Luke Thompson
@lukethompson.bsky.social
-Plant Path PhD student @ Cornell
Trying to save the oranges!
-Hiker
-Birder
-Board game enjoyer (and ttrpgs)
-Sci-fi/Fantasy enthusiast (if you've read 'Worm' you are instantly my best friend)
Trying to save the oranges!
-Hiker
-Birder
-Board game enjoyer (and ttrpgs)
-Sci-fi/Fantasy enthusiast (if you've read 'Worm' you are instantly my best friend)
Absolutely gorgeous little guys! My grandparents have those gourd houses for them as well!
May 18, 2024 at 2:43 PM
Absolutely gorgeous little guys! My grandparents have those gourd houses for them as well!
Single cell sequencing is over a decade old. Its just expensive. Im sure their exact protocol could be problematic (its a tech startup so it almost certainly is), but every cell does have all the genes. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles...
April 10, 2024 at 11:43 PM
Single cell sequencing is over a decade old. Its just expensive. Im sure their exact protocol could be problematic (its a tech startup so it almost certainly is), but every cell does have all the genes. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles...
If they hit all the markers they were looking for in the 99.6% it really doesnt matter how many individual bases they miss. Besides, that 0.4% is likely mostly repetative regions of introns and such.
April 10, 2024 at 10:12 PM
If they hit all the markers they were looking for in the 99.6% it really doesnt matter how many individual bases they miss. Besides, that 0.4% is likely mostly repetative regions of introns and such.
Every cell has the whole genome. Single cell sequencing has been a thing for about a decade now. I dont recall them saying they extrapolated (please correct me if they actually said that).
April 10, 2024 at 10:09 PM
Every cell has the whole genome. Single cell sequencing has been a thing for about a decade now. I dont recall them saying they extrapolated (please correct me if they actually said that).
If the important difference is within 0.1% of the genome and you have 99.6% coverage you have an almost 100% chance on any given sequencing run to hit that important spot. Its an incredibly important distinction. Whether that spot is actually meaningful...? There in lies the issue.
April 10, 2024 at 9:21 PM
If the important difference is within 0.1% of the genome and you have 99.6% coverage you have an almost 100% chance on any given sequencing run to hit that important spot. Its an incredibly important distinction. Whether that spot is actually meaningful...? There in lies the issue.
Its 99.6% coverage, not accuracy.
April 10, 2024 at 9:09 PM
Its 99.6% coverage, not accuracy.
This really isnt where the pseudoscience comes in. They can absolutely sequence the few cells required for this. The problem is basing predictions on shaky markers found through GWAS studies with poor diversity. Most people will likely not have accurate results from this.
April 10, 2024 at 9:02 PM
This really isnt where the pseudoscience comes in. They can absolutely sequence the few cells required for this. The problem is basing predictions on shaky markers found through GWAS studies with poor diversity. Most people will likely not have accurate results from this.
Pizza is very simple. Everybody makes NY style pizza but chicago thought they would get a bit silly with it and detroit thinks the fact that they could only find a rectangular pan means they have their own style.
February 19, 2024 at 6:52 PM
Pizza is very simple. Everybody makes NY style pizza but chicago thought they would get a bit silly with it and detroit thinks the fact that they could only find a rectangular pan means they have their own style.
Its been a while since I read the books but from what I recall, the exact nature of the ring and everything it can do is actually NOT very well defined. What it does to Frodo is fairly consistent but it is constantly talked about as if its capabilities extend well beyond that.
January 12, 2024 at 4:58 AM
Its been a while since I read the books but from what I recall, the exact nature of the ring and everything it can do is actually NOT very well defined. What it does to Frodo is fairly consistent but it is constantly talked about as if its capabilities extend well beyond that.
To be fair, tech bros have been making neural nets of all sorts for decades and the word 'train' fits better than any other I can think of. There are plenty of rhetorical methods that capital will use to prevent laborers from seeking the fruits of their labor but I honestly dont see this as one.
January 9, 2024 at 5:53 PM
To be fair, tech bros have been making neural nets of all sorts for decades and the word 'train' fits better than any other I can think of. There are plenty of rhetorical methods that capital will use to prevent laborers from seeking the fruits of their labor but I honestly dont see this as one.
Thats what the bottle of 70% ethanol is for.
January 3, 2024 at 4:03 PM
Thats what the bottle of 70% ethanol is for.
The trick is to think they are a bluejay and then only realize when you zoom in and snap a quick and dirty shot. They will sit still just long enough for that. Source: me yesterday
December 25, 2023 at 1:51 AM
The trick is to think they are a bluejay and then only realize when you zoom in and snap a quick and dirty shot. They will sit still just long enough for that. Source: me yesterday
Herons always look a bit goofy when they arent flying or marching around in the water.
Btw the alt text calls this a grey heron. Is that just a descriptive word or is it actually a Grey Heron?
Btw the alt text calls this a grey heron. Is that just a descriptive word or is it actually a Grey Heron?
December 22, 2023 at 1:34 AM
Herons always look a bit goofy when they arent flying or marching around in the water.
Btw the alt text calls this a grey heron. Is that just a descriptive word or is it actually a Grey Heron?
Btw the alt text calls this a grey heron. Is that just a descriptive word or is it actually a Grey Heron?
Loved this one. More than any other magic system it really made it feel like you need a lifetime of education to become a proper wizard. It also felt like more of an excuse to show off some rather interesting etymology than a worldbuilding feature (not complaining. It really was fascinating).
December 16, 2023 at 9:43 PM
Loved this one. More than any other magic system it really made it feel like you need a lifetime of education to become a proper wizard. It also felt like more of an excuse to show off some rather interesting etymology than a worldbuilding feature (not complaining. It really was fascinating).
I dont have many opinions on potential new names for the eponymous birds, but the Stellar's Jay better end up as the Stellar Jay because they certainly are.
December 9, 2023 at 5:38 PM
I dont have many opinions on potential new names for the eponymous birds, but the Stellar's Jay better end up as the Stellar Jay because they certainly are.
100%. Proper framing is literally their whole job and this is what the editing team thought was good.
December 8, 2023 at 7:05 PM
100%. Proper framing is literally their whole job and this is what the editing team thought was good.
Its actually just a description of how capitalism inevitably destroys nature in the pursuit of third quarter profits and the only reason that hasnt happened in the congo is due to constant conflict. This could have been an good piece but they worded it so poorly that it signal boosts eco-facism.
December 8, 2023 at 7:00 PM
Its actually just a description of how capitalism inevitably destroys nature in the pursuit of third quarter profits and the only reason that hasnt happened in the congo is due to constant conflict. This could have been an good piece but they worded it so poorly that it signal boosts eco-facism.
It looks like the answer to 1) is too much and the answer to 2) is probably going to be none. Im not hopeful that gene editing is going to be a widespread practice for a long long time if ever.
December 8, 2023 at 6:01 PM
It looks like the answer to 1) is too much and the answer to 2) is probably going to be none. Im not hopeful that gene editing is going to be a widespread practice for a long long time if ever.
The overwhelming majority of mammal biomass on earth is livestock and a large portion of that is cattle. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.... Cows produce a huge amount of methane. Definitely enough to be a metric of interest when discussing climate change.
December 6, 2023 at 5:13 PM
The overwhelming majority of mammal biomass on earth is livestock and a large portion of that is cattle. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.... Cows produce a huge amount of methane. Definitely enough to be a metric of interest when discussing climate change.
That was actually an entirely separate incident where union carbide killed thousands of people and was never punished.
November 20, 2023 at 4:21 AM
That was actually an entirely separate incident where union carbide killed thousands of people and was never punished.
I thought they were all stealing from Plastic Man, but apparently his abilities were ripped off of some guy named Thin Man.
November 8, 2023 at 3:42 PM
I thought they were all stealing from Plastic Man, but apparently his abilities were ripped off of some guy named Thin Man.
All credit to Huxley (or Blake if you feel so inclined).
October 17, 2023 at 5:50 PM
All credit to Huxley (or Blake if you feel so inclined).
I love listening to taxonomic discussions concerning viruses. All their names are based on which of the 900 species it can infect it was first discovered in and this new isolate cant even infect that plant so is it a new virus now? But its just a SNP away from the other isolate, etc etc etc
October 17, 2023 at 5:16 PM
I love listening to taxonomic discussions concerning viruses. All their names are based on which of the 900 species it can infect it was first discovered in and this new isolate cant even infect that plant so is it a new virus now? But its just a SNP away from the other isolate, etc etc etc
Wait, so everything in Apocrita is referred to as a wasp? I feel like it should have been obvious, given that ants basically look like wasps that decided taking walks was more fun than flying, but I was somehow still suprised.
October 17, 2023 at 5:01 PM
Wait, so everything in Apocrita is referred to as a wasp? I feel like it should have been obvious, given that ants basically look like wasps that decided taking walks was more fun than flying, but I was somehow still suprised.
People keep talking about albums as pieces or art in and of themselves, which is fine and I also agree with, but tbh I mostly listen to albums because a band I like has put out new music and I expect every song on it to be good. That or im in the mood for one band and albums are little playlists.
October 11, 2023 at 2:50 PM
People keep talking about albums as pieces or art in and of themselves, which is fine and I also agree with, but tbh I mostly listen to albums because a band I like has put out new music and I expect every song on it to be good. That or im in the mood for one band and albums are little playlists.