Biomedical Ephemera, or: A Frog for Your Boils

nothing-without-science: The story behind DNA’s double...

ofpaperandponies — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:30:33 -0400

Rosalind Elsie Franklin (25 July 1920 – 16 April 1958) was a British biophysicist and X-ray crystallographer.

Franklin is best known for her work on the X-ray diffraction images of DNA which led to the discovery of the DNA double helix

nothing-without-science:

The story behind DNA’s double helix

The notorious race to uncover the structure of DNA, the molecule of inheritance, began in 1951, when American biologist James Watson arrived at the University of Cambridge. Here he met Francis Crick, an English physicist and the two began building scale models to test their ideas of what DNA’s appearance might be.

Meanwhile, two scientists at King’s College London called Maurice Wilkins and Rosalind Franklin were also studying DNA. They were attempting to crystallise the molecule to make an x-ray pattern of it. They hoped this would provide important clues about its structure.

Although the two institutions were effectively competing against each other, Francis Crick (University of Cambridge) and Maurice Wilkins (King’s College London) communicated regularly. Letters sent from Wilkins to Crick reveal their close personal relationship.

It was Rosalind Franklin’s famous x-ray image, nicknamed ‘Photo 51’, that finally revealed the structure of DNA in May 1952. The pattern appeared to contain ‘rungs’, like those on a ladder, set between two strands. The fuzzy “X” pattern indicated DNA’s helix shape. In early 1953, Wilkins showed Watson the image, seemingly without Franklin’s knowledge.

Full story here

Is chrysarobin cream safe for kids

ofpaperandponies — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:56:16 -0400

Chrysarobin cream on Biomedical Ephemera

No, not really. It’s caustic and can cause serious reactions if it’s too concentrated. There’s no regulation on how concentrated the creams are, so even if it’s noted as one concentration, it may not be what was specified. It also leaves a deep discoloration that requires serious abrasives or alkalies to remove.

There are much more effective creams available by prescription, but if the kid can’t get to a doctor, calamine lotion and waiting for the skin to clear up is about all you can do.

American Flamingo - Phoenicopterus ruber Flamingos aren’t...

ofpaperandponies — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:46:01 -0400

American Flamingo - Phoenicopterus ruber

Flamingos aren’t naturally pink! They get their coloration from beta carotene found in the blue-green algae they consume. The flamingos that consume blue-green algae directly are much pinker than flamingos that primarily consume the blue-green algae secondhand (via zooplankton/brine shrimp).

Flamingos are also unique in their method of eating - their bills are designed to scoop the bottom sediment and then filter out the mud and silt, leaving only the blue-green algae or the brine shrimp in their mouth. They shake their head back and forth under the water after scooping up the sediment. The big, fleshy tongue of the flamingo pushes water back and forth in the mouth and facilitates the filtering of all that mud. They also swallow their food while their head is upside-down! The meaty tongue used to be considered a delicacy among the Roman elite.

Images:
Nature Neighbors: Embracing Birds, Plants, and Minerals. Nathanial Moore Banta for the American Audubon Association, 1914.

Osteologia Avium; or, A sketch of the osteology of birds. T.C. Eyton, 1867.

does that guy you posted have the same disease that the girl in "a new face for marly" had? if youve never seen it, it was on TLC a while ago and featured a girl with a tumor that looked alot like that guy had

ofpaperandponies — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:34:29 -0400

Yes and no. While both conditions caused disordered growth in multiple types of tissue, and both were on the face, Marlie Casseus had what’s known as “McCune-Albright syndrome”, which has a primary symptom of polyostic fibrous dysplacia, but which can also cause precocious puberty, and unilateral cafe-au-lait spots on the body. It’s usually caused by mosaicism, where one set of genes is functional at a certain spot, and the other set is dysfunctional.

As of 2012, Marlie’s condition has caused a recurrence of her breathing problems, and she once again needs surgery. Hopefully, if she gets surgery before her tumor gets to the point that it was at previously (18 lbs/7 kg and threatening to destroy both of her eyes - it took several years to get that way), she will be able to continue with and finish her education soon.

Osteo-chondro-myxosarcoma before and after surgical...

ofpaperandponies — Mon, 20 May 2013 19:54:45 -0400

Osteo-chondro-myxosarcoma before and after surgical intervention

Osteogenic tumors develop bone that displaces soft tissue. Osteo- means “bone”, and -genic means “to form”. In addition to the osteogenic behavior, this patient’s tumor has caused disordered cartilage (chondro-) and mucous membrane (myxo-) growth.

The case report states that it took “many” surgeries to completely remove the tumor and partially reconstruct the jaw, but that the patient lived a further 8 years after removal, and experienced no recurrence of the tumor in that time. While his vision suffered, as the left eye was unsalvagable, and his speech was impeded by both the incomplete jaw reconstruction and the excess skin remaining on the face, he was able to hold down a steady job and communicate. He was reported to be of “average-to-high” intelligence.

Tumors of the Jaws. Charles Locke Scudder, 1912.

collectivehistory: Recipient of the world’s first human heart...

ofpaperandponies — Mon, 20 May 2013 19:09:17 -0400

collectivehistory:

Recipient of the world’s first human heart transplant, Louis Washkansky, in Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, three days after the surgery, December 6, 1967.

Unfortunately, he died eighteen days after the transplant of pneumonia due to his weakened immune system.

Top: Uterine lining at 5 1/2 months, displaying thin...

ofpaperandponies — Thu, 16 May 2013 13:48:00 -0400

Top: Uterine lining at 5 1/2 months, displaying thin maternal separation from fetus, and high level of placental implantation
Center: Relation of placenta to uterus at 5 weeks and 8.5 months
Bottom: Major arteries and veins of the placenta

Did you know that the placenta is a temporary organ that’s actually created by the fetus, and not the woman?

The human female is a curious creature; like our close great ape cousins, but unlike almost all other mammals, they build up a thick barrier in the uterine wall, to protect against any potential embryo that might implant itself. When there’s no embryo implantation, the thickened wall is shed, in the process known as menstruation.

The thing is, most mammals don’t menstruate. They go into heat, and occasionally shed uterine lining (if the uterus is scratched, or an egg tries to implant but fails, for example), but there’s no regular cycle of bloody discharge relating to breeding. This is because other mammals go through triggered decidualization (developing a uterine lining only when a fertilized egg begins to implant itself), while the great apes (and a couple other convergently evolved families, including bats) experience spontaneous decidualization, where they develop a thick uterine lining during every ovulation, before an egg can even attempt to implant itself.

Why the different linings? Well, it turns out that there are three types of mammal placentas (remember, placentas are developed by the embryo/fetus, not the mother):

Epitheliochordal, which is completely superficial, and does not connect in any significant way to the mother’s body. The endometrial epithelium, connective tissue, and uterine epithelium are all preserved and undisturbed in the mother. The fetus is separated from the mother by three layers of tissue. Nutrients and waste are delivered and eliminated through diffusion, rather than direct connection. This group includes equids, swine, and ruminants.
Endotheliochordal, which is slightly more invasive to the mother, only preserves the uterine epithelium. Nutrients and waste are not exchanged through direct connection to the mother, but the placenta only leaves one layer of tissue between it and the mother. This group includes cats and dogs.
Hemochorial is the most invasive form of placenta in the animal kingdom. The embryo directly hooks itself up to the host (mother’s) blood flow, and leaves no tissue layers between the female and the placenta. This allows much more efficient nutrient transfer to the embryo or fetus, but is also potentially the most harmful to the female since the embryo attaches itself so securely to the uterine wall. The female must develop preemptive measures (a thickened uterine lining) to protect herself from a life-form that is literally driven to take all of the nutrients it needs to develop, and which has adapted to connect itself directly to the host. This group includes elephant shrews, most bats, and most primates.

Interested in more about the science behind reproduction and how amazingly efficient the human embryo is at sucking its host clean, just to obtain its needed resources for development?

PZ Meyers at Pharyngula has an understandable explanation of the article I referenced for this post.

There is also a great site by R. Bowen about the pathophysiology of the reproductive system.

An American Text-Book of Obstetrics for Practitioners and Students. Edited by Richard C. Norris, 1895.

Heterocephalus glaber - Naked Mole Rat Aside from their rather...

ofpaperandponies — Wed, 15 May 2013 11:54:31 -0400

Heterocephalus glaber - Naked Mole Rat

Aside from their rather unsightly appearance, naked mole rats are a very unique species of mammal. Their societies are set up much like your standard ant colonies (they’re the only eusocial mammals), with a queen whose sole purpose is to give birth, and individuals who have specific duties in the colony. These include tending the queen, defending their massive labyrinth of underground tunnels, gathering food, and digging more tunnels. Their roles are largely determined at birth, and are unusual to change once the mole rat is an adult. Like ant and social bee colonies, all of the productive members of the colony are female.

Other cool things about naked mole rats:

Their skin is remarkably impervious to pain and itching, due to a lack of proper Substance P encoding in their genes.
Their lips are located *behind* their massive teeth, to protect them from damage while the rats dig.
They are not truly warm-blooded like other mammals. When they get too cold, they travel upwards in the underground tunnel system, and when they get too hot, they go down into the cooler parts.
They don’t need much oxygen or food and have a very slow metabolism.
Their lifespan is up to 28 years, thanks to that ridiculous metabolism.

Proceedings of the General Meetings for Scientific Business of the Zoological Society of London. 1885.

The most excellent True Facts About the Naked Mole Rat (video) by Zefrank.

Do molerats?

ofpaperandponies — Wed, 15 May 2013 11:54:23 -0400

Did a post in the past, but I can try to find something else on them…I’ll reblog the old one for now though.

Also: Naked Molerat wannabes! Or rather, just freakish sharpei mice.

Top left: Hippocampus sp. internal structureTop right:...

ofpaperandponies — Wed, 15 May 2013 11:22:39 -0400

Top left: Hippocampus sp. internal structure
Top right: Short-snouted seahorse - Hippocampus hippocampus
Center: 1. Syngnathus hippocampus [now Hippocampus hippocampus]
2. Pegasus draconis [now Eurypegasus draconis] - the Little Dragonfish (*unrelated to Syngnathidae family*)
3. Syngnathus pelagicus - the Sargassum pipefish
Bottom: Phyllopteryx taeniolatus -the Weedy Sea Dragon

Despite their remarkable appearance, seahorses are true ray-finned bony fishes (class Actinopterygii, infraclass Teleostei), along with bass, mullets, eels, salmon, and lanternfish.

Many people know of the male seahorse incubating the eggs and giving “birth” to 100-1000 offspring after they hatch, but reproduction is similar throughout the order Syngnathidae (including the seahorses, leafy and weedy sea dragons, and pipefish). There’s a persistent myth that seahorses are monogamous, but that’s not strictly true. The majority of species are serially monogamous, and remain together throughout the mating season (until the male births the babies).

Another remarkable thing about seahorses (Hippocampus spp.) is that they’re the only fish with prehensile tails - even their close relatives, the sea dragons and pipefish, don’t have this adaptation. However, since the seahorses are the only ones that swim upright, and they have the poorest locomotive skills, they need to be able to anchor themselves to the sea flora in order to not be swept away. The Guinness Book of World Records has named Hippocampus zosterae, the dwarf seahorse, the slowest fish in the world, moving less than 5 ft [150 cm] an hour.

Aside from the seahorses, the razorfish (Aeoliscus strigatus) is the only other fish to swim “upright”.

Images:
Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission, Vol 1. 1881.
Arcana; or, The Museum of Natural History. George Perry, 1811.

Because Mother’s Day Coffee trees developed caffeine as an...

ofpaperandponies — Sat, 11 May 2013 23:35:16 -0400

Because Mother’s Day

Coffee trees developed caffeine as an insecticide, to kill off bugs that would eat its berries and fail to spread its seeds. Yes, it’s a deadly poison, but for tiny bugs. It takes at least as much coffee as crazy-face above is drinking to kill off us giant primates.

Why Coffee is the greatest addiction (in every sense).

Though maybe my mom should drink slightly less coffee. Maybe.
LIFE Magazine, Feb 2, 1953.

Top: Common Opossum - Didelphis marsupialisBottom: Virginia...

ofpaperandponies — Sat, 11 May 2013 23:23:03 -0400

Top: Common Opossum - Didelphis marsupialis
Bottom: Virginia Opossum - Didelphis virginiana

Stay in the pouch, kids! We can’t stop here; this is bat country!

Even though several marsupial families lived in the Americas before the last ice age, opossums are the only ones still remaining. Thanks to their opportunistic omnivorous diet and high rate of reproduction, opossums have survived in their current form for millenia, even despite their extremely low encephalization quotient. While rote brain volume does not in and of itself determine intelligence of an animal, mammals with smaller encephalization quotients tend to be more specialized and quickly speciated when hardships are encountered (such as ice ages).
Opossums in the Americas generally have an EQ around 1/5 that of the raccoons.

Didelphidae (Western hemisphere opossums) have very short lifespans, generally living less than two years in the wild, which is very unusual for a mammal of their size (up to the size of a large housecat). However, they can generally produce two successful litters of up to 13 young each in their short lives.

Australian opossums, while distantly related to those in the Americas, have furry tails, larger brains, and are much less urbanized. They also bear fewer young, live at least twice as long, and are less than half the size of the largest North American opossums.

Dictionnaire Universel d’Histoire Naturelle. Charles d’Orbigny, 1849.

Top: Bichir and trunkfish [top], Electric Catfish...

ofpaperandponies — Sat, 11 May 2013 00:58:56 -0400

Top: Bichir and trunkfish [top], Electric Catfish [bottom]
Center: Electric “eel” - Electrophorus electricus
Bottom: Indo-Pacific Moray Eel - Muraena nudivomer (now Gymnothorax nudivomer)

A while ago I saw this Bird and Moon illustration of animals with misleading names, but I kept seeing people asking, “Ok, if they’re not THAT, then what ARE they?” For some reason, I completely forgot that I wanted to cover those questions, but hey, better late than never!

The electric eel isn’t an eel - it’s a knifefish. Knifefish (Gymnotiformes) are actually more closely related to electric catfish (Siluriformes) than they are to true eels (order Anguilliformes), but developed their electroconductive organs through convergent evolution - the first signs of the organ evolution in both the electric eel and the electric catfish appeared after they shared a common ancestor.

In addition to electric eels and electric catfish, electric rays (order Torpediniformes) are the only other “strongly electric” fishes - that is, fish that produce electric shocks over one volt, and use their electrogenerative organs to either stun or kill prey and/or attackers. There are many fish that can produce a small current (“weakly electric”), but it is used for electrolocation and electrocommunication, instead.

Images:
Fishes of Zanzibar: Acanthopterygii. J. Van Voorst, 1866.
The Standard Natural History. John Sterling Kingsley, 1884.
Wild life of the world. Richard Lydekker, 1915.

do you have anything more squid illustrations. really good blog.

ofpaperandponies — Sat, 11 May 2013 00:10:53 -0400

Surrre. I’ll find something.

People who are dissecting animals are expected to treat the dead with respect, regardless of species or the fact that it is, well, dead. If you wouldn't do it with a human body during scientific work, you shouldn't do it with another species. It is highly unprofessional and that someone would find joy and humor in making waste of an animal's death rather than being careful with the remains so they can learn from it is tasteless and speaks of poor character. It's more the reason than the act.

ofpaperandponies — Sat, 11 May 2013 00:06:25 -0400

*shrug* I understand your viewpoint, but I have a hard time faulting someone who’s, say, a student who’s just getting used to (and may use humor or abstraction as a coping mechanism) dissecting animals. If it’s not actively wasting a dead animal and they’ve already learned what they could from it, why not make art instead of trashing it?

Honestly, I pinned paper wings onto my lamprey that I dissected in zoology after I finished, because the flayed hideous fish sort of looked like an “angel” when I closed it back up. It was goofy, but it made my (pretty uncomfortable-with-dissection) partner laugh and actually get back into learning all the parts for our exam.

I wouldn’t condone someone doing this for the sake of shock art, or if a professor or someone were doing something like that while teaching, but in most situations, I can’t see the harm.

That said, I know the OP was referring to “art” that was specifically made to showcase squid ink on squid skin, which I find weird, and am not crazy about, but I still reserve judgement on similar acts.

Loligo gigas [now Dosidas gigas] - Humboldt Squid/Jumbo...

ofpaperandponies — Fri, 10 May 2013 00:25:29 -0400

Loligo gigas [now Dosidas gigas] - Humboldt Squid/Jumbo Squid

The Humboldt squid is among the largest of the squid, despite their lifespan of just under one year. Other giant squids have a lifespan estimated to be around five years at a minimum, and don’t reach their maximum size until near the end of their life. One of the major sources of food for Humboldt squid is other Humboldt squids, which is believed to contribute significantly to their fast growth.

All of the suckers of the Humboldt are ringed with sharp, flesh-tearing teeth, and when squid are feeding, they’ve been known to be very aggressive towards scuba divers. Outside of feeding time (generally dusk to dawn), the squid are generally non-aggressive creatures.

Like many squid, the Humboldt has chromatophores in its skin, allowing for rapid color changes. When they feed or are in distress (such as when they’re caught by fishers), they flash bright red. This led to one of their first colloquial names - El diablo rojo - the Red Devil.

Voyage dans l’Amerique Meridionale: Tome Neuvieme. Alcide d’Orbigny, 1847.

“Ok, I’ll just leave the front here and hang the tentacles over...

ofpaperandponies — Thu, 09 May 2013 23:51:52 -0400

“Ok, I’ll just leave the front here and hang the tentacles over here, get this squid drawn up before we bring in the next haul, and make it more accurate than last time! I want the squid exactly as it is; they don’t all look the same!”

Several hours later…

“DAMNIT CHARLES, I DIDN’T MEAN DRAW THE SQUID EXACTLY AS IT WAS!”

Cephalopoda of the Hawaiian Islands. S. Stillman Berry, 1914.

Can't help with the "drawings made by squid", but I've seen some photos of people drawing on (dissected) squid with its own ink... Well, that sounded quite callous. Nevertheless, I'm fairly interested in what you have about stylised/realistic (cute or ugly)/photorealistic squid, and would like to know if you have any on other cephalopods too! :3

ofpaperandponies — Thu, 09 May 2013 02:08:13 -0400

Well, if you’re dissecting a squid (which was probably already dead [I would hope o_O] and doesn’t have the capacity to process pain in its nervous system to begin with, unlike most vertebrates and possibly octopods), why not draw with its own ink? I mean, it’s already there! I haven’t seen that sort of “art” myself, but it strikes me as sort of bizarre and “shock for shock’s sake”…kind of like performance art of feeding a cow a hamburger. I probably wouldn’t be crazy about it, but I can’t see a logical reason to be against it (unlike the cow example…yum yum BSE).

As for what I have so far, I have yet to actually sort all my categories (I will someday, really! probably when I sift through all my duplicate source images…so many duplicates D:) so here are some that I’ve posted:

http://biomedicalephemera.tumblr.com/tagged/cephalopoda

http://biomedicalephemera.tumblr.com/tagged/cephalopods

http://biomedicalephemera.tumblr.com/tagged/squid

http://biomedicalephemera.tumblr.com/tagged/octopus

http://biomedicalephemera.tumblr.com/tagged/nautilus

Can you post something on squid with drawings? I need a good drawing for tattoo inspiration

ofpaperandponies — Thu, 09 May 2013 01:22:55 -0400

Squid drawings, or a squid with drawings?

I’m not really sure what you’re looking for…stylized squid, cute realistic squid, ugly realistic squid, photorealistic illustrations of squid, a drawn-on squid, drawings made by squid? If you’re looking for the last two, I probably can’t help you, but the rest I have SOME iteration of…

woooo dude, no disheartening feels! You are totally legit, I mean I love the BrainScoop, but I love biomedical ephemera too! I mean, I don't think that the brainscoop is ever going to put a two penis dude on their channel, not to mention that your posts are pretty random, sometimes biology sometimes medicine. It's like opening a bag of Magic Jelly Beans, you never know what you are gonna get be it a lime jelly bean or an earwax jelly bean. Anyways, stay excellent!

ofpaperandponies — Sun, 05 May 2013 01:11:00 -0400

Hah! I did not take it in a disheartening way! I’m just hella jealous of Emily’s enthusiasm and energy! I’ve got 99 problems but a bitch aint one…wait…no, I mean, I’ve got issues, and I’m jealous of those who don’t! I absolutely love medicine, I love nature, and I love biology that spans both the most!

Keep following both of us, yeah?! Cheers! :D

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