biology – Kettinki

2026-04-08 @ 11.08.13 ∈ In English

Atmospheric dust gives plants nutrients through their leaves, study finds

By integrating field observations with dust-deposition estimates and soil nutrient data from different regions, investigators found that during dust events, daily nutrient inputs via foliar uptake can match or exceed soil-derived inputs.

2026-03-25 @ 13.29.53 ∈ In English

Mammal cloning cannot be endless: Mouse line fails at generation 58

In the first few years, the method's success rate steadily [rose, reaching over 15% at one point. After the 25th generation, harmful genetic mutations began to build up], and each new set of mice was less likely to survive. [All] the mice in the 58th generation died shortly after birth.

2025-10-07 @ 13.23.36 ∈ In English

The Tiny Scorpions* In Your House

*Pseudoscorpions are not actually scorpions, but a completely different type of arachnid with little claws, but no stinging tail. These tiny guys eat dust mites and other household pests while being some of nature’s most bizarre hitchhikers.

2025-07-30 @ 19.48.28 ∈ In English

Mom on the Menu

While the parental duties of many arthropods cease after egg laying, the females of some centipede species—like this one from the Scolopendra genus—are more devoted mothers.

2025-03-20 @ 19.18.27 ∈ In English

They’d rather die: The lesson that male roundworms refuse to learn

The female worms quickly learned to draw a link between the odor of the harmful bacteria and the disease that it causes, and therefore chose to eat the other bacterium. Most males, however, failed to learn and continued consuming the harmful bacterium, even though they got just as sick.

2025-02-13 @ 10.37.46 ∈ In English

(24:51)

The Most Useful Thing AI Has Done

The biggest problems in the world might be solved by tiny molecules unlocked using AI.

2024-12-11 @ 11.36.35 ∈ In English

Study challenges assertion that mealworms break down polystyrene

The capability of mealworms to digest and break down plastics has been challenged in a study led by researchers from The University of Western Australia.

2024-11-09 @ 17.35.40 ∈ In English

(11:31)

Bad News: The Ocean Is Full of Spiders*

*Sea spiders are not actually arachnids, although they certainly look the part. They’re weird guys, and the specifics of their strangeness may actually help us to better understand how all invertebrate groups evolved.

2024-10-31 @ 17.09.07 ∈ Suomeksi

Luontotohtori | Järvestä nousi laituriankkurin mukana korallia muistuttava möhkäle, jota asiantuntijakin ihailee

Kyseessä on yksi järviemme erikoisimmista ja hienoimmista eliölajeista[,] järvisieni. Se ei nimestään huolimatta ole sieni lainkaan, eikä kasvikaan[,] vaan lasketaan kuuluvaksi eläinkuntaan.

2024-07-12 @ 14.23.50 ∈ In English

A Rough Breakup - Observation of the Week, 7/11/24 · iNaturalist

Our Observation of the Week is this remarkable scene captured by @cumaliyesil in Turkey: a female Goblet-marked Damselfly (Erythromma lindenii) with a male’s dismembered abdomen still attached to her body!