#The Journal of Heredity

[vintagewildlife]

Guinea pigs By: W. E. Castle From: The Journal of Heredity 1910

[fawnaura]

I, too, was stunted, narrowed, warped, by my environment, my outcroppings of heredity.

Sylvia Plath, The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath, 1950-1962

[xtrablak674]

History Repeating

Being our third or fourth video call in like a week, I was aware that we were in a new spot. Albeit the diminished energy was still present, mind you these kids dad had just passed I got a strong intuition that this was their baseline and if this was homeostasis, these kids were depressed. Fourteen to twenty the energy should have been more kinetic but it wasn't it was dulled and I don't think this was just the marijuana.

The most disappointing thing for me was the environment a solid colored room with a single bar light bulb on the ceiling, the kind of lighting I wouldn't even consider yet this was their norm. The few glimpses of the room I could see things were placed in a very incidental way with no clear intention. This was familiar, not to my own upbringings but my being in my father's house particularly the one he shared with my brother's mom.

I had to point out to my Floridian nephew that I had never lived in anyone's ghetto. I think my mom was only making a bit above the poverty level and there were roaches in our house, but they never felt oppressive and ever present. The house was relatively clean having three single digit little boys ripping about and tearing around. There were no random piles of indistinguishable items. A place for everything and everything in its place. My god-grandmother's house was worn but still tidy.

My brother's children were living in squalor as far as I was concerned not that different than what you would find in a developing country. This made my nieces blurted out statement, 'its so orderly there' stand out even more starkly. She had only knew disorder her entire life, even in her younger brother's home it wasn't that different. I turned my camera around showing them one wall of my apartment where my Ms. Pac-Man game is also arranged. I told them it was very surprising to me that they had so many bare walls, not even a taped up poster.

This was eye opening, horrifying, upsetting and depressing to me. I could understand why their energy was so diminished their homes literally reflected their disenfranchised disempowered and diminished existence. And not one adult around them knew any better so here they were in this space that said bare necessities, no dreams, no mood boards, no fantasies, no future. It makes it so much clearer that my nephew felt the need to be high all day, when your life seems so bleak there is no where better to escape then into a cloud of smoke...

Things in my head were clicking a bit more, I was so disappointed in their parents when about fifteen years ago I Trading Spaces their studio apartment from just a bed bureau and TV to a full house of furniture, actual decorative aspects and lighting making the space so much more inviting. In my ignorance I thought I could undo decades of oppression, mental health issue compounded by living in destitute situations that didn't need to be so destitute. I was trying to fight a battle that had long been lost before I even existed.

Black people throughout time have had little, but a common theme amongst those of us who had little is that we care for the little we had. You could go into most of these Black households and not find an ounce of dirt. Furniture and clothes may have been worn and thread-bare, but were always clean! That wasn't the case in my nieces and nephews grandmother's house. She had been mentally checked out for decades and basic things like keeping a clean house had passed along the wayside a long time ago.

I had witnessed this personally as a child when I would sit up on the bed in the living room and hear the mice scurrying about on the floor after the sun set. Their grandmother at the time, my father's girlfriend didn't seem in the least bit upset or disturbed by what kind of filth the house must contain to have not only roaches but rodents all throughout the house. I remember even as a child being disgusted by the extreme poverty, blackened floors, holes in ceilings and walls and a general sense of filthiness.

In my own apartment in Peekskill the refrigerator was usually a space free from any pest. But in my dad's fridge bugs were in everything, the butter, milk, juice, fruits and you were probably eating them in the breakfast cereal. As much as I enjoyed spending time with my father, I didn't enjoy having my food tainted with the dead or partially living bodies of pest. This was disgusting!

But you live in squalor long enough this becomes the default. Normally I show off my apartment to those around me, and found myself deliberately holding back sharing the entire thing with these kids. I felt like it would have been inappropriate showing them how well I was living while they lived in squalor, sheet-less beds, dirty floors, bare walls, rooms lit by a single bulb, piles of clothing and random items with no rhyme or reason. It bought me so much cognitive dissonance and such sadness that I wanted so much more for these children still, and how much the adults in their lives had failed them. I am sure they were doing the best they could, but these kids deserved so much better than what they were getting...

[Photo by Brown Estate]

[northernnaturalist]

🚨 New killer whale research alert!!🚨

Killer whale taxonomy is a big interest of mine—for the last four(!) years, I have been patiently waiting for the results of the genetic analysis of the type D killer whales sampled by scientists off Chile back in 2019.

As the most distinct and most poorly known killer whale ecotype, type D killer whales are of interest to many scientists. Fresh genetic samples hold the answers to questions that many people have been asking since their discovery in 1955.

A new study, published recently in the Journal of Heredity, provides insight into the genetics of the type D killer whale: https://academic.oup.com/jhered/advance-article/doi/10.1093/jhered/esac070/7086686

Here are some takeaways:

1: Type D killer whales are the MOST inbred killer whales on the planet, and are one of the most inbred mammals EVER documented!

2: They have been inbreeding for a long time and have extremely low genetic diversity, similar to that of the vaquita, of which there are less than 10 individuals remaining.

3: Their bizarre appearance—the bulbous heads and minuscule eye patches—may be due to the fact they are so inbred!

So…are they a new species? That’s the tantalizing question we’ve all been asking. Based on this new analysis, there’s some strong evidence that supports the notion of type D killer whales as a distinct species. The paper points out that their long-term inbreeding and lack of connection with other killer whales—both genetically and socially—means it’s time to take a closer look at their taxonomic standing. If they are to be made a distinct species, scientists will need to write up a separate paper laying out all of the evidence that supports designating them as their own species, and will also need to come up with a proposed scientific name for the species.

The lead author Dr. Andrew Foote was kind enough to invite me to write an accompanying blog post about the paper for the Journal of Heredity—watch this space, as I will share it whenever it gets posted. Thank you Andy for letting me take a peek at the manuscript a few months in advance! (I have been so excited to talk about this, you have NO idea!)

[musing-and-music]

Royai week 2023 fic recs

In honor of Royai week in the Fruits & Roots server, I chose to highlight some of my favorite Royai fics I gathered these past years (not many years, since I've been on AO3 for 2 years and a half only). Each day, I'll recommend a few fics in a particular setting

Day 3: Heredity - Post-Canon fics

There's so many good post-canon fics that I had to make a choice among all the ones I have! Post-canon is so vast, it can go from right after Promised Day to Roy and Riza's old days after they've done everything they had to do. This will be one of the longest rec lists I'll do this week!

Heartbeat (series) by nightofnyx8 / @nightofnyx8

There is only one room in the Mustang household that has never been used. The walls are white, painted with butterflies, and the cradle sits just below the window. A small white dresser stands in the corner, with silver fastenings on each drawer. It holds not patterned clothes or socks lined with lace, just two white boxes that sit right atop. Mother's Day piece for the one and only Riza Hawkeye.

Roy Mustang has a basic understanding of what a father shouldn’t do: don’t run off and abandon your family, don’t transmute your child into a doomed chimera, don’t tattoo your alchemic research onto your daughter’s back— But as to what a father should do…well, that was a different matter entirely. Father's Day Piece for Roy Mustang

You'll end up believing I only rec fics that make me cry, but I swear, if I cry while reading something, that means the author has found the right words to move me, and that's (for me) the best indicator (with laughing) of a writer's quality. And that author is amongst my favorites!

Roy and Riza Observation Journal by hanamuri / @hanamuri

Rumor has it, Roy and Riza are having an illicit affair. No, Riza’s just one name in his list of exes, sprung another one. Actually, nothing is going on between them, buzzed hearsay. The debate remained endless on the unspoken question everyone has on this impeccable duo: what’s up with these two?

A must read (must re-read for me)! Affectionately shortened to RROJ, this fic brings light on Royai through the eyes of the people who know them

on the brink of discovery by vadeofspades / @mayfieldarc

In which Roy and Riza are trying (and failing) to keep their relationship a secret from Team Mustang on their first day back to Central.

You want to smile? Read this one!

The Amestrian Waltz by raisingmybanner

A story about noticing the things that have been under your nose the whole time, and a story about deciding when to finally let them free. An orange sweater, a shape in the clouds, a protector of the stars. "Who are you?" a little boy asks. "I was your lieutenant," replies a woman with a cracked heart, unsure what else to say.

A tag to give this one? #oh my heart

Partiality by Dailenna / @dairogo

Roy is given the chance to take care of Black Hayate while Riza is in hospital after the Promised Day, and it provokes a lot of thought about changes that could occur.

I'm partial about this one, since it's my gift for last year's Secret Santa, but I loved it, and the hope in it is strong!

Your Warmth Against My Scars by lassus / @lassusog

“How have you been?” his doctor asks him after a moment. “Fine,” Roy responds, calmy. He is, really. Mostly he feels numb. And tired. And his scars hurt, sure. On the whole, nothing out of the ordinary. “Have you been experiencing any pain in the areas with scar tissue?” Every waking moment. But it’s fine. Really. “Not much.” Harris frowns. “I want to help you, you know,” he tells him. “I know,” he brings himself to say. His doctor sighs heavily. “How are things at work?” Harris asks, after a minute. Roy has to look away, suddenly. It doesn’t take long for the numbness to wash over him again though, thankfully. “Fine too.” (Or, Roy's still healing wounds, excessive work and an argument with his Lieutenant slowly take their toll on him.)

Such a great exploration of Roy's character and his stubbornness!

and when you can't rise (i'll crawl with you on hands and knees) by starsinherblood / @jedidragonwarriorqueen

Attacked on their way home from a diplomatic trip to Drachma, General Mustang and Captain Hawkeye find themselves contending with a group of insurgents, but the odds are stacked against them.

I'm feral about this one, about the tension and the angst in it!! It's only 4 chapters long, and I can tell you there's no way to get bored while reading!

For better or worse by zipadeea / @zipadeea

Roy and Riza always thought all they needed to be happy in life was each other. Then, they meet two Ishvalan orphans who teach them just how wrong they are. (Or: Mustang and Hawkeye fall in love and start a family. The process is just as conventional as you'd expect; which is to say, not at all.)

I devoured this fic in one night, and I loved every part of it. It's moving and serious but filled with so much love!

Riza Shaves the Day by sootyfeathers / @sootyfeathers

Soaking wet and out of breath, the pouring rain hadn’t stop Roy from sprinting the entire way to Riza’s apartment in the dead of night. He’s convinced her life is in danger, but it’s really him that needs to be saved. And shaved.

From angst to fluff

[podfic] Never knew I could feel like this by klainelynch / @klainelynch (once again)

After their first kiss, Roy reflects on the depth of his affection for Riza.

Short and sweet, a soft moment for Royai

New Beginning by VillainousMiss / @villainousmiss

A small blurb of Roy and Riza's reactions to a particular order Fuhrer Grumman put into place.

So much hope in this short one-shot!!!

[thehorrortree]

Deadline: May 1st, 2024 Payment: Prose: 1¢ per word, Poetry: $10, Artwork: $25 (Cover art is $50.) Theme: Heredity NonBinary Review is open for submissions on the theme of "heredity." Maybe you have your mother's nose, or your father's eyes, or your grandmother's hair, or your uncle's earlobes. There are so many things that run in families - not just physical characteristics, but so many of our habits, tastes, and ways of thinking. The "nature vs. nurture" debate has been raging forever, although science is finding that a surprising amount of what we think of as learned behavior might actually be biological. But what else might we inherit from our families? Magic powers? A tail? ESP? We're looking for speculative takes on heredity - the unexpected, the impossible, the very furthest out there. We're NOT looking for stories about inheritance - things given to us by families or friends. We're not looking for werewolves or vampires (or any other well-known fictional monsters). We're looking for something new - something we've never seen before. Prose: All submissions must have a clear relationship to our theme, and be double-spaced in 12pt Times New Roman or they will be rejected. NonBinary Review  pays 1¢ per word for prose with a limit of 3000 words. Poetry: All submissions must have a clear relationship to our theme and be submitted in 12pt Times New Roman, or they will be rejected. Submitters may include up to THREE poems per submission, but each must be a separate file. NonBinary Review pays a $10 flat fee for poetry. Artwork: All submissions must have a clear relationship to our theme and be submitted as a jpg., .png., .tiff., or .psd file of 300dpi or greater (accepted pieces must be PRINT QUALITY). Submitters may include up to five pieces per submission, but each must be a separate file. NonBinary Review pays a $25 flat fee for visual art, or $50 for pieces chosen as cover art. Zoetic Press publishes the best in speculative lit - experimental, interstitial, luminous. We welcome submissions from EVERYONE. The only requirement is that they be in English, or translated into English (we love a translation). If your writing is outstanding, no matter who you are, we have a place for it. NonBinary Review, our award-winning themed lit journal is published quarterly. Each issue revolves around a specific theme, but we're asking contributors to go beyond the old familiar media tropes - we want speculative work that looks at our theme from unexpected angles. We're looking for work we can read with our whole body - work that gives us goosebumps, makes us see the world differently, has the tang of authenticity, makes us sit up and listen, and smells like....something. This analogy got out of hand. What we're saying is that we're not looking for re-hashes of images or stories we've read before. We want contributors to explore every facet of our themes, really getting in between the cracks, in the corners, all the forgotten places that no one ever thinks to explore. We want to read work that makes us think "I never would have thought of this, and yet, it's so fitting!" What we're NOT looking for is work that centers violence, rape, misogyny, racism, ableism, or degrading stereotypes of any kind. We know you're not that kind of writer, but we thought it should be said. NonBinary Review accepts reprints, but we do ask for previous publication details so they can be credited. Prose submissions (for which we pay 1¢ per word) should be 3000 words or fewer in length, double-spaced in 12pt Times New Roman font or similar. Poetry submissions (for which we pay a $10 flat fee) should include no more than 3 poems, each of which may be up to 3 pages in length. Please include each poem as a separate file. Art submissions (for which we pay a $25 flat fee) should include no more than 5 pieces. Each piece should be at least 300dpi, and at least 600 pixels on its smallest side. Any piece chosen for cover art will pay $50. We do not accept any submission that consists of links to an artist's website.

Please ensure that you are submitting to the correct category, as we have different editing teams for each. Submissions sent to the wrong category (e.g., poetry submissions sent to the prose category) will be declined. Dear Horace Greeley invites writers to ask questions about writing, submitting, publication, and any other aspect of the literary life that baffle them, and we'll answer them online. We don't promise that we have all the answers, but we do promise that we're here for you! Feedback for Poets of Color is just what it sounds like. People of color may submit ONE poem, up to 50 lines, for consideration. Two poets per month will be accepted, and the Poetry Editors will work with those two poets to edit, improve, and strengthen their work. Acceptances are done on the first of the month, although submissions are open year-round. Heartbeats: Visual Verse invites poets to push the boundaries of poetry. We're looking for poetry that combines narration, music, and visuals to create a complete experience. We're not looking for a static reading or words scrolling down a screen - we want interplay between visuals and audio that create something more than the sum of its parts. Poets may submit work of up to 140 seconds in length. We pay a flat fee of $25 per accepted video. Only those categories below are currently open for submissions. While there is a published close date for submissions, we have an acceptance cap for each issue, and submissions will be closed once we reach that cap, so don't wait until the last minute. Via: NonBinary Review.

[grison-in-space]

Nonetheless, in February 1940, two Harvard University biochemists, Clyde E. Keeler and Harry C. Trimble, published a curious item in the Journal of Heredity about coach dogs and their renowned hippophilia. Keeler and Trimble were given access to the records of a large kennel that for a quarter of a century had bred and trained Dalmatian coach hounds, as they were known. Training started at six months and basically involved yoking the juvenile to an experienced dog until it understood that it was to run with the coach. After that it was taken off the tether and allowed to seek its own position relative to the horse and carriage—the best from the standpoint of the coachmen being anywhere from under the front axle to the horse's rear legs and the worst being behind the carriage. The scientists found that mating dogs who preferred the forward position produced puppies who preferred the forward position, whereas mixing good and bad dogs produced decidedly poor puppies who ran well back of the horses. Breeding bad to bad was a disaster: at least two of those puppies were "man-shy" or timid.

The results suggested to Keeler and Trimble that the distinctive preferences trained Dalmatians showed for where they ran behind horses were being selected for genetically. But because they recognized the impossibility of that, they attempted to determine what traits were being passed on that influenced the decision. They concluded that the position Dalmatian coach hounds selected was the result of the interplay of "inherited tendencies capable of training" and their level of fearfulness. All breed "specialities" represent unique combinations of common talents and tendencies, such as sociability, trainability, fearfulness, aggression in its various guises, agility, strength, speed, and overall size.

Dog’s Best Friend, Mark Derr (1997)

This kind of discussion is why I have always been more convinced by Derr's framework of breed specific tendencies than by the Coppingers' arguments about breed-specific breaks in the chase-hunt-kill-dissect sequence: Derr's assessment of genetic variance in working breeds often contains a lot more room for variation among individuals as well as considering lots of underlying reasons for behavior variation than the Coppinger approach does.

(It is also totally funny to me how many little snarky potshots you see Derr taking at the Coppingers, particularly in his discussion of livestock guardian dogs. In particular, Derr was apparently dryly incredulous at the notion that LGDs won't hunt small prey.)

It's possible I am not giving the Coppingers a fair shake--I've only been able to read like this again recently, for the first time in like ten years now--so I might give them another pass in a little while. Nevertheless, this kind of willingness to consider temperament variation as shaping more than a single function is something I appreciate. There's a definite tendency to think of behavioral variation among individuals, and by extension behavior genetics, in narrow terms centered around the particular traits, activities, or behaviors of interest. Evolutionary psychology is particularly prone to the sin of modularity, envisioning infinite easily separable modules of behavior that can be shaped at will according to an environment. But dogs, like humans, are learning animals, and variation tends to bleed over from category into category; it's not as simple as selecting just for one thing and expecting nothing else to change. Other things always wind up coming along for the ride.

[resbar]

IJAAR | An Open Access Research Journal

International Journal of Agronomy and Agricultural Research is open access and a peer-reviewed journal that publishes high-quality original research papers together with review articles and short communications. It publishes original scientific work in all areas of Agronomy, Agricultural Sciences, Environment, and related Biology. 

ISSN: 2223-7054 (Print)

ISSN: 2225-3610 (Online)

Issue: 12 issues per year

Publication: Fast and Continuous.

Scope

IJAAR covers Agronomy, Agriculture, Crop biology, Breeding, Marine biology & Aquaculture, Biotechnology, Horticulture, Mushroom culture, Farming & Advanced farming, Crop management, Soil science, Irrigation & Water Management, Pest management, Weed management & Control, Disease management & Control, Fertilization, Agrochemicals, Nutrient and Micronutrients, Pathology, Pollution biology, Landscape architecture, Animal sciences & Animal welfare, Poultry, Fisheries, Sericulture, Apiculture, Economic biology, Pharmacy, Social forestry, Agroecology, Embryology, Agricultural philosophy, Heredity, Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO), Plant & Animal domestications, Food security, Food Processing and Preservation, Food production & Alternative food systems, Industrial agriculture, Traditional agriculture, Sustainable agriculture, Green revolution, Agricultural marketing and analysis.

[evoldir]

Fwd: Course: Online.GeneticDataAnalysis.Aug26-Sep4

Begin forwarded message: > From: evoldir@evol.biology.mcmaster.ca > Subject: Course: Online.GeneticDataAnalysis.Aug26-Sep4 > Date: 2 May 2024 at 05:44:17 BST > To: rdmpage@gmail.com > > > Genetic Data Analysis Course and Workshop: "ConGen-2024" Online > > Theme:  Applications of SNP and Next Gen Sequencing Data in Population > Genomics, Molecular Ecology, and Conservation Genetics. > > Instructors include Eric Anderson, Ellie Armstrong, Chris Funk, > Matthew Desaix, Marty Kardos, Brenna Forester, Will Hemstrom, Gordon > Luikart, Angel Rivera-Colon, Rena Schweizer, Stephen Spear, Robin > Waples, and 3-4 more TBA. > > When: August 26 - Sept 4, 2024 (with August 19th pre-course lecture > on using command line & R) > > Where: Online via Zoom > For details on ConGen-2024: see > https://ift.tt/uy7d8Bl > > Course Objective: To provide training in conceptual and practical > aspects of data analysis for understanding the population and > evolutionary genomics of natural and managed populations.  The > course covers concepts and methods including the coalescent, Bayesian, > and likelihood-based approaches. Emphasis is on next-generation > sequence data analysis (RADs, whole genome sequence analyses, > targeted capture) and interpretation of output from recent novel > statistical approaches, pipelines, and software programs.  The > course includes discussions among early career researchers (student > participants) and >12 leaders in population genomics (instructors) > to help develop our next generation of molecular ecologists, > conservation geneticists, and evolutionary geneticists. Course > lecture topics include taking raw reads to genotypes (de novo and > with reference), genome assembly, Ne, GWAS, RoH, landscape genomics, > assignment tests with low-coverage-WGseq data, and more (see past > course contents). New lectures in 2024 (with hands-on exercises) > will include eDNA metabarcoding analysis, phylogenomics, and genome > assembly. Past course lecture videos will be available (e.g., RNAseq, > epigenetics, Genome-QC, landscape genetics, etc.). > > Who should apply: Advanced Undergrads, M.S. & Ph.D. students, > post-docs, faculty, agency researchers, and population biologists > who have taken at least a one-semester university-level course in > population genetics and a course in population ecology.  Participation > will be limited to ~30 people allowing efficient instruction with > hands-on computer exercises during the course.  Priority will be > given to persons with their own NGS data to analyze. > > Past courses: see         > > Andrews & Luikart 2014: > https://ift.tt/dtMRCWU > Benestan et al. 2016: > https://ift.tt/BOXeV7w > Hendricks et al. 2018: > https://ift.tt/jkioIbe > Rena Schweizer et al. 2021: https://ift.tt/vedkuH7 > Schiebelhut, L. 2023. Guidance in conservation genomics. > doi.org/10.1111/1755-0998.13893 > > ConGen participants-2024. A course/meeting review, contents to be > determined but might include democratization of genomics and "doing > genomics to not do genomics in the future" > > Registration & Cost: Early Bird (before June 15th): $US 840 - which > includes all lectures (real-time and recorded) by at least 15 expert > instructors, online question and answer sessions during hands-on > exercises with worksheets and dummy datasets, copies of lecture > PowerPoint slides, along with ConGen-2022 Swag (T-shirt, mug). > Course materials are also available after the end of the course to > all students in a box repository including all recorded lectures > and class materials. $US 890 if payment is after June 15th. > > Sponsors:  American Genetic Association (AGA), Journal of Heredity, > National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National > Science Foundation (NSF-USA), Dovetail Genomics, PacBio, NanoPore. > Journal of Heredity > > > "Luikart, Gordon"

[animalsdoingcapitalism]

In the 1860s, killer whales struck a kind of deal with European whalers in Eden, one that the coastal Thaua people*—part of the Aboriginal Yuin Nation—had laid the groundwork for thousands of years. With the guidance of Thaua crew members, the whalers went from treating the orcas as pests to seeing them as partners, under what came to be known as the “Law of the Tongue,” in which orcas would help the whalers find and catch larger baleen whales, in exchange for their favorite parts: the lips and tongue. The deal went swimmingly, it seems, until, it is said, white whalers ruined it.

“They [the Thaua and killer whales] had this really good relationship long before the whaling,” said Lynne Thomas, daughter of Yuin elder Guboo Ted Thomas, in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in 2014. “That relationship was very strong, not only through working as a whaleman down there at Twofold Bay, but also culturally, because they’re part of our dreaming stories.” In Australian Aboriginal cultures, Dreamtime stories explain how things came to be.

“We consider beowas [killer whales] to be our brothers,” writes Thaua traditional custodian Steven Holmes in a foreword for a new study on Eden’s orcas in the Journal of Heredity. “In Australian Aboriginal cultures, Dreamtime stories explain how things came to be. The Thaua’s Dreamtime stories say that when a Thaua member dies, they are reincarnated as a beowa. The beowas remained part of the Thaua, even after passing.”

For a long time, the Aboriginal history was left out of the story of Eden’s killer whales, says zoologist Danielle Clode at Flinders University in Australia, who spent years digging up the truth behind these stories for her 2002 book, Killers in Eden. “There was no mention of Aboriginal people whatsoever. It was a purely white story, [like] they arrived and trained the killer whales like sheep dogs.” But now, the museum, historians, and other researchers are beginning to center the role of the Thaua.

“If it hadn’t been for the Indigenous crews on those boats, I don’t think that that relationship would have evolved,” says Clode. “And the Europeans would have just killed the killer whales because they were getting in the way.”

Thaua crew members insisted the orcas be spared, and showed the Europeans that they could be an asset, explained Thomas. More than an asset, a partner, Clode adds. Through her research, she concluded that the orcas weren’t just working side by side with the whalers, but actively collaborating, as the locals’ and museum’s stories say. Four remaining eyewitnesses explained how the hunts went in a 2004 interview in an ABC documentary based on Clode’s book. The orcas cornered whales in the shallow bay and sent scouts to the whaling station to signal the men it was time to hunt. The orcas would then guide them to the trapped whale, and wait for their reward. Once the whale was harpooned and killed, the whalers would let the body sink, so orcas could feast on the lips and tongue. Once the body bloated a bit and floated, the whalers could pull it ashore.

[vintagewildlife]

A "sapphire hog," a short-lived breed created by geneticist J. A. McLean, notable for its blue roan color By: Unknown photographer From: The Journal of Heredity 1910

[entomoblog]

Le premier génome complet de Venustoraphidia nigricollis, une mouche à long cou ou "mouche-serpent", aide à comprendre son histoire évolutive

See on Scoop.it - EntomoNews

Snakeflies (Raphidioptera), also known as camel-neck flies, have gained further notoriety with the selection of the Black-necked Snakefly as Insect of the Year 2022 in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. These diurnal, predatory insects have a striking shape and live only in the Northern Hemisphere. However, these dainty representatives of the Neuropterida are often overlooked.

  First complete genome of a snakefly helps to understand its evolutionary history

  by Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum

February 8, 2024

  The de novo genome of the Black-necked Snakefly (Venustoraphidia nigricollis Albarda, 1891): A resource to study the evolution of living fossils | Journal of Heredity, 21.11.2023 https://academic.oup.com/jhered/article/115/1/112/7439901

  [Image] Venustoraphidia nigricollis (Albarda 1891), female. Austria inferior, above Klosterneuburg, 48°31ʹN″/16°32ʹE″, 320 m, 19 May 2013, H. & U. Aspöck leg. (Photo H. Bruckner).

  The species can be differentiated from other snakeflies in Central Europe by the characteristic, totally black pronotum giving the impression of a “black neck” (1), the dark ochre pterostigma in the distal part of both wings (2), and the overall smaller size.

  -------

NDÉ

via by Chris Packham , Phys.org, 10.02.2024

  Traduction

  Des scientifiques de Francfort, de Müncheberg et de Vienne ont séquencé l'intégralité du génome de la "Raphidie à cou noir", un insecte dont je n'avais jamais entendu parler auparavant parce qu'il y en a tellement.

  Mais cette mouche s'avère être un fossile vivant, membre d'un genre qui comptait des centaines d'espèces à l'époque du crétacé. Après l'impact hypothétique d'un astéroïde qui a mis fin au Crétacé, seules les espèces capables de s'adapter au froid ont survécu. Le nouveau génome de référence permet aux chercheurs de mieux comprendre les changements génétiques spécifiques qui ont permis aux ancêtres de la "mouche-serpent" de survivre.

  → Saturday Citations: Dark matter, a bug, and the marriageability of baritones https://phys.org/news/2024-02-saturday-citations-dark-bug-marriageability.html

[tchaikovskym]

Circadian rhythm can be affected by lifestyle, heredity, cosmos spin and seasonal factors. Two first factors have physically direct effects on circadian rhythm and health, while other factors influence on them mentally. After all, all of them lead to cancer, cardiovascular diseases and metabolic obesity.

I am sorry WHAT?

(source: Farhud, D., & Aryan, Z. (2018). Circadian rhythm, lifestyle and health: a narrative review. Iranian journal of public health, 47(8), 1068.)

[tenth-sentence]

One of the most biting critiques of the sterilization statutes was published in 1913 in the Journal of the American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology by the prominent New York lawyer Charles B. Boston.

"In the Name of Eugenics: Genetics and the Uses of Human Heredity" - Daniel J. Kevles