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Items to fit into your overhead compartment |
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Carrion Luggage  Native to the Americas, the turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) travels widely in search of sustenance. While usually foraging alone, it relies on other individuals of its species for companionship and mutual protection. Sometimes misunderstood, sometimes feared, sometimes shunned, it nevertheless performs an important role in the ecosystem. This scavenger bird is a marvel of efficiency. Rather than expend energy flapping its wings, it instead locates uplifting columns of air, and spirals within them in order to glide to greater heights. This behavior has been mistaken for opportunism, interpreted as if it is circling doomed terrestrial animals destined to be its next meal. In truth, the vulture takes advantage of these thermals to gain the altitude needed glide longer distances, flying not out of necessity, but for the joy of it. It also avoids the exertion necessary to capture live prey, preferring instead to feast upon that which is already dead. In this behavior, it resembles many humans. It is not what most of us would consider to be a pretty bird. While its habits are often off-putting, or even disgusting, to members of more fastidious species, the turkey vulture helps to keep the environment from being clogged with detritus. Hence its Latin binomial, which translates to English as "golden purifier." I rarely know where the winds will take me next, or what I might find there. The journey is the destination. |
| Leave it to the French to come up with new ways to confound scientists. From Smithsonian: Doctors Detected a Mysterious Antibody in a French Woman’s Body. It Turned Out to Be a Brand New Blood Type  Called “Gwada negative,” it marks the discovery of the 48th known blood group system in humans Of course it's a new blood type. It's only an antibody if it's from the Antibody region of France. In 2011, a French woman was undergoing routine medical testing before surgery when doctors discovered a mysterious antibody in her blood. Personally, I think we should tell kids that antibodies are little ants crawling around under their skin. Yes, it's wrong, but so is teaching them that only the ABO blood classification system matters. And my suggestion would be funnier. Now, scientists say the woman is the only known carrier of a new blood type called “Gwada negative.” It’s the only blood type within a new blood group system that scientists have dubbed “PigZ,” which is now the 48th known blood group system in humans, as the French Blood Establishment (EFS) announced last week. I was going to make a comment about the inappropriateness of "PigZ," but then I saw the part about there being a French Blood Establishment, and that's way more amusing. Sounds more like a secret society of French vampires. Humans have four major blood groups—the same ones identified at the beginning of the 20th century: A, B, O and AB. Since then, scientists have also determined that blood cells are influenced by a protein called the Rhesus factor. Apparently, that has nothing to do with Reese's Cups, but a lot to do with rhesus monkeys, which are properly named rhesus macaques, which is yet another source of amusement. But the full range of human blood is more complex. Scientists now know blood types result from the presence or absence of at least 366 antigens, according to the International Society of Blood Transfusion. Slight variations in which of these antigens are present can lead to rare blood types. The ABO blood group system is only one of many—with the new French research bringing that total to 48. To be serious for a moment, I didn't know any of that, so hey, I learned something. But more importantly, I had a chuckle. |
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Thanks for posting this. I love stuff like this.
