#giant cells

[bpod-bpod]

Shaped by Context

Macrophages – Greek for 'big eaters' – white blood cells of the immune system that engulf and dispose of eg. debris, pathogens and cancer cells, can fuse into giant cells and 'reprogram' function depending on their microenvironment

Read the published research article here

Laboratory of Immunobiology, Department Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute, KU Leuven—University of Leuven, Belgium; Centre for Inflammatory Disease, Department of Immunology and Inflammation, Imperial College London, UK

Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Published in EMBO Reports, January 2023

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[webdiggerxxx]

꧁★꧂

[twilighttrekkie]

What

hot take ig but i don't think teen sam & max's designs are as awful as people make them out to be

OK WELL. there are 2 exceptions. absurdly skinny sam is just. no. and the hair is a *very odd choice.* funny, but odd nonetheless. other than that they're really not that bad

i usually see people complaining the most about sam randomly spawning hair (fair) and the outfits. this may be silly of me but i actually really like the outfits... they're very reminiscent of "animated teens in kids media with overly layered and goofy ahh clothes" type outfits from stuff i used to watch as a kid (i.e. strawberry shortcake 2003 & berry bitty adventures, equestria girls, barbie life in the dreamhouse, etc) and they're actually super charming to me lol. they're dumb, but like "teen gay fashion disasters" dumb. aka very whimsical and i love them. i don't see kids my age dress exactly like that obviously, but i've seen many-a-teen dress with the same level of fashion competence. hell, i would absolutely dress like teen max from time to time if i thought i could pull it off.

also they're just really awkward and adorable designs lol. the facial expressions and the way max hopped into sam's arms even as teens is super cute, plus sam with freckles gives me life.

anywaysssss i'm really busy this week but expect to see teen sam & max redesigns from me when i have time :3

[dabiusx]

[smile-files]

my own poke-miku!!

[dandelionsresilience]

Good News - August 8-14

Like these weekly* compilations? Tip me at $kaybarr1735 or check out my new(ly repurposed) Patreon! (*sorry this one’s a day late, I had a family emergency)

1. Rio’s grassroots agroforestry sustains birds, bees & communities

“[Community-created and -maintained] agroforests have reshaped the urban landscape and now attract an array of fauna, from birds to bees and even fireflies, drawn by the diversity of plant life thriving on improved soils. Perhaps most importantly, the agroforests offer free food and medicines to residents in need, plus shade and educational opportunities for the whole community[….]”

2. First giant pandas from China in decades make their public debut in San Diego

(image source) “Tensions between the U.S. and China had temporarily paused the program known as "panda diplomacy" in which China loans its native animals to zoos around the world […] as a show of goodwill[….] But the presence of [the two pandas in San Diego] appears to show a mending of the diplomatic relationship, which Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to work toward in a meeting with President Biden last year. [… Gov. Newsom] called the giant pandas an example of how strong worldly partnerships can protect wildlife and their habitats[….]”

3. Good news for Europe's top economies as disposable income rises

“Poland experienced the largest increase in disposable income per capita, rising by 10.2% compared with a decrease of 2.7% in the last quarter of 2023. According to the OECD, this growth was "mainly driven by increases in employee compensation, social benefits other than in-kind transfers, and property income". […] In Germany, [household income per capita] rose by 1.4%, compared to just 0.1% in the previous quarter, partly driven by an increase in employee compensation.”

4. FDA approves nasal spray as first needle-free treatment for anaphylaxis

“The spray, which will be sold under the brand name Neffy, is seen as an alternative to EpiPen and other autoinjectors. […] “Some people, particularly children, may delay or avoid treatment due to fear of injections,” said Kelly Stone, an associate director at the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, adding that the availability of the nasal spray may reduce barriers to rapid treatment.”

5. [Colin Farrell] is launching a foundation to support adult[s] who have an intellectual disability

““We want to take a good look at residential potential for families with young adults who are ready to go out into the world and have a greater sense of community and connection,” says the actor. […] "It’s really important for James and for all of our kids to feel like they are wanted, to feel like they’re part of the community. Not just out of charitable endeavors or being nice and doing the right thing, but out of a sincere desire to engage and learn about each other."”

6. The Berlin Zoo is hoping for more German-born giant pandas as scans confirm a pregnancy

“Giant pandas have difficulty breeding and births are particularly welcomed. There are about 1,800 pandas living in the wild in China and a few hundred in captivity worldwide. […] The zoo noted that female pandas are only capable of reproducing for about 72 hours per year.”

7. Arizona school district highlights the benefits of free lunch

“A study by the University of Washington found free meals at school help reduce hunger, reduce the stigma tied to free lunch, and can help reduce childhood obesity. [… A cafeteria worker] said since the school district began offering free lunch, they have seen a positive shift in the cafeteria culture, and students seem happier. […] In September of 2023, the USDA […] loosened up its application threshold for applicants, allowing an estimated 3,000 more school districts in high-need areas to participate in the [CEP] program.”

8. Gigantic millipede lost to science for 126 years rediscovered in remote Madagascan jungle

“A further 20 species 'lost' to science were rediscovered during the expedition, including three iridescent species of fish and several species of ant-like flower beetles.”

9. The climate law’s $8.8B in home energy rebates are starting to roll out

“New York and Wisconsin are the first to launch their long-awaited Inflation Reduction Act programs meant to deploy everything from heat pumps to insulation. […] Once deployed, the DOE estimates, the home energy rebates will help save consumers up to $1 billion in annual energy costs and support an estimated 50,000 U.S. jobs in construction, manufacturing, and other sectors. They’ll also help clean up buildings, one of the biggest sources of carbon pollution in the country.”

10. Advance in stem cell therapy: New technique for manipulating stem cells opens door to novel treatments

“Recently, a team of McGill researchers discovered that by stretching, bending and flattening the nuclei of stem cells to differing degrees, they could generate precisely targeted cells that they could direct to become either bone or fat cells. […] The first applications of this discovery are likely to involve bone regeneration, possibly relating to dental or cranio-facial repair[….]”

August 1-7 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[luckyloo13]

Was thinking about heartbeats in g/t last night

-Smaller creatures usually have a faster resting bpm than something big. I mean, compare an elephant and a mouse. Imagine a giant hearing a tinys heartbeat the first time and being unnerved by how faster it is than theirs

-a tiny feeling a giants thunderous heart. Its all encompassing, like a vibrating metronome. Its scary, but the tiny is used to everything being loud and scary

-A tiny laying on their giants chest, or the crook of their neck. Just resting, maybe sleeping peacefully. And the giant has to try not bursting into tears because they can feel their tinies heartbeat and its so slow and calm, and they can feel their rhythmic breathing and they can't believe theres teensy little organs keeping their tiny alive. Its just too sweet

-A giant gets hurt in someway, and the tiny has to crawl around their chest or neck to find a pulse

-vice versa, a tiny is hurt and the giant has to be oh so gentle finding a pulse. They have to press and focus to actually feel anything, but not too hard or they'll crush them

[senselessalchemist]

May again.........

[worstloki]

imagine being Loki and you're on thin ice playing pretend to fit in on a tyrannical mystery garbage planet until you find a safe way to get rid of the murder-happy ruler who you're very clearly keeping up the bit of having no suspicious connections to the shiny new gladiator that was rounded in and then Thor gets angry about it and immediately gives the lie away by saying you two are brothers.

[ritoryb]

your joy will long outlive the gods

[seerofmike]

just found out ghost and soap are british / scottish

[robosuta]

An overworked red blood cell

[yore-donatsu]

"It's all your fault ! Open your eyes ! Why don't you want to admit it ? Disastrous mistake and We'll pay a hefty price cause you !"

If you want to support me There the C★mmissi★ns or My Patre★n And if you want to see my works on anothers sites  yoredonatsu DOT carrd DOT co Thanks you again for your support everyone !!  °3^ ~♥

[foolishfoolsgold]

Nonbinary icon

[kas-pose]

I really love Pinterest because WHAT IS THIS!!!!!

[moongothic]

You know I realize I forgot to mention this before in the Crocodile Power Level Speculation Post/Ask (btw I did go back to edit it so it's actually legible and has a point now lmao)

I really wanna know if Croc has any new tricks with his hook

Like in Alabasta the dude had a poison hook under his regular hook, which was also hiding a tiny blade beneath it as well. This is all fine and dandy, absolutely iconic etc etc

And then we never see him reuse either feature again.

Now to be fair, the only other time we could've seen Crocodile use them would've been in Marineford, but the dude just escaped from prison. Although people are quick to meme about the Marines being 'kind enough' to let Crocodile keep his gigantic fucking hook in prison-- If we're being realistic here, they probably let him keep the base of the hook simply because without a hand any shackle would just slide off his wrist and fall off. Of course he wouldn't still be able to escape or anything since he'd still have the Seastone cuff on his right, but if they wanted to keep him properly shackled then letting him keep even just the hook base would just be the easiest option for the Marines.

It's the fact that the Marines went out of their way to retrieve his missing hook attachment and gave it back to him that's a bit wild

But let's keep in mind that Luffy did break the poison hook back in Alabasta. Even if the Marines let Croc keep the hook attachment, I find it extremely unlikely they would've gone out of their way to fix/replaced the poison hook when the guy's going to jail anyways. If anything it'd make far more sense if they got rid of whatever poison might've still been left in the base and confiscated the blade. Like there's an argument to be made for the Marines letting Crocodile keep his hook due to disability reasons, but the poison and the purely stabby weapon? Not so much

So really, it's very likely the reason Crocodile never used his other weapons in Marineford might've just been that he literally didn't have them on him at the time, just the basic hook

But hey, it's been two whole whooping years. That would be plenty of time for him to replace the broken hook and blade and get some new poison into the hook base too while he's at it

Or

Are there any new weapons Crocodile could've gotten inserted into his hook base that he could whip out

Like just because he could get a new poison hook it doesn't mean he has to get a poison hook, same for the blade as well, right

To be fair, dude feels very old fashioned so I'm not expecting any Inspector Gadget kinda tech from him. Like I don't think Crocodile's knowledgeable about stuff like that himself, at least not enough to install any technically advanced weaponry into the hook on his own, and IDK if he'd trust his hook with anyone to "upgrade it" either for an extended period of time either

But could you imagine if Croc had gotten access to a busted ass Pacifista and stole a laser and had it built into his hook base. He just pulls of the hook and starts blasting people with the laser. How fucking funny would that be. Franky eat your heart out