David Moscato

Columbia from the Rocky Horror Picture Show

What did this sweet angel ever do to anyone?

It was! Your work is amazing! I'm honored to have contributed 💚

Turns out sometimes you make a silly science video for the internet and then someone goes and makes incredible art about it.

Spook-E Season has begun!

In case you missed it, we got a new dinosaur yesterday!

At long last, @paleolorax.bsky.social gives us her Plant-Based History of the Earth!

Sounds like we really made an impact 😅

Plants require sunlight to survive, but when night falls and the daytime-dwellers disappear, many varieties of flower come alive. This episode, Nora and Aly explore the allure of “moon gardens” and the adaptations that allow beautiful and aromatic flowers to thrive in darkness.

Thank you!

Such fun! Such chaos! Such science!

Well I do say that

An image of a grove of Pando trees, with text that says Episode 10: Plant Super-Organisms.

Some plants get big – like, several acres big – like, an entire forest big – like, the largest living things on the planet big. This episode, Nora and Aly address some of the most sprawling plants on Earth and explore the plant super-powers that allow them to achieve super-size.

PUMPED

DragonCon is NEXT WEEK!

We'll get through this together!

Title: "We Have Wolves At Home": Dire Wolves, Dodos, and De-Extinction

Time: Sat 04:00 pm
Location: 209-211 Hilton (Length: 1 Hour)

@dmos150.bsky.social and I have sworn to support each other emotionally, and hold each other back physically, in this panel.

A bunch of grapes hangs among leaves. The grapes are different colors at different levels of ripeness. Text above the image says "Episode 8 What Makes Fruit Ripe?" Image by Dominique Hessel

Did you know that placing a banana next to an apple can help the banana ripen faster? Well that was news to some people! This episode, Nora and Aly discuss what exactly is going on inside a ripening fruit and how the fruit knows it’s time to signal its own deliciousness.

Image by Dominique Hessel

Screenshot of Stealing from Wizards Goodreads review series summaries. Volume 1: 4.44 avg rating - 332 ratings Volume 2: 4.55 avg rating - 209 ratings Volume 3: 4.72 avg rating - 114 ratings

I have been told I should crow about this more.
Apparently goodreads reviewers are known to be brutal.

Mostly I'm just glad my books found their audience. #booksky

www.goodreads.com/series/27255...

Blunt head and tail suggests Slimey is a burrower, but the fairly prominent eyes suggest not totally subterranean.

Are the stripes just coloration? Given that he's called a worm, they might be annuli, in which case he's likely an amphisbaenian.

"Aaaaaahhhhhh!"
-plants, somehow

Making a Mesozoic meal!

So you're not reading a book about vivid and vivacious viviparous vipers? 😄

A chart that explains what to do If You Find A Baby Songbird Out Of The Nest. Is it hurt or did a cat get it? (Cat bites & scratches cause deadly infections.) or, Has a person kept it for over a day, given it food or water, or gotten it wet? If yes, Contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator or wildlife care center near you. An online search can help. If no, what does it look like? Eyes not yet open. You have a hatchling. It's very young. Eyes open; feathers few & may be in tube-like sheaths. You have a nestling. Feathered; awkwardly hops or flutters; tail & wings short. You have a fledgling. Many sharp teeth; large claw on second toe. You have a velociraptor. If a hatchling or nestling, can you see the nest? If yes, Return it to its nest. The parents won’t care if they can smell you. If no, Make a nest from a basket & dried grass. Wire it to a tree. (Note: A few species, like Juncos, need a nest on the ground.) If a fledgling, is it in immediate danger? If yes, carefully move it to a safer spot nearby. If no, DO NOT INTERVENE! Though the bird looks awkward, it’s in a natural stage & the parents are still feeding it. If a velociraptor, has it seen you? If yes, back away slowly. Do not show fear. If no, run. Watch for others that may attack from the sides. FYI: Some babies (eg. swifts, most woodpeckers) only sit on the ground if in trouble. When in doubt, keep watch & contact a wildlife rehabilitator if needed!

Found a baby songbird? Here's a newly updated chart!

CT-scan image of a pinecone, showing the internal structure and positions of seeds within.

CT-scan image of a pinecone, showing the internal structure and positions of seeds within.

CT-scan image of a pinecone, showing the external structure.

Episode 3 - What's Inside a Pinecone?

Out now!

Featuring an animated discussion about these CT-scan images from the Regents of the University of Michigan.

For the curious, this is the article that inspired this first episode:

The "sex change" (not really, but kinda) of the Fortingall Yew Tree in Scotland
www.thepinknews.com/2015/11/03/e...

Episode 2's bonus episode (Before We Leaf) is now available for our Patrons!

Featuring even more stories of plants vs pets, including that one time David lost a lizard.

I'm producing a podcast with a pair of proficient plant-ladies! The first two episodes are out, and it's a ton of fun!

(I'm also on the podcast, but you'll mostly have to check out the bonus content to hear me)

Um, actually, that's the past.

Thanks for having me! I had a great time dissecting de-extinction!

Screenshot from the Wikipedia page for a cute mouse-like marsupial called the "fat-tailed dunnart". Below the image of the animal is its Conservation status, identified as "Least Concern"

Absolutely brutal