Epimusings

gq:

We remember. Thank you.

jtotheizzoe:

Whale vs. Whale: Humpback whales intervene in orca attack

Whoa. This might go down as the most remarkable whale story I’ve ever heard. Monterey Bay, CA is a world-famous whale-watching spot, and on May 3, 2012, watchers were treated to an event that might change the way we think of whale cognition.

The hunt: A group of transient orcas was witnessed trying to separate a gray whale calf from its mom, a common hunting behavior. All of a sudden, two migrating humpback whales appeared. As the gray whale mother attempted to save her calf, the humpbacks splashed and trumpeted to scare away the orcas, often within a body length of the other whales.

Unfortunately, the baby whale was killed, but a total of five humpbacks harassed the orcas for hours (as seen in the photo from the scene, above), perhaps trying to keep them away from feeding on the carcass.

It’s a remarkable sequence of events. Dr. Lori Marino of Emory University, an expert in whale cognition, had this to say:

… humpback whales, and many other cetaceans, have specialized cells in their brains called Von Economo neurons (“spindle cells”) and these are shared with humans, great apes, and elephants. The exact function of these elongated neurons is still unknown but they are found in exactly the same locations in all mammal brains for the species that have them.

What is intriguing is that these parts of the mammal brain are thought to be responsible for social organization, empathy, speech, intuition about the feelings of others, and rapid “gut” reactions.

It’s difficult, if not impossible to equate this kind of behavior as “feelings”, in the human sense, but there’s certainly empathy here, and between two species to boot! 

Whatever the answer, it’s touching proof of the intelligence of whales, and perhaps we can take this as a reminder that defending other species from destruction (or extinction) is a natural, core value of intelligent creatures like ourselves.

Previous whale amazement: A humpback whale is freed from a net by fishermen, and its gratitude is tear-worthy.Also, humpback whales trade songs across oceans, does this mean they have “culture”?

(↬ Digital Journal)

fuckyeahmolecularbiology:

A human heart cell beating.

WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG. Not cardiac myocyte.

(via blamoscience)

medicalschool:

The coagulation cascade of secondary hemostasis has two pathways which lead to fibrin formation. These are the contact activation pathway (also known as the intrinsic pathway), and the tissue factor pathway (also known as the extrinsic pathway).

Coagulation begins almost instantly after an injury to the blood vessel has damaged the endothelium lining the vessel. Exposure of the blood to proteins such as tissue factor initiates changes to blood platelets and the plasma protein fibrinogen, a clotting factor. Platelets immediately form a plug at the site of injury; this is called primary hemostasis. Secondary hemostasis occurs simultaneously: Proteins in the blood plasma, called coagulation factors or clotting factors, respond in a complex cascade to form fibrin strands, which strengthen the platelet plug.

masschaos:

my graphic design project that will soon be a poster in my new room!

My girlfriend rocks at what she does.

occupyallstreets:

House GOP Would Kick 280,000 Children Off School Lunch Program To Protect Tax Cut For Millionaires (Must Read)

House Republicans recently proposed cuts to nutrition assistance that will kick 280,000 low-income children off automatic enrollment in the Free School Lunch and Breakfast Program. Those same kids and 1.5 million other people will also lose their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly food stamp benefits) that help them afford food at home.

Ten years’ worth of these nutrition cuts could be prevented for the price of one year of tax cuts on 3,340 multimillion dollar estates that House Republicans are protecting in their budget.

On April 18 the House Agriculture Committee passed a bill cutting over $33 billion from SNAP over the next decade. About one-third of these cuts ($11.5 billion) comes from putting restrictions on “categorical eligibility,” a provision that enables states to better coordinate between programs and improves access to assistance for low-income families.

By restricting this provision, the bill would kick an average of 1.8 million low-income people a year off of food aid and end automatic enrollment in free school meals for 280,000 children in struggling families.

Case in point: As part of the 2010 tax-cut compromise, House Republicans insisted on including a tax cut on multimillion dollar estates, adding an estimated $11.5 billion to the deficit this year alone. That’s the same amount they’re now claiming is necessary to cut from low-income families through these restrictions.

Source

(via disconnectedreality)

(via disconnectedreality)

Our ICC leader is a 4th year who felt that rather than sitting in the classroom for 2.5 hours and talking about gout, we should discuss this topic over a beer. Life is good today.