Budsofstone @budsofstone@computerfairi.es

Self report

Wow!
For years, researchers couldn't identify the source of so much nitrogen (N) in the oceans. It was thought that cyanobacteria were the only organisms capable of fixing nitrogen in marine ecosystems, but their numbers could explain only half of the observed N.
Some years ago, mysterious gene fragments coding for a nitrogenase (the enzyme that fixes nitrogen) were found in seawater samples. These traces were not from cyanobacteria. But then, from who?

A recent study found that the N-fixing bacteria are related to Rhizobia and seem to be symbiotic with diatomees (unicellular algae). Yes, *the rhizobia*. *In a symbiosis*. *with unicellular algae* (= plants)
😃
Rhizobia are the bacteria that fix the Nitrogen in the root nodules of leguminous plants, effectively making the rich terrestrial ecosystems possible.
And their cousins in the sea seem to do the same. The plants provide the bacteria carbohydrates (easy-peasy for photosynthetic organisms, as carbon is not their problem) and shelter, and the bacteria fix nitrogen. Just like this. And everyone benefits, including the surrounding ecosystem.
This is really cool and made my day!

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07495-w

#Microbiology #Ecology #Nitrogen #Rhizobia #NitrogenCycle #Oceans #MarineBiology #SciComm
#ScienceIsWonderful #AmazingScience

He's a small arms dealer.

More than 200 police in riot gear, on bikes, and on horseback were mobilized to defend the metal festival Messe des Morts tonight on Monk Boulevard. Around 150 counter-protesters still made their presence known, and two Nazi bands were struck from the lineup after being blocked at the border.

The SPVM were out to exact vengeance for last Friday. But their efforts went awry when one cop pepper-sprayed toward the crowd unprovoked, only for a cloud of pepper spray to blow back in the face of his colleague, incapacitating him for several minutes.

Paradoxe Theatre believes its decision to provide a stage to Neo-Nazi "artists" will be quickly forgotten, but Montreal antifascists have a long memory.

Photos: William Wilson.

Sounds about right.

I'm not sure who all needs this right now, but... political consciousness was a thing even before 1990.

You don't have to be glued to the internet constantly in order to maintain a relevant and effective awareness of what's important in the world, or be involved in changing things.

And if that level of info-firehose is negatively affecting you, dialing it back can actually be good praxis.

Not Tonight Dear. . .

#MastoArt #DigitalArt #QueerArt #Queer #Art #PansyTramArt

White people like to tell themselves they're superior to everyone else because that feels better than admitting that they behave like a bunch of stupid gullible fucks in the voting booth.

A former Boston Globe & Reuters reporter who is now homeless gives a gutting, beautifully written, and clear-eyed firsthand account of what it's like to be homeless in America right now.

This is the best article you'll read today, easily. The ending is chilling.

#LongReads #Journalism #News #AmWriting #Housing #Homelessness

https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a62875397/homelessness-in-america/?src=longreads

Vandalism at Indiana University – Bloomington, Indiana
https://anarchistnews.org/content/vandalism-indiana-university-%E2%80%93-bloomington-indiana

"From Unravel
November 23, 2024
November 11, 2024
In solidarity with Indigenous People's Day of Rage, I painted "Stolen Land" across the stone entrance to the Indiana University Foundation in Bloomington, Indiana. The IUF exists to maximize private investments for IU, an institution (like all universities) that runs on exploitation, environmental

I’m still amazed people think Project 2025 isn’t going to happen. Nobody writes a 920 page manifesto and then at the very end says, “just kidding!”

I'll be saying this til the day I die

#Columbus #Thanksgiving #IndigenousPeoplesDay

The hardest part of the Covid pandemic is realizing how few people are willing to do small things to help someone else

Deep down they KNOW they’ve likely infected someone who’s ended up severely ill - and they don’t care.

They don’t have to face the person they harmed - so they do nothing to stop it.