Colossal Coral | Fungal Fighter | Fluffy Friend

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I love nature photo contests because they show us how magical our planet can be. A few of my favorites from NBP’s International Awards include:

• Tiger hugging a tree

• Wildflowers glowing like fireworks

• Lakeside hangout between a turtle, bee, and butterfly

What are your favorites?

-Steve

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Colossal Coral

A coral colony visible from space was just discovered near the Solomon Islands. This largest known coral was thought to be a shipwreck due to its gargantuan size.

• 112’ wide x 105’ long x 18’ tall

• Growing untouched for over 300 years

• Made of over 1 billion identical coral polyps

Being essentially one massive organism sets it apart from Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, a network of colonies. Learning how this coral survived ecological threats that killed its neighbors offers hope in fighting climate change. Or maybe it’s just super sneaky.

See it from above and up-close

Fungal Fighter

Zombie fungus could stop cancer in its tracks. Researchers got closer to understanding how Cordycepin’s survival mechanism out-competes cancer cells.

• Cordycepin helps Cordyceps militaris hijack hosts

• Converts to cordycepin triphosphate within cells

• Blocks two pathways used by cancer to spread

Cordycepin’s quick acting precision offers potential to reduce harming healthy tissue in cancer treatments. Ongoing research will identify the specific molecules involved for future drug development. Seems like a smart fungi.

Fungus Rx

Fluffy Friend

New Zealand’s pet cloud keeps coming back. They’ve nicknamed the UFO-looking lenticular cloud “Taieri Pet”.

• Named after the region it visits, Strath-Taieri

• Lenticular clouds form when wind moves over obstacles

• Creating standing waves that condense moisture

Locals have cared for Taieri Pet since at least the 1890s, while NASA’s Landsat 8 satellite started monitoring it (and the rest of the planet) over 50 years ago. I don’t have any lasting implications to add, just thought we could all use a pet cloud right now. 🌞 

Check out this 7-mile cloud-pet from September

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Why are you seeing this ad? My pet cloud keeps eating all my food, but it’s SO FLUFFY!

So I personally review all ads for potential value to you. Plus, checking them out helps support the cost of running casualSTEM 🤓 

Unnatural Selection

Last week: “Which would you rather race?”

Hmm, do you think we could win? Check out these videos of both winged wonders in action:

Turkeys flying across the street

Vampire bat running on treadmill

st3v on site

Kiwi for Kiwi

After chatting with Taieri Pet, st3v realized it’s more of a friend than a pet. Their debate about kiwis vs. bananas was especially fruitful!

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