Genesis : The Colored Version

Dragonfly naiad, from a freshwater pond. 40x magnification.

They are carnivorous freshwater larvae that devour tadpoles, mosquito larvae and even small fish!

They have compound eyes as seen in the picture and six limbs as seen in most Insecta forms

Biology just makes me swoon <3

Wahoo! May your sciencing uncover new swathes of knowledge :D

You might know this tiny frog.

This is Mini mum (photo by Andolalao Rakotoarison), a species I had the pleasure to name—together with a team of amazing colleagues—back in 2019.

That was the start of a fascination with the process and consequences of miniaturisation for vertebrates. How the hell does this tiny frog manage to fit all of its vital organs—more or less all the same senses and organs that we have—into a package the size of a tic-tac‽ Why and how has it evolved to be so small? And why don't we get frogs that are much smaller?

Well, I just secured 1.5 MILLION Euros (!!!) in the form of a European Research Commission Starting Grant, to answer these and other related questions in the genomes of Mini frogs and other miniaturised vertebrates.

Because it turns out, there are *lots* of miniaturised vertebrates, and they push the boundaries of how small we think it is possible for a vertebrate to be! Here is a little graphic of some of them, scaled to a BIC ballpoint pen.

The project is called GEMINI: The Genomics of Miniaturisation in Vertebrates! You can read more about it on my website here, and in the press release, here!

Evil mf, alias mosquito, 40x magnification

Fine I admit it, maybe they are kind of cool looking up close

A little tribute on canvas to someone who helped me find myself :)

queer as in gay but also queer as in unusually and exceedingly peculiar and altogether quite impossible to describe

This is gorgeous

Siegfried. 🥰

Horse skull dorsal view

I'm a vet student 💀

@willowcrowley @thatskindarough @funnyoldworld-isnt-it

last google search, go

um. Tag four people.

what do they make sewer tunnels out of

@ncc1701ohno @affixjoy @the-magpieprince @twinkboimler

I don't think it should be weird, for me to put a fruit fly outside

Teeny tiny praying mantis or possibly a carpenter bee

If you were a bug what kind of bug would you be? I can’t put my finger on it but PERSONALLY I feel pretty scarab-y

The thing I admire most about David Tennant is that the man wanted to be doctor who since childhood. Worked hard to become an actor.And actually fucking did it. And I dig that energy.

To dream and to actually do it

I want to apply that to my own life

Yes I will be the next david Attenborough. .Yes I will work for it. And no it isn't a childish fantasy.i want it and I will fucking do it and you don't get to tell me otherwise