phenolology 🐢 @scisus@scholar.social

You need to get the hang of reading the online help. The information required is actually there in ?dotchart --- it's just tersely and obscurely expressed. A certain degree of optimism is required. You need to ***believe*** that the information is there; then ask yourself "What could they possibly mean by what they have written that would tell me what I need to know?".
-- Rolf Turner (on reading the help pages)
R-help (June 2013) #Rstats

Federal Lands Are Becoming Tribal Lands Again

Ecological justice and racial justice should not be in opposition, for often native tribes are better stewards of the land anyway.

Besides, its their land to begin with, darn it.

#ecology
#indigenous
#justice
#nativeamerican
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/08/federal-lands-are-becoming-tribal-lands-again/

I’m a geographer working on climate justice and currently focussed on coal. Check out my website if you want the longer version 😉. I’m here intrigued by the possibility of social media without the shouting. Also, I structure my procrastination by over-optimising my computer workflows (i.e. waste time devising ways to save time) #introductions

Plants can grow branches, leaves, flowers, etc. from many parts of their bodies. So it might seem that mutations that arise in those parts should get passed along to the next generation. Yet, it does not. Similar to animals, plants may have cells equivalent to germline cells in animals which are passed along during reproduction.

An article about research into this topic of plant reproduction.

#Plants #Biology #Nature #Reproduction

[ https://www.quantamagazine.org/unexpected-germline-plant-cells-may-shield-new-generations-20190805/ ]

Over the course of 33 years Mallinckrodt, a subsidary of Medtronic, a global multi-billion dollar medical device company, dumped 12 metric tons of mercury into the Penobscot river, (a river sacred to my peoples, and the largest river in the state) and over 9 tons of said mercury still remains in the river. Fish, birds, lobster, eel, and people throughout the system and region are contaminated with mercury, levels among birds nesting and feeding along the river are among the highest found anywhere in the world, consumption of fish and birds along this portion of river could cause serious harm. This is a river in which the Penobscot people are supposed to have "sustainable fishing rights" due to our treaty. The state still maintains they are upholding that, though we can't eat more than a fish a month without risking illness. There has been a court battle against Mallinckrodt since 2000, they have been found responsible, and late this year the courts will review appropriate cleanup.

The promise (and worries) about gene drives. Article by Nature that gives a general overview on the following topics:

- Will gene drives even work?
- What else are gene drives good for?
- Can gene drives be controlled?
- How can gene drives be trialled?
- Who decides when to use a gene drive?

#Biology #Genetics #Evolution #Genes #GeneDrives

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-02087-5

An open access paper on the recently discovered tallest tropical tree, a Shorea faguetiana, in Sabah, Borneo Malaysia. The paper also argues that the tree (at 100 metres tall) is close to the highest that can possibly be reached by angiosperms (flowering plants).

#Biology #Plants #Trees #TropicalTrees #Research #Narwhal #Biodiversity #Malaysia

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2019.00032/full