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[A slightly curtailed selection this week as I’ve been away at a conference. Normal service will resume in July.]

You know when you get a splinter & your body expels it? Starfish can do that but to an EXTREME degree. By Liz Preston.

This Tumblr of Epic Conducting Photos (and GIFs) made my day.

A “feeling for the organism” – David Baltrus is absolutely right on the need for natural history in the era of genomics

Maria Konnikova on whether pornography is bad for us. Spoiler: no.

“Certain people, researchers have discovered, can’t summon up mental images — it’s