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[urbpan]

This coming Saturday is International Vulture Awareness Day. I feel like I should have found out earlier, but I don't really know how to celebrate, either. Carrion birds are some of my favorite, and I'm glad the conservation community has given them an awareness day.

Vultures do face some weird conservation challenges, including veterinary drugs (one of which is now banned due to its deleterious effects on vultures) and idiot tourists (wishing to see the nesting vultures move, tourists have been spooking them; without the right wind conditions, the vultures plunge to their doom.)

Another life form I like are the slime molds. They move and eat like animals, but reproduce like fungi. One species solved a maze. Some scientists are exploiting this species to act as a kind of micro-beast of burden. They're calling it a "Plasmobot." The article hails it as "the first ever biological robot using mould." That's science journalism for you.

Comments

[buboniclou.livejournal.com]

I never knew vultures needed wind or they'd plummet to their deaths. That's a pretty scary idea.

MIT has a Master's degree program in Science Writing/Journalism. I thought about applying, but taking potshots at slime robot articles is much more fun :)

[lakidaa.livejournal.com]

I like vultures SO MUCH. They're so pretty and well-put together for their job. They got personality up the wazoo to me.

[kakapos20.livejournal.com]

slime molds solving a maze, that is so cool!!

[deathling.livejournal.com]

Awesome! You know I'll be celebrating..or something.