Undead Cheese | Zombie Fingers | Dr. Monster

No tricks, all treats in the annual spoOopy edition!

What are you dressing up as this year? st3v is going as…well, you’ll see!

-Steve

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Undead Cheese

Even mummies like cheese. ~3,600-year-old cheese samples were discovered on mummified bodies in China’s Tarim Basin.

• DNA analysis found cheese on heads and necks

• Confirmed kefir cheese by cow and goat DNA

• Kefir cheese = fermented w/ kefir grains, bacteria, and yeast

The mummified cheese contained similar bacterium to what is used in today’s kefir cheeses in Russia and Tibet. Suggesting it evolved to better coincide with human hosts over thousands of years. No word on the expiration date though.

That’s a wrap

Zombie Fingers

Every year around Halloween, “fingers” from the dead reach around the world. Well, technically “dead man’s fingers” do this all year, too.

• Dead man’s fingers = xylaria polymorpha fungus

• Breaks down wood for new plants to grow

• Finger-like shapes are reproductive structures

Unlike mushrooms that decay quickly, dead man’s fingers can creep us out release spores for months or years. Given enough trees, these zombie-like fingers can spread and live indefinitely. Watch your step!

Must, eat, (wood) graiiiins

Dr. Monster

Monster venom can help detect tumors. Insulinomas are hard-to-find pancreatic tumors, unless you use gila monster (lizard) saliva.

• Substance in the saliva binds to insulinoma-specific GP1 receptors

• But the venom itself is unstable in humans

• Researchers developed a synthesized version, Extendin

Pairing Extendin with existing radioactive tracers lead to a 95% accuracy rate across 69 patient scans (compared to 65% in regular scans). Further research will review how similarly sourced enhancements can improve medical imaging.

Don’t bite

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Unnatural Selection

Last week: “Would you crawl through a fake whale heart? (pictured last week)”

One of you said it best, “Whales are always in my heart, I’d love to be in theirs! ❤️🐳”.

st3v on site

Monster Mash

Why settle for Frankenstein when you could be Frankenstein as Cookie Monster? (don’t worry, it’s actually st3v!)

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