thank you!

I know a few bacterial pathogens can get through mucus at the very least, and those all have some fun ways of doing so. i know one that chemically alters the mucus around it to be less goopey. heliobacter pylori I believe but this is off the cuff

mucus is stuffed full of commensal bacteria though, and thwy provide quite a barrier to most pathogens. on top of mucus being turbo viscous. its sort of like a peace offering of "here you go microbes, go live here and not on my tissues pleas". many microbes can actually eat mucin so theres a minor arms race between the commensal guys and pathogenic bacteria in that regard

so your mucus is this living microbiome! i say commensal but some evidence points to borderline mutualistic symbioses, too! theres some bacteria in there which seem to have really positive health effects. i love mucus i love microbiota i love bacteria

made more today, it'll arrive momentarily

forgot i shouldn't make the broth spicy when I have a sore throat but regardless, enjoy!

that genuinely sucks :(

my last day was the 20th but that's because I've been a full-time temp for like, a year, and it was mandatory to put me on break without pay for a month

on the bright side, no work for now + got taken on semi-permanently (grant funded research lol)

I am a plant woman and I fried this rice. I am made of tubers, gourds, etc. Even a fruit or two. But we do not speak of this. Only vegetable.

Rest in peace bagpipe fella, that's a real shame :(

I usually find somewhere to cry-sing Last Song by Jason Webley as the year turns. Just my little ward against despair.

My stepdad always makes black-eyed peas, collard greens, and cornbread. I am not southern, so it's never really something I've done, but those foods are all great. Maybe I should.

Much obliged! Blood falls is one of my favorite natural phenomena and I love spreading the word about its Weird Microbes whenever possible

Basically, they go something like SO42– → SO32– →S2O32–, which is broadly endergonic, but there's a ton of different electron acceptors in the vicinity which can essentially create the free energy, and also cycle the sulfur between these different forms. it doesn't get eaten up, just kinda tossed around.

It's not fully worked out the exact specifics of the metabolism, but it's some really weird anoxic stuff! the carbon deprivation is another big thing I don't even fully understand - apparently small amounts of carbon 14 are found in samples but it seems much of that is just because the samples are taken from surface outflow (same with how theres a bit of oxygen there, but almost no actual dissolved oxygen in the deep glacial reservoir)

Surface area is one of those recurring themes I had in every single biology class I took! I genuinely can't think of a single exception, from my first college level intro bio class to my more specialized biochemistry and molecular bio courses, again and again it boils down to surface area!

I am feeling much better now, thank you :) Just last night my partner and I went to a lantern festival and the night before I went to a weird art market where they gave discounts if you wore a weird costume. I dressed up like some kind of 1800s zombie nurse.

I hope you too are doing well! The world is so full of delights.

Thank you so much! I am so glad you found something worthwhile here :)

I will post forever and ever and ever. I will Just Post, for I Must Post

oh! thank you, what an excellent idea! the humble spinach... a plant which I am growing as we speak... hmmmmmmmmm much to ponder

thank you for your wise dialogue, speaker-upon-the-agora!

thank you postfriend!!

i am considering the venerable pecan pie! i do love molasses (my pumpkin pie trick is to add em)

and i do yearn for a magical mouth meal! thank you for this topic of contemplation, you are very wise