So Pretty!

So true!

when u like a character for their potential to be interesting and complex more than how they’re actually written

Good News Network

Scientists Grow Tree from 1,000-year-old Seed Found in Cave–May Be Lost Medicinal Plant in the Bible

Dr. Sallon and her team thought it was an extinct species known from history as Judean Balsam, but it turned out to be something called Tsor

"During an archaeological dig in a desert area north of Jerusalem 40 years ago, a seed was discovered which was determined to be in pristine condition but had obviously seen many a year.

Now, despite falling from its parent 1,000 years ago, it has grown into a mature tree, and botanists examining it believe it may be an extinct species that was used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years—even receiving a nod in the Bible.

Neither Israeli botanists, nor Dr. Sarah Sallon, a physician who founded the Louis L. Borick Natural Medicine Research Center at Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem, could determine what species it was from simply from the seed covering. So they did what nature intended—they planted it.

Using a well-documented technique that saw 2,000-year-old date palm fruit pits germinate, Dr. Sallon soaked the seed in hormones, liquid fertilizer, and water, and then planted it in a pot of sterile seed; then waited.

Despite its genetic code being exposed to environmental stressors for over 1,000 years, the seed sprouted after 5 weeks. The shoot was protected by a caplike feature called an operculum. As the shoot grew, the operculum was shed—leaving something for the team to radiocarbon date. It narrowed down the age of the almost 10-centuries-old seed to between the years 993 an 1202.

Fast forward 14 years and the plant has become a 10-foot-tall tree. Dr. Sallon shared images of the tree, its bark, and its leaves with botanists around the world. One expert suggested it belonged to the genus Commiphora, found across the Arabian Peninsula and parts of Africa. A genetic analysis subsequently revealed this was the case, but a perfect match was lacking.

Pictured: The tree, now 14 years old.

Dr. Sallon and her team thought it was an extinct species known from history as Judean Balsam, but the best way to confirm that suspicion would be to have some aromatic traces similar to the resins of the myrrh tree to which it is related. However, no such fragrant compounds were detected.

Instead, the chemical analysis of the leaves identified a group of phytochemicals known as guggulterols which have been observed in a related species called Commiphora wightii that’s known to possess certain cancer-fighting properties in its resin.

A medicinal balm, the origin of which is not known, is mentioned in multiple historical texts including the Bible as ‘tsori,’ and rather than the fragrant Judean Balsam, it’s this tsori that Dr. Sallon and her team believe they have found.

They must wait until the tree, now 14 years old, produces flower or fruit to know for sure if it’s an extinct species, and if so, how to perhaps keep it alive.

Dr. Louise Colville, senior research leader in seed and stress biology at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in London who wasn’t involved in the research, told CNN that it was a major accomplishment to grow a seed that old and possibly lead to a resurrection of this Biblical botanical.

“What’s surprising in this story is it was just a single seed and to be able to have one chance for that to germinate is extremely lucky,” she said.

“Working in a seed bank, seeing the potential for that extreme longevity gives us hope that banking and storing seeds that some at least will survive for very long periods of time.”"

-via Good News Network, October 8, 2024

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Note: This is such a good demonstration of why seed banks are so important!! They give us such real and massive hope for deextinction and the revival of endangered species.

Among Wakanda Forever's many MANY achievements is its superb indictment of white feminism. Julia Louis-Dreyfuss' character is the classic superficially "empowered" woman in a high-level corporate job who does nothing to empower any other woman--who in fact only seeks to infiltrate and sustain the same colonial patriarchy that oppresses most of the world for her own benefit. Contrast this with the true feminism of Wakanda and Talokan, where women are not only on equal footing with men, but play an active role in creating and maintaining societies that would have no room for such backwards notions as misogyny in the first place. Wakanda Forever is a masterpiece.

Beth and Rip start fostering kids. Not through the system or anything, Beth just keeps stumbling across traumatized children... hospital kid, ditch kid (who I think could still be alive)... Tate, probably, eventually. Beth keeps bringing home strays and Rip just sighs and makes up another bed because a) it's for Beth and b) he was one of those traumatized orphans.

Question

if anyone is reading my blog, may I please ask you, what is your opinoin on Yelena Belova?

I personally think she is very fun to watch, and acts in a realistic way considering her situation.

“the world has taken too much from you for you to be considered a child”

M’BAKU STEPPING INTO A BIG BROTHER ROLE, HOW DARE RYAN COOGLER AND WINSTON DUKE DO THIS TO ME

You have my gun

Fanfiction Revisions and Edits Part 1

Good morning, afternoon, or evening to anyone reading my post.

Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read my post.

I apologize for the inconvenience.

After I proof-read my marvel-descendants crossover fanfiction "The Widows Caretaker", I noticed that it did not make as much sense as I wanted it to. As such, I revised and edited it. Unfortunately, to make it make sense, I ended up drastically changing the context of the story. I will explain more in another post.

Thank you for taking the time out of your day or night to read my post.

Have a good day/night!

Encanto Characters and their Yellowstone Counterparts: Part 1

Good morning, afternoon, or evening to anyone reading my post. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to ready this.

Recently, @embermc posted that Encanto(Movie 2021) and Yellowstone(TV series 2018) basically share the same plot, but have different settings and themes.

Honestly, i found @embermc 's comparison very helpful, as I have watched Encanto many times but only watched Yellowstone once, so I am able to understand Yellowstone better.

As such, in this multi-part series, I will state which Encanto and Yellowstone characters are the most similar and why, so please stay tuned!

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Art by Katelyn Windels