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rando.insalubrio.us
Brandon Moore, PhD
@rando.insalubrio.us
160 followers 16 following 120 posts
Scientist ° Educator ° Hacker
https://insalubrio.us
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rando.insalubrio.us
@pennengineering.bsky.social engineers created the first microrobots! Comparable in size to a single-celled organism and powered by light, they are capable of sensing, decision-making, and swimming through liquids for less than the cost of a penny! 🧪

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
A microrobot, fully integrated with sensors and a computer, balancing on the ridge of a fingerprint. Credit: Marc Miskin, University of Pennsylvania
January 6, 2026 at 10:00 PM
rando.insalubrio.us
New research suggests "Little Foot", one of the most complete human ancestor fossils, may belong to a new species! This analysis challenges the previous classification as Australopithecus prometheus. 🧪

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
A close-up photo "Little Foot's" skull.
January 5, 2026 at 4:08 PM
rando.insalubrio.us
Sahelanthropus tchadensis, our ancient cousin from 7 million years ago, might have walked like us! Recently discovered limb bones suggest hominin bipedalism may have evolved earlier than previously thought. 🧪

www.science.org/doi/full/10....
Comparative anatomy of Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes, left), Sahelanthropus tchadensis (middle), and Human (right) skull, forearm, and thigh bones.
January 3, 2026 at 4:31 PM
rando.insalubrio.us
Sun‑dried “dinosaur mummy” (Edmontosaurus) fossils have been discovered in Wyoming with crest details, spikes, and hoof‑like toes - preserved by a series of drought, sudden burial, and the deposition of a clay “mask” which froze soft anatomical details in place! 🧪

www.science.org/doi/full/10....
Mummies of the duck-billed dinosaur Edmontosaurus annectens (1) document with a thin external clay template a fleshy crest over neck and trunk (2), a fleshy spike row over hips and tail (3), and hooves capping the toes of the hind feet (4). Preserved as desiccated carcasses (5) and rapidly buried rapidly by floodwaters (6) on a coastline (7), the duck-billed mummies come from the very end of the dinosaur era in what today is east-central Wyoming. Credit: Dani Navarro
January 2, 2026 at 12:55 PM
rando.insalubrio.us
@txgeosciences.bsky.social scientists mapped 16 drainage basins on Mars, suggesting conditions that could have resulted in rivers comparable to those on Earth! Although such fluvial systems are thought to be rare, perhaps they could have supported life? 🧪

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Schematic representation of the formation of large drainage systems on Earth (Left) and Mars (Right). Note that on Earth there is a larger differential in elevation from the water source while on Mars, crater rims result in a more gradual slope.
January 1, 2026 at 1:22 PM
rando.insalubrio.us
Fragments of non-local iron pyrite and heat-fractured stone tools were recently discovered at a 400,000 year old site in England suggesting that Neanderthals were making fire much earlier than previously thought! 🧪

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The first fragment of iron pyrite discovered in Barnham, Suffolk, U.K. This small stone is held between the photographer's index finger and thumb. It is conically shaped and bears the wear of heavy use. Credit: Jordan Mansfield, Pathways to Ancient Britain Project
December 31, 2025 at 1:54 PM
rando.insalubrio.us
New photos from the Hubble Space Telescope explain the fate of missing exoplanet Fomalhaut b (cs1). It was destroyed after colliding with an asteroid and is now a dissipating dust cloud (cs2) orbiting its star! 🧪

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
A new dust cloud formed around the star Fomalhaut, caused by a collision between asteroid-sized objects. The inset shows the new cloud (cs2) and the location of the former planet Fomalhaut b (cs1). Credit: Paul Kalas/UC Berkeley, NASA, ESA
December 30, 2025 at 1:02 PM
rando.insalubrio.us
@benjaminkay.bsky.social and colleagues report that ADHD stimulants, like Ritalin, boost brain connectivity related to motivation and performance without directly impacting attention networks. This increases alertness and motivation, much like a good sleep! 🧪

www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
The above graphical abstract taken from the linked paper is split in four quadrants. Top Left: A depiction of the three distinct brain networks for attention, arousal, and reward. Top Right: Arousal and Reward areas are highlighted with stimulant, but not attention. Bottom Left: Arousal is reduced with sleep deprivation. Bottom Right: Arousal is recovered under sleep deprivation using a stimulant.
December 29, 2025 at 1:55 PM
rando.insalubrio.us
@whoi.edu researchers tracked big-scale pomfret (Taractichthys longipinnis) using satellite telemetry and found they migrate from the deep during daytime to feed at night - bridging deep/shallow foodwebs and explaining why sharks frequent the ocean's twilight zone! 🧪

www.int-res.com/abstracts/me...
Big-scale pomfret (Taractichthys longipinnis) were fitted with satellite-based tracking tags and released them back to the ocean. (Credit: Danny Mears, WHOI)
December 28, 2025 at 7:41 PM
rando.insalubrio.us
Scientists from @griffith.edu.au analyzed 199 unrelated interactions involving 19 species to reveal that bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and baleen whales engage in playful behavior with each other! 🧪

link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Bottlenose dolphin in proximity to a humpback whale rostrum bow riding near the Gold Coast, Australia (a, credit Roving Media); a surface rush by a bottle nose dolphin close to a pectoral fin of a humpback whale at Bermagui, Australia (b, credit WildLive.Media); petting or rubbing of a common dolphin on the rostrum of a fin whale in the Celtic Sea, England (c, credit Dan Abbott) and a group of bottlenose dolphins swimming alongside a southern right whale that is moving its fluke towards the dolphins in Esperance, Australia (d, credit Jaimen Hudson)
August 13, 2025 at 10:38 PM
rando.insalubrio.us
@stephanspiekman.bsky.social and colleagues recently described Mirasaura grauvogeli, a newly discovered Triassic reptile, which has a complex feathered skin crest that evolved independently of feathers or hair! 🧪

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Artist's reconstruction and illustration of Mirasaura grauvogeli in its natural forested environment, hunting insects. Credit: Gabriel Ugueto
August 10, 2025 at 10:43 PM
rando.insalubrio.us
Dissacus praenuntius fossils reveal how ancient predators adapted to global warming. During the Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum, this jackal-sized omnivore shifted its diet to include more bones, mirroring today's wildlife responses to climate change! 🧪

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Paleoart of Dissacus praenuntius. It is a small, jackal-sized prehistoric mammal.
August 7, 2025 at 11:13 PM
rando.insalubrio.us
The James Webb Space Telescope may have just captured an image of a planet orbiting Alpha Centauri A! This presumed planet is a cool, Saturn-sized world with an elongated orbit, possibly accompanied by moons! 🧪

arxiv.org/abs/2508.03814
arxiv.org/abs/2508.03812
The James Webb Space Telescope used a "coronographic mask" to block Alpha Centauri A's glare. This revealed the possible exoplanet, S1, in its orbit.
August 7, 2025 at 11:06 PM
rando.insalubrio.us
"Scrumping" describes the behavior of primates consuming overripe, fermented fruit. Studying this behavior may help us better understand the evolution of human alcohol tolerance! 🧪

academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...
Scrumping of Pentadesma butyracea (Clusiaceae) by a western gorilla. Gothic monkeys as the embodiment of curiosity and temptation. Top left: a column statue, Cathédrale de Chartres. At left, Fortitude stabs a lion (inscription crudelitas, “cruelty”); at right, Justice conquers a monkey (inscription curiositas, “curiosity”). Photograph: Jane Vadnal. Bottom left: a bronze plaquette with gilding titled Adam and Eve, dated 1514 by Ludwig Krug. Photograph: Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College. Right: panel painting titled Earthly Paradise with the Fall of Man, dated 1615 by Peter Paul Rubens (the figures) and Jan Brueghel the Elder (the flora and fauna, including two monkeys resembling Cercocebus torquatus on the left and Cercopithecus petaurista on the right).
August 2, 2025 at 11:39 AM
rando.insalubrio.us
9 million years ago, a romance between tomato-like plants and potato ancestors (Etuberosum) in South America led to the birth of the potato as we know it! This ancient hybridization resulted in tuber formation allowing potatoes to thrive in harsh Andean environments! 🧪

www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Graphical abstract of linked paper. Hybridization between early tomato and potato ancestors (Etuberosum) resulted in the tuber formation of the potato plant.
August 2, 2025 at 11:21 AM
rando.insalubrio.us
A new phasmid species, Acrophylla alta, has been discovered during wet season habitat searches in Queensland, Australia. The linked paper includes a comparative key and details on habitat, food, and reproduction! 🧪

mapress.com/zt/article/v...
The newly discovered Acrophylla alta species with its wings spread. Human arm for scale.
August 1, 2025 at 10:09 AM
rando.insalubrio.us
The Kuril–Kamchatka Trench is home to the deepest chemosynthesis-based communities ever discovered! It spans 2500km and provides hydrogen sulfide/methane to this extreme environment. 🧪

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Representative fauna of cold-seep sites in the Kuril–Kamchatka Trench and western Aleutian Trench. a, Free-moving polychaetes Macellicephaloides grandicirra (white; reaching 6.5 cm in size) navigate among dense colonies of frenulate siboglinids, with tubes 20–30 cm in length and approximately 1 mm in diameter, at 9,532 m at The Deepest. b, Clusters of frenulate siboglinids extending red haemoglobin-filled tentacles, with small Gastropoda (white spots) on tops of the tubes near the tentacles, at 9,320 m at Wintersweet Valley. c, Tightly packed frenulate siboglinids are home to abundant free-moving polychaetes M. grandicirra (white) at 9,332 m at Cotton Field. d, Dense aggregation of vesicomyid bivalves A. phaseoliformis (reaching 23 cm in size) in the sediment, with approximately 6–8 cm of valves exposed and often hosting Actiniaria, at 5,743 m at Clam Bed. e, Tube-dwelling polychaetes Anobothrus sp. and Actiniaria are dominant at 6,870 m at Aleutian Deepest, with spots of white microbial mats. f, Dense aggregation of vesicomyid bivalves I. fossajaponicum (reaching 3 cm in size) associated with black sediments and accompanied by tube-dwelling polychaetes Anobothrus sp. at 6,928 m at Aleutian Deepest. g, Dark blue muds surrounded by clusters of frenulate siboglinids, mark methane seeps at 6,800 m at Blue Marsh. h, Large patches of white, snow-like microbial mats stretch tens of metres, accompanied by frenulate siboglinid tubeworms at 6,700 m at Icy River. The images were taken by the manned submersible equipped with a high-definition camera system. The name of each cold seep indicated in the lower left corner.
July 31, 2025 at 10:24 AM
rando.insalubrio.us
Recent research on ancient bronze jars discovered in coastal Italy suggests they likely contained honey - with multianalytical approaches revealing the presence of lipids, sugars, and royal jelly proteins! 🧪

pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
Graphical abstract of linked paper. It illustrates the honey's analytical journey from discovery in an italian ruin to the results of the reported methods.
July 31, 2025 at 10:16 AM
rando.insalubrio.us
Astronomers have observed a young star 1,400 light-years away (HOPS-315) surrounded by cooling gas and silicate minerals. This marks the early stages of planet formation and could provide crucial insights into the processes that shaped our own solar system! 🧪

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A swirling disk of gas and dust around a young star (HOPS 315, center black dot). Carbon monoxide gas (orange) blows away in a butterfly-shaped wind and silicon monoxide gas (blue) is expelled in a jet of disk material. This is hypothesized to be the first step in the formation of a new planet!
July 18, 2025 at 11:06 PM
rando.insalubrio.us
A recently discovered meter-long front flipper of the Jurassic ichthyosaur Temnodontosaurus reveals unique soft-tissue anatomy including a wing-like planform with serrated edges that could have provided for hydroacousticly enhanced stealth! 🧪

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A paleo-art depiction of three Temnodontosaurus ichthyosas in shallow water.
July 18, 2025 at 11:01 PM
rando.insalubrio.us
Bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay, Australia, use sponges on their beaks while hunting fish to protect them from sharp rocks while they forage at the expense of echolocation. Only about 5% of the population has mastered this culturally transmitted skill! 🧪

royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
A bottlenose dolphin wearing a marine sponge on its nose to forage while swimming in Shark Bay, Australia.
July 18, 2025 at 10:50 PM
rando.insalubrio.us
@vestaeleuteri.bsky.social and colleagues observed that elephants use a combination of gestures for goal-directed communication that is almost unheard in non-primates! 🧪

royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
In hopes of getting an apple as a treat, African savanna elephants living in Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls National Park make dozens of different kinds of gestures that represent a sophisticated form of communication.
July 9, 2025 at 3:05 PM
rando.insalubrio.us
Atacamite, an emerald-green mineral, demonstrates unusual magnetocaloric behavior such that its temperature is dramatically reduced in the presence of a magnetic field! This has potential for energy efficient cooling applications! 🧪

journals.aps.org/prl/abstract...
Artistic representation of the magnetic sawtooth structure of atacamite: The magnetic moments (green) of the Cu ions (white and blue) cannot be completely aligned antiparallel to each other due to the triangular arrangement. At low temperatures, this results in the compromise arrangement shown. An external magnetic field destroys it and leads to an unexpectedly strong magnetocaloric effect, which could be used for efficient cooling.
July 7, 2025 at 9:35 AM
rando.insalubrio.us
Recently discovered Tharsis fossils present a compelling case for careful eating! These Jurassic ray-finned fish would sometimes accidentally choke on the long bony bodies of squid-like belemites while sucking up decaying organic matter! 🧪

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Tharsis with belemnite lodged through mouth and gill apparatus from Solnhofen, Bavaria, Germany.
July 5, 2025 at 10:36 AM
rando.insalubrio.us
A new comet, 3I/ATLAS, has been spotted zooming in from interstellar space! This is only the 3rd time we've seen such a cosmic traveler! ('Oumuamua and Comet 2I/Borisov are the other two!) 🧪

arxiv.org/pdf/2502.16741
This diagram shows the trajectory of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it passes through the solar system. It will make its closest approach to the Sun in October. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)
July 4, 2025 at 1:39 AM