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Brandon Moore, PhD @rando.insalubrio.us · Aug 13

Scientists from @griffith.edu.au analyzed 199 unrelated interactions involving 19 species to reveal that bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and baleen whales engage in playful behavior with each other! 🧪

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Bottlenose dolphin in proximity to a humpback whale rostrum bow riding near the Gold Coast, Australia (a, credit Roving Media); a surface rush by a bottle nose dolphin close to a pectoral fin of a humpback whale at Bermagui, Australia (b, credit WildLive.Media); petting or rubbing of a common dolphin on the rostrum of a fin whale in the Celtic Sea, England (c, credit Dan Abbott) and a group of bottlenose dolphins swimming alongside a southern right whale that is moving its fluke towards the dolphins in Esperance, Australia (d, credit Jaimen Hudson)

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Brandon Moore, PhD @rando.insalubrio.us · Aug 10

@stephanspiekman.bsky.social and colleagues recently described Mirasaura grauvogeli, a newly discovered Triassic reptile, which has a complex feathered skin crest that evolved independently of feathers or hair! 🧪

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Artist's reconstruction and illustration of Mirasaura grauvogeli in its natural forested environment, hunting insects.

Credit: Gabriel Ugueto

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Brandon Moore, PhD @rando.insalubrio.us · Aug 7

Dissacus praenuntius fossils reveal how ancient predators adapted to global warming. During the Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum, this jackal-sized omnivore shifted its diet to include more bones, mirroring today's wildlife responses to climate change! 🧪

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Paleoart of Dissacus praenuntius. It is a small, jackal-sized prehistoric mammal.

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Brandon Moore, PhD @rando.insalubrio.us · Aug 7

The James Webb Space Telescope may have just captured an image of a planet orbiting Alpha Centauri A! This presumed planet is a cool, Saturn-sized world with an elongated orbit, possibly accompanied by moons! 🧪

arxiv.org/abs/2508.03814
arxiv.org/abs/2508.03812

The James Webb Space Telescope used a "coronographic mask" to block Alpha Centauri A's glare. This revealed the possible exoplanet, S1, in its orbit.

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Brandon Moore, PhD @rando.insalubrio.us · Aug 2

"Scrumping" describes the behavior of primates consuming overripe, fermented fruit. Studying this behavior may help us better understand the evolution of human alcohol tolerance! 🧪

academic.oup.com/bioscience/a...

Scrumping of Pentadesma butyracea (Clusiaceae) by a western gorilla.

Gothic monkeys as the embodiment of curiosity and temptation.

Top left: a column statue, Cathédrale de Chartres. At left, Fortitude stabs a lion (inscription crudelitas, “cruelty”); at right, Justice conquers a monkey (inscription curiositas, “curiosity”). Photograph: Jane Vadnal.

Bottom left: a bronze plaquette with gilding titled Adam and Eve, dated 1514 by Ludwig Krug. Photograph: Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College.

Right: panel painting titled Earthly Paradise with the Fall of Man, dated 1615 by Peter Paul Rubens (the figures) and Jan Brueghel the Elder (the flora and fauna, including two monkeys resembling Cercocebus torquatus on the left and Cercopithecus petaurista on the right).

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Brandon Moore, PhD @rando.insalubrio.us · Aug 2

9 million years ago, a romance between tomato-like plants and potato ancestors (Etuberosum) in South America led to the birth of the potato as we know it! This ancient hybridization resulted in tuber formation allowing potatoes to thrive in harsh Andean environments! 🧪

www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

Graphical abstract of linked paper.
Hybridization between early tomato and potato ancestors (Etuberosum) resulted in the tuber formation of the potato plant.

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Brandon Moore, PhD @rando.insalubrio.us · Aug 1

A new phasmid species, Acrophylla alta, has been discovered during wet season habitat searches in Queensland, Australia. The linked paper includes a comparative key and details on habitat, food, and reproduction! 🧪

mapress.com/zt/article/v...

The newly discovered Acrophylla alta species with its wings spread. Human arm for scale.

Brandon Moore, PhD @rando.insalubrio.us · Jul 31

The Kuril–Kamchatka Trench is home to the deepest chemosynthesis-based communities ever discovered! It spans 2500km and provides hydrogen sulfide/methane to this extreme environment. 🧪

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Representative fauna of cold-seep sites in the Kuril–Kamchatka Trench and western Aleutian Trench.

a, Free-moving polychaetes Macellicephaloides grandicirra (white; reaching 6.5 cm in size) navigate among dense colonies of frenulate siboglinids, with tubes 20–30 cm in length and approximately 1 mm in diameter, at 9,532 m at The Deepest. b, Clusters of frenulate siboglinids extending red haemoglobin-filled tentacles, with small Gastropoda (white spots) on tops of the tubes near the tentacles, at 9,320 m at Wintersweet Valley. c, Tightly packed frenulate siboglinids are home to abundant free-moving polychaetes M. grandicirra (white) at 9,332 m at Cotton Field. d, Dense aggregation of vesicomyid bivalves A. phaseoliformis (reaching 23 cm in size) in the sediment, with approximately 6–8 cm of valves exposed and often hosting Actiniaria, at 5,743 m at Clam Bed. e, Tube-dwelling polychaetes Anobothrus sp. and Actiniaria are dominant at 6,870 m at Aleutian Deepest, with spots of white microbial mats. f, Dense aggregation of vesicomyid bivalves I. fossajaponicum (reaching 3 cm in size) associated with black sediments and accompanied by tube-dwelling polychaetes Anobothrus sp. at 6,928 m at Aleutian Deepest. g, Dark blue muds surrounded by clusters of frenulate siboglinids, mark methane seeps at 6,800 m at Blue Marsh. h, Large patches of white, snow-like microbial mats stretch tens of metres, accompanied by frenulate siboglinid tubeworms at 6,700 m at Icy River. The images were taken by the manned submersible equipped with a high-definition camera system. The name of each cold seep indicated in the lower left corner.

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Brandon Moore, PhD @rando.insalubrio.us · Jul 31

Recent research on ancient bronze jars discovered in coastal Italy suggests they likely contained honey - with multianalytical approaches revealing the presence of lipids, sugars, and royal jelly proteins! 🧪

pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Graphical abstract of linked paper. It illustrates the honey's analytical journey from discovery in an italian ruin to the results of the reported methods.

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Brandon Moore, PhD @rando.insalubrio.us · Jul 18

Astronomers have observed a young star 1,400 light-years away (HOPS-315) surrounded by cooling gas and silicate minerals. This marks the early stages of planet formation and could provide crucial insights into the processes that shaped our own solar system! 🧪

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A swirling disk of gas and dust around a young star (HOPS 315, center black dot). Carbon monoxide gas (orange) blows away in a butterfly-shaped wind and silicon monoxide gas (blue) is expelled in a jet of disk material. This is hypothesized to be the first step in the formation of a new planet!

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Brandon Moore, PhD @rando.insalubrio.us · Jul 18

A recently discovered meter-long front flipper of the Jurassic ichthyosaur Temnodontosaurus reveals unique soft-tissue anatomy including a wing-like planform with serrated edges that could have provided for hydroacousticly enhanced stealth! 🧪

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A paleo-art depiction of three Temnodontosaurus ichthyosas in shallow water.

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Brandon Moore, PhD @rando.insalubrio.us · Jul 18

Bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay, Australia, use sponges on their beaks while hunting fish to protect them from sharp rocks while they forage at the expense of echolocation. Only about 5% of the population has mastered this culturally transmitted skill! 🧪

royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

A bottlenose dolphin wearing a marine sponge on its nose to forage while swimming in Shark Bay, Australia.

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Brandon Moore, PhD @rando.insalubrio.us · Jul 9

@vestaeleuteri.bsky.social and colleagues observed that elephants use a combination of gestures for goal-directed communication that is almost unheard in non-primates! 🧪

royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

In hopes of getting an apple as a treat, African savanna elephants living in Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls National Park make dozens of different kinds of gestures that represent a sophisticated form of communication.

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Brandon Moore, PhD @rando.insalubrio.us · Jul 7

Atacamite, an emerald-green mineral, demonstrates unusual magnetocaloric behavior such that its temperature is dramatically reduced in the presence of a magnetic field! This has potential for energy efficient cooling applications! 🧪

journals.aps.org/prl/abstract...

Artistic representation of the magnetic sawtooth structure of atacamite: The magnetic moments (green) of the Cu ions (white and blue) cannot be completely aligned antiparallel to each other due to the triangular arrangement. At low temperatures, this results in the compromise arrangement shown. An external magnetic field destroys it and leads to an unexpectedly strong magnetocaloric effect, which could be used for efficient cooling.

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Brandon Moore, PhD @rando.insalubrio.us · Jul 5

Recently discovered Tharsis fossils present a compelling case for careful eating! These Jurassic ray-finned fish would sometimes accidentally choke on the long bony bodies of squid-like belemites while sucking up decaying organic matter! 🧪

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Tharsis with belemnite lodged through mouth and gill apparatus from Solnhofen, Bavaria, Germany.

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Brandon Moore, PhD @rando.insalubrio.us · Jul 4

A new comet, 3I/ATLAS, has been spotted zooming in from interstellar space! This is only the 3rd time we've seen such a cosmic traveler! ('Oumuamua and Comet 2I/Borisov are the other two!) 🧪

arxiv.org/pdf/2502.16741

This diagram shows the trajectory of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it passes through the solar system. It will make its closest approach to the Sun in October.

(NASA/JPL-Caltech)

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Brandon Moore, PhD @rando.insalubrio.us · Jul 4

Paranthropus boisei could have made the oldest known tools which challenges the idea that only the most "human-like" of our ancestors were capable of such feats! 🧪

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Forensic facial reconstruction of Paranthropus boisei.

The Oldowan tools are the earliest known stone tools, dating back to about 2.6 million years ago.

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Brandon Moore, PhD @rando.insalubrio.us · Jul 3

Astronomers have captured visual evidence of a star that detonated twice (SNR 0509-67.5), revealing a new mechanism behind Type Ia supernovae! 🧪

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT) image of the double-detonated supernova, SNR 0509-67.5

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Brandon Moore, PhD @rando.insalubrio.us · Jul 2

Orcas (Orcinus orca) have been observed offering food to humans 34 different times across four oceans! This seemingly altruistic behavior highlights the cognitive and social capabilities of these marine mammals! 🧪

psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/202...

An adult female killer whale Dian retrieves most of an eagle ray after offering it to one of the linked paper's authors underwater in the Western South Pacific.

Photo: Brian Skerry

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Brandon Moore, PhD @rando.insalubrio.us · Jun 27

@nbellono.bsky.social and colleagues observed that Elysia sea slugs steal chloroplasts from algae and store them in specialized organelles called kleptosomes. During times of starvation, this allows them to photosynthesize in support of their energy needs! 🧪

www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...

Graphical abstract of the linked paper.

Sea slugs retain and store foreign chloroplasts in kleptosome organelles (top). Kleptosomes use luminal ATP-sensing ion channels to support photosynthesis (bottom left). Kleptosomes digest chloroplasts during prolonged starvation (bottom center). Slugs and corals use convergent mechanisms of endosymbiosis (bottom right).

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Brandon Moore, PhD @rando.insalubrio.us · Jun 27

The James Webb Space Telescope has achieved a significant milestone by directly imaging exoplanet TWA-7b, a cold gas giant located 111 light-years from Earth! 🧪

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The newly discovered exoplanet is highlighted with an orange arrow. The star it orbits is black in this image. The remaining two bodies to the left are both background galaxies.

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Brandon Moore, PhD @rando.insalubrio.us · Jun 26

Archaeologists have uncovered the ancient routes of Stone-Age seafarers who journeyed from Taiwan to Japan's Ryukyu islands! They sailed dugout canoes to demonstrate how ancient people could have successfully navigated these challenging waters! 🧪

www.science.org/doi/full/10....

Five paddlers completed a journey from Taiwan to Yonaguni Island, across some of the world’s fastest oceanic currents, without modern navigation tools.

Credit: Kaifu et al./Science Advances

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Brandon Moore, PhD @rando.insalubrio.us · Jun 24

@drwhale.bsky.social and colleagues have discovered a new orca (Orcinus orca ater) behavior known as allokelping! These killer whales use bull kelp as grooming tools - possibly to enhance social bonds or to promote skin health! 🧪

www.cell.com/current-biol...

Two killer whales "allokelping", with a small length of kelp stem visible between them.

Center for Whale Research, NMFS NOAA Permit 27038

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Brandon Moore, PhD @rando.insalubrio.us · Jun 21

Ornithologists from @cornellbirds.bsky.social suggest that territoriality and foraging communication are the main reasons birds sing at dawn, challenging the "acoustic transmission" hypothesis which claims this timing optimizes sound carry distance. 🧪

royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

A perched white-throated kingfisher. This species was among those studied in the linked paper that was most vocal at dawn instead of dusk.

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Brandon Moore, PhD @rando.insalubrio.us · Jun 20

Two Mediterranean beetle species, Pygopleurus chrysonotus and P. syriacus, possess photoreceptors that can detect red light! This finding prompts a reevaluation of the evolutionary relationship between flower colors and pollinator vision. 🧪

journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...

A beetle (Pygopleurus chrysonotus) on a red flower (Anemone pavonina). This beetle can do what other insects cannot: see the color red!

Credit: Johannes Spaethe / University of Würzburg

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