Dr. Darla French

Biology prof. PhD. Reader. Crocheter. Hiker. ME dance & women’s self-defense instructor. Wife, daughter, sister, aunt. General enjoyer of life. Views mine.

[WeRateDogs @dog_rates]

This is Kokoro. She thought she was the roundest pup in all the land until she met this other dog today. Shocked and confused. Still 14/10

[Massimo @Rainmaker1973]

Chlorophyll and Hemoglobin

The major difference is that plant blood carries a Magnesium (Mg) molecule where our blood contains a Iron (Fe) molecule.

Magnesium is what is responsible for making plant blood green, and iron is what makes our blood red.

[Bill Marchel @BillMarchel]

A Green Heron is hunting for prey from a log over a marsh. Note the heron’s outsized toes, an adaptation that allows the bird to tread atop floating vegetation as it traverses wetland habitat on its built-in aquatic snowshoes.

[Nature is Amazing ☘️ @AMAZlNGNATURE]

Butterflies will sometimes land on a Caiman and drink its salty, crocodile tears to in order to survive. This helps the Caiman to feel both less sad and more fabulous.

[NYC Plover Project @NycPlover]

🚨This is not a drill! 🚨 We have chicks on all beaches! Thank you for your understanding & cooperation with temporary beach closures which are literally life or death for this endangered species. A little inconvenience for us can help these fragile babies survive. 📷: @4binator

[WeRateDogs @dog_rates]

This is Obi-Wan. He really thought the sand would taste better. 12/10 should’ve listened to Anakin

[American Museum of Natural History @AMNH]

Need a tiny cephalopod to brighten your day? Meet the bobtail squid, also known as the hummingbird squid! It reaches only ~2 in (5 cm) in length; females are larger than males. Its striking color comes from chromatophores (pigment-holding cells) found throughout its body.

[Dr. Darla French @DarlaFrench]

@KathrynFrench20 Looks a lot like our moving truck last summer 😂

[Posts Of Cats @PostsOfCats]

"I'm sure you're all wondering why I've gathered you here today"

[WeRateDogs @dog_rates]

This is Morty. He overheard you call him a grumpy little guy. Dares you to say that to his face. 13/10

[Massimo @Rainmaker1973]

The importance of punctuation
(Commas save lives)

[James Lucas @JamesLucasIT]

The beauty of spring around the world - a thread 🧵

1. A desert bloom in Utah by Emily Dickey

[American Museum of Natural History @AMNH]

You've heard of the wombat, but what about the numbat? This Australian marsupial loves termites & can eat up to 20,000 in one day! This critter doesn't chew its meals: Its mouth is filled with blunt peg-like teeth and it uses its long tongue to slurp up food instead.

[WeRateDogs @dog_rates]

You can't be serious. We only rate dogs. This is clearly a miniature unicorn. Please only send dogs. Thank you… 12/10

[Prof. Katie Hinde @Mammals_Suck]

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO PLAY #2024MMM!!
Have a wonderful year, take care of you, take care of your loved ones, and take care of nature!

[Why you should have a cat @ShouldHaveCat]

"this doesn’t concern you Robert please close the door"

[WeRateDogs @dog_rates]

Oh c'mon. We only rate dogs. This is a baby seal that happens to prefer dry land. Please respect their life choices and only send dogs. Thank you… 12/10

[Library of Congress @librarycongress]

The Library dedicates this poem by U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón to Stumpy, who will live forever in our hearts. 🌸💗

Instructions on Not Giving Up

More than the fuchsia funnels breaking out
of the crabapple tree, more than the neighbor’s
almost obscene display of cherry limbs shoving
their cotton candy-colored blossoms to the slate
sky of Spring rains, it’s the greening of the trees
that really gets to me. When all the shock of white
and taffy, the world’s baubles and trinkets, leave
the pavement strewn with the confetti of aftermath,
the leaves come. Patient, plodding, a green skin
growing over whatever winter did to us, a return
to the strange idea of continuous living despite
the mess of us, the hurt, the empty. Fine then,
I’ll take it, the tree seems to say, a new slick leaf
unfurling like a fist to an open palm, I’ll take it all.

From The Carrying by Ada Limón (Minneapolis: Milkweed Editions, 2018). Copyright © 2018 by Ada Limón. Reprinted with permission from Milkweed Editions. https://t.co/oXDScCMYIw

#stumpy #tidalbasin #cherryblossoms

[SUE the T. rex @SUEtheTrex]

Did a crow write this?

[Dan Baldassarre @evornithology]

So much to love about Alfred Russel Wallace. As scientific racism was surging, he said, "Eugenics is simply a meddlesome interference of an arrogant and scientific priestcraft." A stark contrast to the likes of Galton, Fisher, and Lorenz, who corrupted his ideas to racist ends.