Can’t Touch This
Can’t Touch This avatar

By , on February 21st, 2013 One comment   Adaptations, Ecology, Evolution, Organisms   , , , , ,  

Chromodoris posing for thecutest picture ever taken. Source: NatGeo Another epic post from Alex Warneke, aka lil’ A Disposable nudibranch penises are all the rage this month thanks to a study published in the Royal Society’s journal Biology Letters. Undoubtedly a unique skill in the animal kingdom, there is just something about the phrase “detachable . . . → Read More: Can’t Touch This

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Jellyfish: Pretty from a Distance
Jellyfish: Pretty from a Distance avatar

By , on July 23rd, 2010 7 comments   Adaptations   , , , , , ,  

Photo from Dan Herschman's Flickr Stream (Click on Image). A link from one of readers (thanks Ashley!) pointed us to a story on MSNBC about a very large Lion’s Mane jellyfish (Cyanea capillata) that broke apart and stung up to 100 people on a New Hampshire beach last Wednesday. Lion’s Manes can get very big, . . . → Read More: Jellyfish: Pretty from a Distance

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The Nematocyst: apex of organelle specialization
The Nematocyst: apex of organelle specialization avatar

By , on May 1st, 2008 3 comments   Coral   ,  

Speaking of explosives, the nematocyst, or stinging cell, is one character that binds all cnidarians together. The nematocyst is “high tech cellular weaponry”, the unparalleled apex of organelle specialization (Boero et al 2007), and the fastest known biological structure (Tardent, 1995). From ScienceDaily, the discharge kinetics of nematocysts in Hydra to be as short . . . → Read More: The Nematocyst: apex of organelle specialization

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