the body of another species.” This insight changes the unit of evolution. Some biologists have begun to speak of the “hologenome theory of evolution,” referring to the complex of organisms and their symbionts as an evolutionary unit: the “holobiont.” They find, for example, that associations between particular bacteria and fruit flies influence fruit fly mating choice, thus shaping the road to the development of a new species. To add the importance of development, Gilbert and his colleagues use the term “symbiopoiesis,” the codevelopment of the holobiont. The term contrasts their findings with an earlier focus on life as internally self-organizing systems, self-formed through “autopoiesis.” “More and more,” they write, “symbiosis appears to be the ‘rule,’ not the exception… . Nature may be selecting ‘relationships’ rather than individuals or genomes.”

Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing, The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins

GUMROAD IS BANNING NSFW CONTENT IN THE NEXT 24 HOURS

I haven't seen anyone talk about this yet, so I might as well.

They've updated their content policy to comply with payment processor Stripe and Paypal's censorhip. They gave 24 hours. On March 16th 2024, Gumroad TOS will no longer allows sales of any written or drawn nsfw content.

This is going to hurt for so many creators. Giving that little time leaves people's source of income wildly unstable, especially with such a huge overhaul of what content is allowed.

I hate this. I hate what censorship is turning the internet into. I hate that nsfw content creators keeo getting pushed to the fringes, that they need to digitally migrate so often, because nowhere can be trusted to allow their art for long.

I don't know what to do next, there isn't some sort of "here's what you can do to help!" People just deserve to know.

Tags

a thousand curses on payment processors and on the coward ass platforms caving to them and on the freaks pushing it in the first place

29K notes View Post

awaybyrail

1 year ago

to be honest, to me starting at the top seemed easy. the way i learned was basically a sequence of "this is how x really works under the hood"-type revelations, which suited my learning style reasonably well. im sure i could have gone the other way around too, though i feel like you might have lost me starting at assembly because a high level language was relevant to my other interests then in a way assembly wouldnt be

half of the mystique around "tech stuff" that most people experience is mostly just because they don't know the difference between a "tech enthusiast" as constructed by Apple et al's marketing team and "people who know computers work" and how there's very little actual overlap between these two categories. the only actually good programmers are the ones who want to fuck the computers or perchance have undergone some other technopsychosocial adaptation, which does not correlate with knowing how many dozen cameras the latest iphone has or being able to get along well with the business major interviewer at a startup called Zyergote who drives a tesla

1K notes View Post

awaybyrail

3 months ago

taking notes

Tags

tain shir

3K notes View Post

awaybyrail

1 year ago

reverb in an empty hall.

prints (all proceeds go towards aid for Gaza)

Tags

this fucks

2K notes View Post

awaybyrail

1 year ago

tundras are soooo pretty aand beautiful to look at smears of best ever colors on flat and muted greens and yellows.... hard agree with los campesinos like yes take a body to tundra for real......

Tags

it seems somehow larger than it should be like taking a full breath for the first time in forever

122K notes View Post

awaybyrail

7 months ago

Tags

the creative production understander has logged on

39 notes View Post

awaybyrail

9 months ago

Tags

BARK BARK BARK BARK im gonna grow my hair out

2K notes View Post

awaybyrail

1 month ago

and to think that you havent gotten to the doomed revolutionary femdom mmf bit yet

50 pages into If On A Winter's Night A Traveler and, yeah, sometimes the timeless classics people name drop to sound cultured and which seem to be at least 50% an elaborate joke on the reader and/or chance for the author to show off really are as good as everyone says.

32 notes View Post

awaybyrail

4 months ago

my first newsletter entry is about the work I did this year on my longform comic project, strike the spark! it's about a group of friends in a socialist study club who are trying their best to support their school's union and their impending strike! I hope to finish the book next year. you can read the newsletter here! 🍀

Tags

love them!

16 notes View Post