Climate Change Is Not That Complicated! (h/t)

Everything to do with the mind, follow @mypsychology.

Everything to do with the mind, follow @mypsychology.

I always get really…touchy, when someone says they want to go into marine biology for the whales. I admire their love for the ocean and the mammals living within it, but I also get frustrated with their naivety. A degree doesn’t guarantee any kind of field work. 

In fact, it’s a hell of lot of work to be able to do any kind of field work, and even less likely for it to be marine mammal related. I spent one semester on marine mammals. Just 16 weeks, and half the experiences I had with strandings and training and dissections came with my location and pure happenstance. 

Marine biology isn’t whales. It’s becoming a statistician with a deeply routed knowledge on marine ecosytems and processes. I didn’t spend four years working through the blood, sweat, and tears for this degree to listen to someone complain about not being able to pet a dolphin when they graduate. 

Microfilter allows non-invasive diagnosis of fetal abnormalities

A new method could allow physicians to diagnose fetal genetic abnormalities during pregnancy without the risks involved in current techniques.

A team of scientists at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) Institute of Microelectronics (IME) has fabricated a microchip that can filter fetal red blood cells from the mother’s circulation. Retrieving these isolated fetal cells could allow the early diagnosis of fetal genetic abnormalities.

The technique, which would require drawing only a few millilitres of blood from an expecting mother, could be used from the eighth week of pregnancy; earlier than current prenatal diagnostic procedures.

I meant to say “neat” because it’s the first time I’ve seen a toad in person with its croak sac and I got excited

Too excited

Updated visalization of every Vaquita left on Earth

There are supposed to be 5000 of them. Now there are 30.

What has been done so far has not worked, including the ban on gill nets, and the capture effort that is coming will probably be far too late.

This is humanity’s fault.

China for pushing the market for totoaba swim bladders, Mexico for allowing it until this point, and the rest of us for not stepping up until they are at death’s door.

This species will most likely be gone in one or two years, and it will be the second cetacean species to die out in a little over ten years, the second in the entire 200 000 year history of the human species.

Here’s a good resource for anyone questioned about the science of climate change.

Detailed at the link above are quotations from more than 140 of the World’s major Scientific Academies, Societies and Association, that agree that Climate Change is real, and humanity is to blame. Every major Scientific group or association on the planet agrees on this.

Is Ransom Okay I Heard A Coral Reef Died

Episode 46 of the In Defense of Plants Podcast has arrived!

This week its all about the flora of the Ozarks!

The Ozark Mountains have long been a mystery to me. This ancient mountain range is home to a bewildering diversity of plant life, some of which is found nowhere else in the world. From glades to woodlands and everything in between, the Ozarks have it all. Join me for a discussion with Justin Thomas, director of the Institute of Botanical Training. Justin and his wife have devoted their lives to studying and protecting the plants of this region. I learned a lot from talking with Justin and I know you will too.

Photos by Justin Thomas

Microbiolgy & Virology flash cards i made today.

Palau vs. the Poachers

The isolated nation of Palau, in the South Pacific, comprises 250 small islands that take up only 177 square miles combined. But international law extends its authority to 200 miles from its coast, giving it control over 230,000 square miles of ocean. For a relatively poor country with no military and a tiny marine police division, and waters teeming with poachers, it’s a tall order. But, as The New York Times reporter Ian Urbina writes, Palau has mounted an aggressive response: it has banned bottom trawling and shark fishing, employed the latest in surveillance technology, and provided a model for collaboration among countries, companies and NGOs.

Reportage photographer visited Palau on assignment for The Times to show the marine police’s efforts and the natural resources they are trying to protect.

Read the article in this week’s issue of The New York Times Magazine.