Ornithorhynchus anatinus

The platypus is one of only two egg laying mammals (monotremes).

The species has multiple threats to it's survival including feral predators such as foxes, land clearing, illegal use of yabbie traps and waterway modifications such as dams.

It uses its beak to find small creatures such as invertebrates in the mud at the bottom of rivers and ponds. The beak can detect the electrical impulses generated by muscle contractions in prey animals.

Male platypus have a poisonous spur on its rear legs which can deliver a dangerous combination of at least 19 peptides and non-protein components. It can cause paralysis in small animals and severe pain for larger animals such as humans. This was taken at Tidbinbilla reserve near Canberra, ACT, Australia.

Source: Wikipedia

Conocybe rugosa is a common species of mushroom that is widely distributed and especially common in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. It grows in woodchips, flowerbeds and compost.[2][3] It has been found in Europe, Asia and North America.[2][3] It contains the same mycotoxins as the death cap mushroom. Conocybe rugosa was originally described in the genus Pholiotina, and its morphology and a 2013 molecular phylogenetics study supported its continued classification there.[4]

Description

Conocybe rugosa has a conical cap that expands to flat, usually with an umbo. It is less than 3 cm across, has a smooth brown top, and the margin is often striate. The gills are rusty brown, close, and adnexed. The stalk is 2 mm thick and 1 to 6 cm long, smooth, and brown, with a prominent and movable ring. The spores are rusty brown, and it may be difficult to identify the species without a microscope.[5]

Toxicity

This species is deadly poisonous.[6] They produce alpha-amanitin, a cyclic peptide that is highly toxic to the liver and is responsible for many deaths by poisoning from mushrooms in the genera Amanita and Lepiota. They are sometimes mistaken for species of the genus Psilocybe due to their similar looking cap.

Thank you so much for Explore and all the faves and comments!

Merci beaucoup pour Explore et pour tous les favoris et commentaires !

Leeches are segmented parasitic or predatory worms that belong to the phylum Annelida and comprise the subclass Hirudinea. They are closely related to the oligochaetes, which include the earthworm, and like them have soft, muscular, segmented bodies that can lengthen and contract. Both groups are hermaphrodites and have a clitellum, but leeches typically differ from the oligochaetes in having suckers at both ends and in having ring markings that do not correspond with their internal segmentation. The body is muscular and relatively solid, and the coelom, the spacious body cavity found in other annelids, is reduced to small channels. The majority of leeches live in freshwater habitats, while some species can be found in terrestrial or marine environments. The best-known species, such as the medicinal leech, Hirudo medicinalis, are hematophagous, attaching themselves to a host with a sucker and feeding on blood, having first secreted the peptide hirudin to prevent the blood from clotting. The jaws used to pierce the skin are replaced in other species by a proboscis which is pushed into the skin. A minority of leech species are predatory, mostly preying on small invertebrates. The eggs are enclosed in a cocoon, which in aquatic species is usually attached to an underwater surface; members of one family, Glossiphoniidae, exhibit parental care, the eggs being brooded by the parent. In terrestrial species, the cocoon is often concealed under a log, in a crevice or buried in damp soil. Almost seven hundred species of leech are currently recognised, of which some hundred are marine, ninety terrestrial and the remainder freshwater. Leeches have been used in medicine from ancient times until the 19th century to draw blood from patients. In modern times, leeches find medical use in treatment of joint diseases such as epicondylitis and osteoarthritis, extremity vein diseases, and in microsurgery, while hirudin is used as an anticoagulant drug to treat blood-clotting disorders. S23U_24

created for The Dictionary of Image

www.flickr.com/groups/the_dictionary_of_image/

Whatever their evolutionary origins, foraging, flying or crawling insects such as flies are attracted to the cavity formed by the cupped leaf of the Pitcher Plant, often by visual lures such as pigments, and nectar bribes. The sides of the pitcher are slippery and may be grooved in such a way so as to ensure that the insects cannot climb out. The small bodies of liquid contained within the pitcher traps are called phytotelmata. They drown the insect, and the body of it is gradually dissolved. This may occur by bacterial action (the bacteria being washed into the pitcher by rainfall) or by enzymes secreted by the plant itself. Furthermore, some pitcher plants contain mutualistic insect larvae, which feed on trapped prey, and whose excreta the plant absorbs. Whatever the mechanism of digestion, the prey items are converted into a solution of amino acids, peptides, phosphates, ammonium and urea, from which the plant obtains its mineral nutrition (particularly nitrogen and phosphorus).

The waterfront of Długie Pobrzeże, Gdańska, and the view downstream.

(Sorry for any spelling errors or mistranslations, my Polish is very scant and this was four years ago. I would appreciate any corrections.)

Taken with a Pentax Optio S, during a trip for the 29th European Peptide Symposium.

More of my photos can be found here.

Upstream view of the River Motława towards Gdańska, and the the Bazylika Mariacka as seen from a boat. There was indeed a storm on its way....

(Sorry for any spelling errors or mistranslations, my Polish is very scant and this was four years ago. I would appreciate any corrections.)

Taken with a Pentax Optio S, during a trip for the 29th European Peptide Symposium.

More of my photos can be found here.

Do you remember when we worried about rust in our milk?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NOW We Have -·

Pituitary hormones (PRL, GH, TSH, FSH, LH ACTH Oxytocina), · Steroid hormones (Estradiol, Estriol, Progesterone, Testosterone, 17-Ketosteroids, Corticosterone, Vitamine D), · Hypothalamic hormones (TRH, LHRH, Somatostatin, PRL-inhibiting factor, PRL-releasing factor, GnRH, GRH), · Thyroid and Parathyroid hormones (T3, T4, rT3, Calcitonin, Parathormone, PTH peptide), · gastrointestinal peptides (Vasoactive intestinal peptide, Bombesin, Cholecystokinin, Gastrin, Gastrin inhibitory peptide, Pancreatic peptide, Y peptide, Substance P and Neurotensin), · Growth Factors (IGF's (I and II), IGF binding proteins, Nerve growth factor, Epidermal growth factor and TGF alpha, TGF beta, Growth Inhibitors MDGI and MAF, and Platelet derived growth factor, · Others... (PGE, PGF2 alpha, cAMP, cGMP, Delta sleep inducing, · peptide, Transferrin, Lactoferrin, Casomorphin and Erythropoieti

tags:

activism, foodhormones, milk, dairyindustry, toxinsinourfood, deZengodesigns, sacredspacestudio, omtimesmagazine, humanityhealing, wellness, healthy, namaSpirittn

Gdańska's Wielki Mlyn was erected by the Teutonic Knights in the 14th century and is renowned as the largest industrial plant in the medieval Europe (functional until 1945, it is now a shopping centre).

(Sorry for any spelling errors or mistranslations, my Polish is very scant and this was four years ago. I would appreciate any corrections.)

Taken with a Pentax Optio S, during a trip for the 29th European Peptide Symposium.

More of my photos can be found here.

A sea of field violets on the edge of a pine forest

Viola arvensis, a species of violet known by the common name field pansy. It is native to Europe, western Asia, and North Africa, and it is known on other continents as an introduced species and a weed of disturbed and cultivated areas.

It is a herbaceous annual plant with serrated leaves, and usually flowers with white all over, except the bottom petal (Although there are actually flowers with a tinge of purple at the top) and dehiscent capsules. It reproduces by seed. It grows 20 centimeters tall.

Viola arvensis was shown to contain cyclotides, a class of peptides found in plants. The peptide cycloviolacin O2 in particular has shown to possess cytotoxic activity against human cancer cells and is therefore looked at as a potential drug lead.

Pirate Ship style tour boat which would take us from Gdańska up the river and the Kasubski Canal to Westerplatte.

Taken with a Pentax Optio S, during a trip for the 29th European Peptide Symposium, Gdansk, Poland.

More of my photos can be found here.

“I've been, out on the ocean.

Sailing alone, traveling nowhere.

your heart beats the only sound.”

~Jes Hudak (Different Worlds)

Let’s call him/her Aster… the star.

Rishabh and I met Aster on our last morning in the beautiful Glacier Bay National Park. After a berry-hearty breakfast of wild-picked berries of dozen different kinds, we made it to the tide-pool ‘by the rock’. The tide was low and the pool looked busy; Barnacles, mussels, anemones, urchins, crustaceans, seaweed, and small fishes were feasting on the pool’s riches. While I was glancing the horizon for birds, Rishabh was scanning the tide pool. Little surprise therefore, he noticed the big sea star, Aster. We were excited to see Aster, but s/he probably couldn’t tell. S/he was hiding all their eyes – five of them at the tip of each arm – underneath sand and other organisms. I lowered the camera as close to the water surface as I could, tweaked the polarizer, and made a few shots, not knowing exactly what I was shooting. Turns out, I was portraying a world, which is far apart from ours in more than one ways.

Aster can’t see colors and ‘sees’ everything in shades of light sensitivity. If the food is abundant (see those empty mussel shells nearby?), they prefer to eat small mussels instead of bigger ones; picky eaters they can be, you see! S/he eats by dangling out one of their two stomachs onto the prey and absorbing the digested food out in the open (talk about out-of-the-body experience!). Aster lacks a heart and doesn’t know what a beating heart feels like. Aster also lacks a brain; good for him/her… they don’t have to suffer from brainless acts of others. In their ocean home, s/he is self-sufficient and could regrow from only one-fifth of their body. Emma Watson would be so proud!

Despite these differences, Aster is very similar to us in a couple of unintuitive aspect. Immune systems – ours and Aster’s share a few very similar self-defense providing molecules (cytokines and their receptors). The nervous system – Aster produces neuropeptides that resemble two of our very interesting neuropeptides: Vasopressin and Oxytocin. These neuropeptides play important roles in our sexual, social and stress-response behavior (‘peptides of love and fear’). In Aster, however, Vasopressin/Oxytocin like peptides relax muscles and likely regulate the out-of-mouth feeding behavior. So no, despite having subtle similarities, our worlds are still quite different.

And someday,

the crash of the waves will be far away,

and I will sail in your eyes.

Cause when it's time,

I'll leave the ocean behind.

Please visit my YouTube, 500px & new Instagram & Facebook channels www.youtube.com/channel/UCt5wf3DvvWAqgUd9NMUItVw

500px.com/p/svive1?view=photos

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Leeches are segmented parasitic or predatory worms that belong to the phylum Annelida and comprise the subclass Hirudinea. They are closely related to the oligochaetes, which include the earthworm, and like them have soft, muscular, segmented bodies that can lengthen and contract. Both groups are hermaphrodites and have a clitellum, but leeches typically differ from the oligochaetes in having suckers at both ends and in having ring markings that do not correspond with their internal segmentation. The body is muscular and relatively solid, and the coelom, the spacious body cavity found in other annelids, is reduced to small channels. The majority of leeches live in freshwater habitats, while some species can be found in terrestrial or marine environments. The best-known species, such as the medicinal leech, Hirudo medicinalis, are hematophagous, attaching themselves to a host with a sucker and feeding on blood, having first secreted the peptide hirudin to prevent the blood from clotting. The jaws used to pierce the skin are replaced in other species by a proboscis which is pushed into the skin. A minority of leech species are predatory, mostly preying on small invertebrates. The eggs are enclosed in a cocoon, which in aquatic species is usually attached to an underwater surface; members of one family, Glossiphoniidae, exhibit parental care, the eggs being brooded by the parent. In terrestrial species, the cocoon is often concealed under a log, in a crevice or buried in damp soil. Almost seven hundred species of leech are currently recognised, of which some hundred are marine, ninety terrestrial and the remainder freshwater. Leeches have been used in medicine from ancient times until the 19th century to draw blood from patients. In modern times, leeches find medical use in treatment of joint diseases such as epicondylitis and osteoarthritis, extremity vein diseases, and in microsurgery, while hirudin is used as an anticoagulant drug to treat blood-clotting disorders. S20N_542

The rebuilt facade's of Gdańska's Długi Targ Market Square on a sunny summer morning. Destroyed in the war, the residents of Gdańska bucked postwar fashion and decided to rebuild them exactly as they had been. Good for them!

(Sorry for any spelling errors or mistranslations, my Polish is very scant and this was four years ago. I would appreciate any corrections.)

Taken with a Pentax Optio S, during a trip for the 29th European Peptide Symposium.

More of my photos can be found here.

my lab sculpture, a real masterpiece, which is growing each time I use the robot...

made with the 96 tips holder...

my coworker said I'm buildiong my own double-strain DNA, it makes think more to my proteins and peptides.

The tower of Gdańska's Ratusz Głównego Miasta (town hall), crowned with a golden statue of King Sigismund II Augustus, and with the Fontana Neptuna at its base. I really liked this tower, despite not being amazingly tall, it gave the impression of a skyscraper.

Do you prefer is as is, or do you feel the B&W or selective colour version is better?

(Sorry for any spelling errors or mistranslations, my Polish is very scant and this was four years ago. I would appreciate any corrections.)

Taken with a Pentax Optio S, during a trip for the 29th European Peptide Symposium.

More of my photos can be found here.

The bronze Fontanna Neptuna at the base of Gdańska's Ratusz Głównego Miasta (town hall). Constructed in the years of 1606 through 1613 by Peter Husen, a Flemish sculptor. The legend of the statue says that Goldwasser (Gdansk's vodka) spouted from Neptune's trident one night in 1634 (or at least that was the rumour), and the statue was endangered by a merry crowd, hence the wrought iron barrier that now surrounds the base of the fountain. I wanted to draw attention to the sea/globe-faring symbol accompanying Neptune, and its gold colouration in light of the above legend.

(Sorry for any spelling errors or mistranslations, my Polish is very scant and this was four years ago. I would appreciate any corrections.)

Taken with a Pentax Optio S, during a trip for the 29th European Peptide Symposium and selectively decoloured using GIMP. The unmodified version can be seen here.

More of my photos can be found here.

Research is looking into the potential use of wasp venom as a cancer therapy. An active peptide found in the venom of tropical social wasps selectively destroys cancerous cells by causing their membranes to leak. Wasps may have the potential to save human lives.

So next time your picnic is disturbed by black and yellow insects, take a moment to think about their extraordinary world and the contributions they make to our lives before you reach for the swatter.

I found the best peptide supplier I've ever used. The shipping was super-fast and their gear is top notch, check em out.

A commissioned photo, not wild.

Mesobuthus gibbosus (Brullé, 1832) is one of the most important health-threatening scorpions in Turkey. This species is considered an old species living in the Mediterranean shore of the Aegean region, including Anatolia, Greece and Aegean islands Information related to the toxin and venom compounds from M. gibbosus is restricted to one report [Diego-Gracia et al, 2013) which describes the mRNA precursors and peptides of three alpha-potassium channel toxins (α-KTxs) (Diego-Gracia et al, 2013). No data has been reported regarding the toxin genes or genomic organization in this species.

For more venom info, please refer to Diego-García E, Peigneur S, Debaveye S, Gheldof E, Tytgat J, Caliskan F. Novel potassium channel blocker venom peptides from Mesobuthus gibbosus (Scorpiones: Buthidae) Toxicon. 2013;61:72–82.

The Gdańsk waterfront of the River Motława, dominated by the Gdansk Zuraw (crane), the oldest preseved harbour crane in Europe, this was constructed in the 1400s, and is/was powered entirely by human effort.

(Sorry for any spelling errors or mistranslations, my Polish is very scant and this was four years ago. I would appreciate any corrections.)

Pentax Optio S, during a trip for the 29th European Peptide Symposium.

More of my photos can be found here.

The bronze Fontanna Neptuna at the base of Gdańska's Ratusz Głównego Miasta (town hall). Constructed in the years of 1606 through 1613 by Peter Husen, a Flemish sculptor. The legend of the statue says that Goldwasser (Gdansk's vodka) spouted from Neptune's trident one night in 1634 (or at least that was the rumour), and the statue was endangered by a merry crowd, hence the wrought iron barrier that now surrounds the base of the fountain.

Do you prefer this or the selective colour version?

(Sorry for any spelling errors or mistranslations, my Polish is very scant and this was four years ago. I would appreciate any corrections.)

Taken with a Pentax Optio S, during a trip for the 29th European Peptide Symposium.

More of my photos can be found here.

The Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra playing in the Filharmonia Baltycka hall in Gdańska, during the 29th European Peptide Symposium (2006). Lucky us! This is a selective colour version of a previously uploaded shot.

(Sorry for any spelling errors or mistranslations, my Polish is very scant and this was four years ago. I would appreciate any corrections.)

Taken with a Pentax Optio S, during a trip for the 29th European Peptide Symposium, and selective colour applied in GIMP.

More of my photos can be found here.

21-05-10 - desaturated by 15% following feedback.

Ornithorhynchus anatinus

The platypus is one of only two egg laying mammals (monotremes).

The species has multiple threats to it's survival including feral predators such as foxes, land clearing, illegal use of yabbie traps and waterway modifications such as dams.

It uses its beak to find small creatures such as invertebrates in the mud at the bottom of rivers and ponds. The beak can detect the electrical impulses generated by muscle contractions in prey animals.

Male platypus have a poisonous spur on its rear legs which can deliver a dangerous combination of at least 19 peptides and non-protein components. It can cause paralysis in small animals and severe pain for larger animals such as humans. This was taken at Tidbinbilla reserve near Canberra, ACT, Australia.

View of the Bazylika Mariacka (full name: Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or in Polish: Bazylika Mariacka Wniebowzięcia Najświętszej Maryi Panny w Gdańsku) from across the River Motława, in Gdańska, Polska.

My little Pentax shows it's limits here, the banding is a lot greater than I'd normally accept these days, but it handles the blues wonderfully. Pity about cutting out the Ratusz Głównego Miasta (town hall) behind the ruins, but I really liked the leading lines here and couldn't frame it in any other way without losing them.

(Sorry for any spelling errors or mistranslations, my Polish is very scant and this was four years ago. I would appreciate any corrections.)

Taken with a Pentax Optio S, during a trip for the 29th European Peptide Symposium.

More of my photos can be found here.

Lowland disturbed forest.

Bkt. Kiara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Length: The length of an adult's thumb

Important fun fact:

Shrews have unusually high metabolic rates, above that expected in comparable small mammals (Forsman, & Malmquist, 1988). If I remember correctly, it needs to feed every 3 hours (Nat Geo Wild).

Shrews are unusual among mammals in a number of respects. Unlike most mammals, some species of shrews are venomous. Shrew venom is not conducted into the wound by fangs, but by grooves in the teeth. The venom contains various compounds, and the contents of the venom glands of the American short-tailed shrew are sufficient to kill 200 mice by intravenous injection. One chemical extracted from shrew venom may be potentially useful in the treatment of high blood pressure, while another compound may be useful in the treatment of some neuromuscular diseases and migraines (Hutterer, Rainer; Vogel, & Peter, 1977). The saliva of the northern short-tailed shrew (Blarina brevicauda) contains soricidin, a peptide which has been studied for use in treating ovarian cancer (Hutterer, Vogel, Frey, & Genoud, 1979).

Source: Wikipedia

Nest of Polybia paulista. COMMON throughout Brazil in habitat that offers protection from the weather. Apparently these wasps produce a peptide that helps protect against predation from ants. etc. According to Wikipedia this is called Polybia-MP-1 and has potential as a chemotherapeutic agent against cancers. If interested check out the link from Barry Avis - Thanks Barry!

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polybia_paulista

Canudos, Bahia, Brazil.

©bryanjsmith.

Leeches are segmented parasitic or predatory worms that belong to the phylum Annelida and comprise the subclass Hirudinea. They are closely related to the oligochaetes, which include the earthworm, and like them have soft, muscular, segmented bodies that can lengthen and contract. Both groups are hermaphrodites and have a clitellum, but leeches typically differ from the oligochaetes in having suckers at both ends and in having ring markings that do not correspond with their internal segmentation. The body is muscular and relatively solid, and the coelom, the spacious body cavity found in other annelids, is reduced to small channels. The majority of leeches live in freshwater habitats, while some species can be found in terrestrial or marine environments. The best-known species, such as the medicinal leech, Hirudo medicinalis, are hematophagous, attaching themselves to a host with a sucker and feeding on blood, having first secreted the peptide hirudin to prevent the blood from clotting. The jaws used to pierce the skin are replaced in other species by a proboscis which is pushed into the skin. A minority of leech species are predatory, mostly preying on small invertebrates. The eggs are enclosed in a cocoon, which in aquatic species is usually attached to an underwater surface; members of one family, Glossiphoniidae, exhibit parental care, the eggs being brooded by the parent. In terrestrial species, the cocoon is often concealed under a log, in a crevice or buried in damp soil. Almost seven hundred species of leech are currently recognised, of which some hundred are marine, ninety terrestrial and the remainder freshwater. Leeches have been used in medicine from ancient times until the 19th century to draw blood from patients. In modern times, leeches find medical use in treatment of joint diseases such as epicondylitis and osteoarthritis, extremity vein diseases, and in microsurgery, while hirudin is used as an anticoagulant drug to treat blood-clotting disorders. S20N_544

The tower of Gdańska's Ratusz Głównego Miasta (town hall), crowned with a golden statue of King Sigismund II Augustus.

(Sorry for any spelling errors or mistranslations, my Polish is very scant and this was four years ago. I would appreciate any corrections.)

Taken with a Pentax Optio S, during a trip for the 29th European Peptide Symposium.

More of my photos can be found here.

The tower of Gdańska's Ratusz Głównego Miasta (town hall), crowned with a golden statue of King Sigismund II Augustus, and with the Fontana/a> Neptuna at its base. I really liked this tower, despite not being amazingly tall, it gave the impression of a skyscraper.

Which version do you prefer, this, the original, or the B&W version?

(Sorry for any spelling errors or mistranslations, my Polish is very scant and this was four years ago. I would appreciate any corrections.)

Taken with a Pentax Optio S, during a trip for the 29th European Peptide Symposium, and and selectively desaturated all but red with GIMP to mimic the white and red colours of the Polish Flag. (colour restored to three pedestrians for balance). Part of my new flags project.

More of my photos can be found here.

This species is sexually dimorphic: the females grow to approximately 1 m (39⅜ inches) in total length, while males typically do not exceed 75 cm (29½ inches). They have a large triangular-shaped head, with a relatively thin body. They are almost entirely arboreal, and the tail is prehensile to aid in climbing.

They are found in a wide variety of colors and patterns, often referred to as "phases". In the past, some researchers classified the different phases as subspecies. The phases vary greatly from having a black or brown coloration as a base, with orange and yellow banding to others having a light green as the base color, with yellow or orange banding, and many variations therein.

The venom of Tropidolaemus wagleri contains 4 novel peptides (Waglerins 1-4). The Waglerins produce fatal respiratory paralysis of adult mice. An initial study indicated that micromolar concentrations of Waglerin 1 act both pre- and postsynaptically to inhibit transmission across rat neuromuscular junctions. However, Waglerin-1 is a more potent inhibitor of transmission across the mouse neuromuscular junction. A subsequent study demonstrated that Waglerin-1 inhibited the adult mouse endplate response to acetylcholine with an IC50 of 50 nanomolar. In striking contrast, transmission across neuromuscular junctions of neonatal or transgenic mice lacking the adult acetylcholine receptor was not altered by micromolar concentrations of Waglerin-1. Biochemical studies demonstrated that the exquisite selectivity of Waglerin-1 for the adult mouse acetylcholine receptor relies upon several amino acid residues unique to the epsilon subunit of the adult mouse acetylcholine receptor. Waglerin-1's selectivity for the epsilon-subunit containing acetylcholine receptor of adult mice is complemented by selectivity of small peptide toxins purified from the venom of Conus geographus and pergrandis for the gamma-subunit containing acetylcholine receptor of neonatal skeletal muscle. The Waglerins and complementary conotoxins are useful tools to discover the contribution of acetylcholine receptor subunits to synaptogenesis. In addition, study of the Waglerins and related toxic peptides may lead to the discovery of novel molecular targets for drug development. While Waglerin-1 interacts with other members of the ligand-gated superfamily of ion channels, the potency is much less than for inhibition of the adult mouse muscle acetylcholine receptor. Structural study suggests that Waglerin-1 may undergo molecular rearrangement that allows for binding to multiple receptors. The actions of Waglerin-1 reverse upon removal of the peptide.

Waglerin-1 is included in several skin creams marketed as wrinkle removers. There is no scientific evidence supporting the manufacturers' suggestion that the Waglerin-1 included in their products relaxes wrinkle producing skeletal muscles.

A view of the old town of Gdańskas skyline from Gradowa Mountain (underneath the Millennial Cross). The hulk of the Bazylika Mariacka is visible to the right, and behind it, the Ratusz Głównego Miasta.

The Gradowa Mountain (hill) is known locally as 'Forty', and is a man made hill, underneath which lie forts, bunkers, and artillery depots. The Cross atop it was put in place in 2000 to mark 1000 years of Christianity in Gdańska.

(Sorry for any spelling errors or mistranslations, my Polish is very scant and this was four years ago. I would appreciate any corrections.)

Taken with a Pentax Optio S, during a trip for the 29th European Peptide Symposium.

More of my photos can be found here.

The tower of Gdańska's Ratusz Głównego Miasta (town hall), crowned with a golden statue of King Sigismund II Augustus, and with the Fontana Neptuna at its base. I really liked this tower, despite not being amazingly tall, it gave the impression of a skyscraper.

Which version do you prefer, this, or the original colour version?

(Sorry for any spelling errors or mistranslations, my Polish is very scant and this was four years ago. I would appreciate any corrections.)

Taken with a Pentax Optio S, during a trip for the 29th European Peptide Symposium, and converted to B&W with GIMP.

More of my photos can be found here.

Leeches are segmented parasitic or predatory worms that belong to the phylum Annelida and comprise the subclass Hirudinea. They are closely related to the oligochaetes, which include the earthworm, and like them have soft, muscular, segmented bodies that can lengthen and contract. Both groups are hermaphrodites and have a clitellum, but leeches typically differ from the oligochaetes in having suckers at both ends and in having ring markings that do not correspond with their internal segmentation. The body is muscular and relatively solid, and the coelom, the spacious body cavity found in other annelids, is reduced to small channels. The majority of leeches live in freshwater habitats, while some species can be found in terrestrial or marine environments. The best-known species, such as the medicinal leech, Hirudo medicinalis, are hematophagous, attaching themselves to a host with a sucker and feeding on blood, having first secreted the peptide hirudin to prevent the blood from clotting. The jaws used to pierce the skin are replaced in other species by a proboscis which is pushed into the skin. A minority of leech species are predatory, mostly preying on small invertebrates. The eggs are enclosed in a cocoon, which in aquatic species is usually attached to an underwater surface; members of one family, Glossiphoniidae, exhibit parental care, the eggs being brooded by the parent. In terrestrial species, the cocoon is often concealed under a log, in a crevice or buried in damp soil. Almost seven hundred species of leech are currently recognised, of which some hundred are marine, ninety terrestrial and the remainder freshwater. Leeches have been used in medicine from ancient times until the 19th century to draw blood from patients. In modern times, leeches find medical use in treatment of joint diseases such as epicondylitis and osteoarthritis, extremity vein diseases, and in microsurgery, while hirudin is used as an anticoagulant drug to treat blood-clotting disorders. S20N_543

Lowland disturbed forest.

Bkt. Kiara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Important fun fact:

Shrews have unusually high metabolic rates, above that expected in comparable small mammals (Forsman, & Malmquist, 1988). If I remember correctly, it needs to feed every 3 hours (Nat Geo Wild).

Shrews are unusual among mammals in a number of respects. Unlike most mammals, some species of shrews are venomous. Shrew venom is not conducted into the wound by fangs, but by grooves in the teeth. The venom contains various compounds, and the contents of the venom glands of the American short-tailed shrew are sufficient to kill 200 mice by intravenous injection. One chemical extracted from shrew venom may be potentially useful in the treatment of high blood pressure, while another compound may be useful in the treatment of some neuromuscular diseases and migraines (Hutterer, Rainer; Vogel, & Peter, 1977). The saliva of the northern short-tailed shrew (Blarina brevicauda) contains soricidin, a peptide which has been studied for use in treating ovarian cancer (Hutterer, Vogel, Frey, & Genoud, 1979).

Source: Wikipedia

It isn't showing very well in this particular shot - but this butterlfy, known as the great orange-tip (Hebomoia glaucippe) like the name suggests has the tips of the wings in orange (trimmed with a black border) - just on the other side of the wings.

This is the first shot of one for me, but to tell you the truth, I really wished I got to see the caterpillar instead.

This might sound like an odd wish, but let me tell you, they are super-cool! It's a green caterpillar, but it has a shiny black "eye spot" on the side and when feeling threatened it can inflate segments around it's front legs to mimic a snake head and then swing the head from side to side like a vine snake does.

But that's not the only defense this one emplys. It also has a peptide toxin in its wings called glacontryphan-M.

En Biodiversidad virtual y también en Instagram como @proyectoagua.

Gracias a la Academia Checa de Ciencias por el honor de haber dedicado su calendario de 2026 a los organismos microscópicos fotografiados y descritos desde "Proyecto Agua"

Toda mi gratitud al Dr. Dr. Richard Lhotský, Gerente de Transferencia de Tecnología del Laboratorio de Biotecnología de Algas, a la Dra. Eisertová del Instituto de Microbiología de la Academia Checa de Ciencias y a todas las personas que han hecho posible la edición y publicación de este trabajo.

¡ Gracias y Feliz 2026 ! ...ojalá la belleza de todos estos seres, sea una fuente de inspiración para nosotros cada día

"

El Universo en una Gota

En cada gota de agua se esconde un universo: un mundo de formas, colores y vida increíbles. Los organismos microscópicos crean delicadas estructuras que reflejan la armonía y el orden del cosmos. Al igual que en el universo infinito, las fuerzas de la luz, la energía y el equilibrio dan forma a sus diminutos mundos.

Este calendario revela que incluso en las formas de vida más pequeñas, hay grandeza: un reflejo del universo infinito que nos rodea. «El Universo en una Gota» nos invita a observar con más atención y descubrir las maravillas que se esconden en una sola gota.

Editor: Richard Lhotský, Michaela Eisertová, Instituto de Microbiología de la Academia Checa de Ciencias

Crédito de la foto y el texto: Dr. Antonio Guillén, «Proyecto Agua», CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, www.flickr.com/photos/microagua

Diseño gráfico e impresión: DesignAd s.r.o. Portada: Un paseo con Astrolithyum. Nacido de la luz del sol y del mar, Astrolithyum flota como una brújula de cristal: una estrella radiante forjada a partir de los minerales de las profundidades. Sus veinte esbeltas espinas brillan con la luz de los arcoíris, flotando libremente entre las olas, una frágil geometría de equilibrio y gracia que refleja el orden oculto del océano.

El Instituto de Microbiología de la Academia Checa de Ciencias, Centro Algatech, es una institución de investigación líder especializada en investigación básica y aplicada sobre microorganismos fototróficos. Desde su fundación en 1960, se ha convertido en un actor clave en la biotecnología de microalgas y en un reconocido centro de investigación mundial en fotosíntesis, metabolismo y fisiología de las algas. En 2026, el Centro participa en varios proyectos clave respaldados por programas nacionales y europeos, entre ellos la Estrategia AV21 de la Academia Checa de Ciencias (Producción y consumo sostenible de alimentos), el proyecto PHOTOMACHINES: Reorganización de células fotosintéticas para una alta producción de péptidos terapéuticos, de la Agencia de Subvenciones de la República Checa (OP JAK) y el proyecto Interreg AT-CZ (Bio2AgroFood).

Universe in a Drop.

In every drop of water lies a universe — a world of

incredible shapes, colors, and life. Microscopic organisms

create delicate structures that reflect the harmony and

order of the cosmos. Just like in the infinite universe,

the forces of light, energy, and balance shape their tiny

worlds.

This calendar reveals that even in the smallest forms

of life, there is greatness — a reflection of the infinite

universe around us. “Universe in a Drop” invites us to look

closer and discover the wonders hidden in a single drop.

Editor: Richard Lhotský, Michaela Eisertová, Institute of Microbiology

of the Czech Academy of Sciences

Photo and text credit: Dr. Antonio Guillén, ‘Water Project’, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0,

www.flickr.com/photos/microagua

Graphic design & print: DesignAd s.r.o.

Cover page: A Walk with Astrolithyum Born of sunlight and sea, Astrolithyum

drifts like a crystal compass — a radiant star forged from the minerals of the

deep. Its twenty slender spines shimmer with the light of rainbows, floating

freely through the waves, a fragile geometry of balance and grace that mirrors

the hidden order of the ocean.

The Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Centre

Algatech, is a leading research institution specializing in basic and

applied research on phototrophic microorganisms. Since its foundation

in 1960, it has become a major player in microalgal biotechnology

and a recognized world-wide research centre for algal photosynthesis,

metabolism and physiology.

In 2026, the Centre participates in several key projects supported by

national and European programmes, including the Czech Academy of

Sciences’ Strategie AV21 – Sustainable Food Production and Consumption,

the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic, OP JAK, project PHOTOMACHINES:

Reorganization of Photosynthetic Cells for High Production of Therapeutic

Peptides and Interreg AT-CZ, project Bio2AgroFood

A large lace monitor, Australian lizard sunning itself at the Rockhampton Zoo. Read more from Wikipedia here.

The lace monitor or tree goanna (Varanus varius) is a member of the monitor lizard family native to eastern Australia. A large lizard, it can reach 2 metres (6.6 ft) in total length and 14 kilograms (31 lb) in weight. The lace monitor is considered to be a least-concern species according to the International Union for Conservation.

John White, the surgeon-general of New South Wales, described this species as the variegated lizard (Lacerta varia) in 1790. George Shaw reported that several specimens were taken back to England. French naturalist François Marie Daudin gave it the name Tupinambis variegatus in 1802, and noted two forms. German naturalist Blasius Merrem established the genus Varanus in 1820, with V. varius as the first mentioned member set as its type species by John Edward Gray in 1827.

French zoologists André Marie Constant Duméril and Gabriel Bibron described two specimens in 1836, one in their possession and one from the collection of English zoologist Thomas Bell as Varanus bellii "Le Varan de Bell". This turned out to be a banded colour phase of the lace monitor that coexists with normal-coloured individuals, and is either autosomal dominant or codominant genetically. It is sometimes called the Bell's phase lace monitor.

The lace monitor is monotypic; no subspecies are recognised. However, genetic analysis of its mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) across its range revealed three main clades: a north Queensland clade separated by the Burdekin Gap from a clade spanning from southern Queensland through inland New South Wales across the Murray–Darling basin and into southeastern South Australia. This is divided from a third clade that spans coastal eastern Australia (northern New South Wales to eastern Victoria) by the McPherson Range and Great Dividing Range. This last clade is thought to have diverged from the first two clades around 2.7 million years ago, while these clades separated around 850,000 years ago.

Genetic analysis of mtDNA shows the lace monitor to be the closest relative (sister taxon) of the Komodo dragon, with their common ancestor diverging from a lineage that gave rise to the crocodile monitor (Varanus salvadorii) of New Guinea. The divergence between lace monitor and Komodo dragon lineages has been calculated to have occurred around 13 million years ago, 11 or 11.5 million years ago.

The species is commonly known as lace monitor, tree goanna, or lacy. It was known as wirriga to the Eora and Darug inhabitants of the Sydney basin, and gugaa to the Wiradjuri people of southern New South Wales.

The second-largest monitor in Australia after the perentie, the lace monitor can reach 2 m (7 ft) in total length, or 76.5 cm snout–vent length (SVL). The male reaches sexual maturity when it has a SVL of 41.5 cm. Females are generally smaller than males, with a maximum SVL of 57.5 cm, and becoming sexually mature at a SVL of 38.5 cm.The tail is long and slender and about 1.5 times the length of the head and body. The tail is cylindrical at its base, but becomes laterally compressed towards the tip.

The maximum weight of lace monitor can be 14 kg (30 lb), but most adults are much smaller.

Historically, it has been described as growing as much as 8 ft long. Regardless of the accuracy of these reports, lace monitors of such size likely no longer exist.

Lace monitors are found in two forms. The main form is dark grey to dull bluish-black with numerous, scattered, cream-coloured spots. The head is black and the snout is marked with prominent black and yellow bands extending under the chin and neck. The tail has narrow black and cream bands, which are narrow and get wider towards the end of the tail. Juveniles have more defined and prominent banding, with five narrow black bands on the neck and eight bands on the body.

The other type, known as Bell's form, is typically found in west of the Great Dividing Range from Woodgate, Eidsvold, and Mitchell in Queensland to Bourke, Macksville and Port Macquarie in New South Wales. It has also been reported from Healesville, Rushworth, and Murchison in Victoria and the Flinders Ranges in South Australia.[9] It has a base colour of yellow-brown or yellow with fine black mottling and broad, black or dark brown bands from the shoulders to the tail. The top of the head is black.

These common terrestrial and often arboreal monitors are found in eastern Australia and range from Cape Bedford on Cape York Peninsula to south-eastern South Australia. They frequent both open and closed forests and forage over long distances (up to 3 km (1.9 mi) a day).

The lace monitor is considered to be a least-concern species according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

They are mainly active from September to May, but are inactive in cooler weather and shelter in tree hollows or under fallen trees or large rocks.

Despite its large size and mass, the lace monitor is an adept climber. One was recorded climbing a brick wall to seek shelter in a thunderstorm. Young lace monitors are even more arboreal than adults. They often spend most of their adult lives in the same area; one individual was recorded living in the same tree for years.

In at least the temperate regions, the breeding season takes place in the summer.

Male lace monitors fight each other by grappling while standing on the hind legs in the breeding season, and up to six males may gather around a receptive female to try and court her. Mating takes several hours.

Females lay an average of eight eggs in active termite nests either on the ground or in the trees, although they may lay as many as 12 eggs. When such nests are in short supply, females often fight over them or lay the eggs in burrows and perhaps hollow logs. The eggs overwinter to hatch 6–7 months later. Hatchlings remain around the nest for about a week or more before leaving its vicinity. Females may return to the same termite nest to lay their next clutch of eggs. These monitors can potentially live to reach over 20 years of age.

Their diets typically consist of insects, reptiles, small mammals, birds, and birds' eggs. They are also carrion eaters, feeding on already dead carcasses of other wildlife. Lace monitors search for food on the ground, retreating to a nearby tree if disturbed. They also forage in areas inhabited by people, raiding chicken coops for poultry and eggs, and rummaging through unprotected domestic garbage bags and rubbish bins in picnic and recreational areas.

As they often swallow meat whole, they can be at risk of harm from some meat scraps; one was reported with a t-bone steak bone stuck in its throat and another with a plastic fork in its stomach. Another swallowed six golf balls that a chicken owner had placed in their coop to prompt their chickens to lay eggs.

They are preyed upon by dingoes and birds of prey, and like all Australian goannas, they were a favourite traditional food of Australian Aboriginal peoples, and their fat was particularly valued as a medicine and for use in ceremonies.

They frequently attack the large composting nests of scrub turkeys to steal their eggs, and often show injuries on their tails inflicted by male scrub turkeys pecking at them to drive them away.

Venom

In late 2005, University of Melbourne researchers discovered that all monitors may be somewhat venomous. Previously, bites inflicted by monitors were thought to be prone to infection because of bacteria in their mouths, but the researchers showed that the immediate effects were more likely caused by envenomation. Bites on the hand by lace monitors have been observed to cause swelling within minutes, localised disruption of blood clotting, and shooting pain up to the elbow, which can often last for several hours. In vitro testing showed lace monitor mouth secretion impact on platelet aggregation, drop blood pressure and relax smooth muscle; the last effect mediated by an agent with the same activity as brain natriuretic peptide. Liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry found ample proteins with molecular masses of 2-4 kilodaltons (corresponding with natriuretic peptide), 15 kilodaltons (type III Phospholipase A2), and 23-25 kilodaltons (cysteine-rich secretory proteins and kallikrein) in these secretions. Washington State University biologist Kenneth V. Kardong and toxicologists Scott A. Weinstein and Tamara L. Smith, have cautioned that labelling these species as venomous oversimplifies the diversity of oral secretions in reptiles, and overestimates the medical risk of bite victims.

The lace monitor was eaten by the Wiradjuri people; local wisdom advised eating lace monitors as they came down from trees as those that had eaten on the ground tasted of rotting meat. The Tharawal ate the species' eggs, collecting them in sand on riverbanks in the Nattai and Wollondilly. Goanna remains have been recovered in middens in what is now Sydney. The lace monitor is bred in captivity as an exotic pet

Myrmecia tarsata

Sub-family Myrmeciinae

Family Formicidae.

Order: Hymenoptera

There are about 90 known species of Bull Ant in Australia.

They have characteristic large eyes (and associated superior vision) and long slender mandibles. They possess a venomous sting which delivers a potent mix of peptides similar to that delivered by wasps. (I was reminded just how potent earlier this week!).

Bull ant stings can occasionally trigger a response from the immune system that leave some people sensitised to the venom. Up to 10% of people who have an allergic reaction to bull ant stings are at risk of anaphylaxis from a future sting. This is a significant issue in areas where bull ants are common, such as Tasmania and Victoria. In those areas, the prevalence of systemic allergic reactions is estimated to be 3% of the population.

Ref:

www.allergy.org.au/patients/insect-allergy-bites-and-stin...

DSC05358 copy

The Bazylika Mariacka (full name: Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or in Polish: Bazylika Mariacka Wniebowzięcia Najświętszej Maryi Panny w Gdańsku), the co-cathedral of Gdańska. This the largest brick church in the world and Brick Gothic buildings in Europe. It was heavily damamged in world war 2 and was not reconsecrated until 1955.

(Sorry for any spelling errors or mistranslations, my Polish is very scant and this was four years ago. I would appreciate any corrections.)

Taken with a Pentax Optio S, during a trip for the 29th European Peptide Symposium.

More of my photos can be found here.

The Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra playing in the Filharmonia Baltycka hall in Gdańska, during the 29th European Peptide Symposium (2006). Lucky us!

I used this shot for a spot of selective colouring work; which do you prefer?

(Sorry for any spelling errors or mistranslations, my Polish is very scant and this was four years ago. I would appreciate any corrections.)

Taken with a Pentax Optio S, during a trip for the 29th European Peptide Symposium.

More of my photos can be found here.

..Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants whose prey-trapping mechanism features a deep cavity filled with liquid known as a pitfall trap.

Foraging, flying or crawling insects such as flies are attracted to the cavity formed by the cupped leaf, often by visual lures such as anthocyanin pigments, and nectar bribes. The sides of the pitcher are slippery and may be grooved in such a way so as to ensure that the insects cannot climb out. The small bodies of liquid contained within the pitcher traps are called phytotelmata. They drown the insect, and the body of it is gradually dissolved. This may occur by bacterial action (the bacteria being washed into the pitcher by rainfall) or by enzymes secreted by the plant itself. Furthermore, some pitcher plants contain mutualistic insect larvae, which feed on trapped prey, and whose excreta the plant absorbs.[1] Whatever the mechanism of digestion, the prey items are converted into a solution of amino acids, peptides, phosphates, ammonium and urea, from which the plant obtains its mineral nutrition (particularly nitrogen and phosphorus). Like all carnivorous plants, they grow in locations where the soil is too poor in minerals and/or too acidic for most plants to survive.

Flower Aparajita or Clitoria ternatea (Sanskrit: श्वेतां, विष्णूक्रांता). A Macro shot.

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This plant is native to tropical equatorial Asia, but has been introduced to Africa, Australia and America.

It is a perennial herbaceous plant. Its leaves are elliptic and obtuse. It grows as a vine or creeper, doing well in moist neutral soil. The most striking feature about this plant are its vivid deep blue flowers. They are solitary, with light yellow markings. They are about 4 cm long by 3 cm wide. There are some varieties that yield white flowers.

The fruits are 5 – 7 cm long, flat pods with 6 to 10 seeds in each pod. They are edible when tender.

It is grown as an ornamental plant and as a revegetation species (e.g., in coal mines in Australia), requiring little care when cultivated. Its roots fix nitrogen and therefore this plant is also used to improve soil quality.

In traditional Ayurvedic medicine, it has been used for centuries as a memory enhancer, nootropic, antistress, anxiolytic, antidepressant, anticonvulsant, tranquilizing and sedative agent.

Flower and pods in different states of ripenessIn Southeast Asia the flowers are used to colour food. In Malay cooking, an aqueous extract is used to colour glutinous rice for kuih ketan (also known as pulut tai tai in Peranakan/Nyonya cooking) and in nonya chang. In Thailand, a syrupy blue drink is made called nam dok anchan (น้ำดอกอัญชัน). In Burma the flowers are used as food, often they are dipped in batter and fried.

In animal tests the methanolic extract of Clitoria ternatea roots demonstrated nootropic, anxiolytic, antidepressant, anticonvulsant and antistress activity. The active constituent(s) include Tannins, resins, Starch, Taraxerol & Taraxerone.

Clitoria ternatea root extracts are capable of curing whooping cough if taken orally[citation needed]. The extract from the white-flowered plant can cure goiter. The roots are used in ayurveda Indian medicine.

Recently, several biologically active peptides called cliotides have been isolated from the heat-stable fraction of Clitoria ternatea extract. Cliotides belong to the cyclotides family[4] and acvities studies show that cliotides display potent antimicrobial activity against E. coli, K. pneumonia, P. aeruginosa and cytotoxicity against HeLa cells. These peptides have potential to be lead compound for the development of novel antimicrobial and anti-cancer agents.

Source : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clitoria_ternatea

A fellow traveller on the Frocktober journey also has this dress, and describes it as a bit Stepford. I love it; it looks bright and summery, but is made of a reasonably thick cotton and in lined so, despite being sleeveless, is nice and warm. perfect for the dull, wet Wednesday on which I wore it.

An early detection method for ovarian cancer is needed.

The Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation is supporting research on autoantibodies (antibodies produced by patients against ovarian cancer) for ovarian cancer detection.

"Using latest laboratory technology which analyses the proteins and peptides in the human blood, they identified three autoantibody candidates with high accuracy in detecting early stage ovarian cancer."

They are now in the process of developing a detection test with these three autoantibody biomarkers.

Read more about this research: ocrf.com.au/…/autoantibody-biomarkers-ovarian-canc…/

Donate to support research:

www.mycause.com.au/page/185933/it-has-pockets

Gdańska's Długi Targ Market Square on a sunny summer morning.

(Sorry for any spelling errors or mistranslations, my Polish is very scant and this was four years ago. I would appreciate any corrections.)

Taken with a Pentax Optio S, during a trip for the 29th European Peptide Symposium.

More of my photos can be found here.

just watching, and waiting,

outside my sequestered door. As the oldest in the house... for whom the bell tolls... I prefer the plaintive coos of the nesting owls in the neighboring tree.

Once I accepted the inevitability of exposure, I focused on resistance: boosting my immune system and antivirals. I’ll share what I take daily, and if anyone is aware of any reason to *not* take these in the context of coronavirus, please let me know and I’ll update. I have not had a sick day for decades, and perhaps this helped, but remember that my personal journey is not prescriptive and that none of these have been properly studied to reach any conclusions on efficacy, yet:

1) Vitamin D (+ K2 for better absorption): “Studies have indicated that there is a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency worldwide. Vitamin D deficiency may affect the immune system as vitamin D plays an immunomodulation role, enhancing innate immunity by up-regulating the expression and secretion of antimicrobial peptides, which boosts mucosal defenses. Furthermore, recent meta-analyses have reported a protective effect of vitamin D supplementation on respiratory tract infections” — WHO and an apparently biased site, but some links: Vitamin D Wiki

2) Magical mushroom powder of Shitake + Maitake: “We found significant stimulation of defense reaction. In all cases, the most active was the Maitake-Shiitake combination” — NIH

3) Coconut oil: “Several in vitro, animal, and human studies support the potential of coconut oil, lauric acid and its derivatives as effective and safe agents against a virus like nCoV-2019. Mechanistic studies on other viruses show that at least three mechanisms may be operating. Given the safety and broad availability of virgin coconut oil (VCO), we recommend that VCO be considered as a general prophylactic against viral and microbial infection.” — Ateneo University

4) Zinc, short term use: “In this study we demonstrate that the combination of Zn(2+) and PT at low concentrations (2 µM Zn(2+) and 2 µM PT) inhibits the replication of SARS-coronavirus (SARS-CoV)” — Researchgate And some warnings about prolonged use: Oregon State

5) Oregano oil capsules: “Mexican oregano oil and its main component, carvacrol, are able to inhibit different human and animal viruses in vitro.” — NIH

And then found to be helpful with other viruses, like norovirus and herpes: “This study provides novel findings on the antiviral properties of oregano oil” — sfamjournals

6) Vitamin C: “2019-nCoV infected pneumonia, namely severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) has caused global concern and emergency. We hypothesize that Vitamin C infusion can help improve the prognosis of patients with SARI. Therefore, it is necessary to study the clinical efficacy” — Clinicaltrials

These are all inexpensive on Amazon, but if you want an even stronger placebo effect, find the most expensive version, as that is proven to work better :) ScienceDaily

7) Update: I have added Quercetin. Its impact on Covid-19 has not yet been properly researched, but the basic mechanism could be similar to Chloroquine, and is an over-the-counter supplement even if you don’t have symptoms. Best with Zinc. From molecular simulation studies: "Liu et al. (2020) successfully crystallised the COVID-19 main protease (Mpro), which is a potential drug target. Quercetin... and curcumin [among others] appeared to have the best potential to act as COVID-19 Mpro inhibitors."

8) I also take NMN + TMG and have been discussing possible downstream NAD+ / sirtuin effects on COVID-19 with David Sinclair of Harvard Medical School. As with all of these, nothing is proven; it's just a fascinating hypothesis. The observed age effect on mortality is stark — the younger a person is, across the spectrum, the lower the death rate and hospitalization rate. Looking to NAD+ depletion as we age, and exacerbated by inflammation, perhaps it's ultimately an energy crisis and a loss of NAD + ATP that does us in.

Snips from his recent book Lifespan:

“NAD boosts the activity of all seven sirtuins. And because NAD is used by over 500 different enzymes, without any NAD, we’d be dead in 30 seconds. NAD acts as a fuel for sirtuins. NAD levels decrease with age throughout the body. Human studies with NAD boosters (NMN and NR) are ongoing. So far, there has been no toxicity, not even a hint of it.” (p.134)

Also: "Most antiviral drugs target specific viral proteins. Consequently, they often work for only one virus, and their efficacy can be compromised by the rapid evolution of resistant variants. There is a need for the identification of host proteins with broad-spectrum antiviral functions, which provide effective targets for therapeutic treatments that limit the evolution of viral resistance. Here, we report that sirtuins present such an opportunity for the development of broad-spectrum antiviral treatments, since our findings highlight these enzymes as ancient defense factors that protect against a variety of viral pathogens." — Researchgate

Sinclair added trimethylglycine (TMG) in a recent podcast. He also mentions not to take NMN or NR at night as they interfere with sleep.

H/T Nova Spivack for the corona-relevant links. He is maintaining a more complete list here.

“Ah, distinctly I remember

it was in the bleak December

And each separate dying ember

wrought its ghost upon the floor.

Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl

to hear discourse so plainly,

Though its answer little meaning—

little relevancy bore

For we cannot help agreeing

that no living human being

Ever yet was blessed with seeing

bird above his chamber door

What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt,

and ominous bird of yore

Meant in croaking ‘Nevermore.’”

— Edgar Allan Poe

At certain brain wave frequencies, a sense of "ego boundary" vanishes. In the "theta" state, we are resting deeply and still conscious, at the threshold of drifting away from or back into conscious awareness.There is also a prana breathing tube that runs through the body. It connects the apexes of this Star Tetrahedral field. Learning how to breathe through this tube, combined with rotating the fields, produces the merkaba, a vehicle of ascension. As the brain enters deeper states, our consciousness is less concerned with the physical state, our 'third eye' is active, and separation becomes natural. You can be aware of your truth in every moment of every day by drawing on the deepest blue strand you can find. That strand won’t let you listen to third-dimensional words that are designed to deceive you. You will walk away from words that are not in the highest truth. With your truth strand out front, you won’t be deceived. You’ll know and hear truth, and if you hear an untruth, it will not work for you.Your blueprints have always been available to you, and when they’re interwoven, you can use this exercise to travel through the etheric fabric to find what you’re looking for. When you present your request properly to your higher self, you’ll be surprised by just how much you do know about where you want to go. Much of what you know is unsaid, hidden in your feelings, but accessible..Prana breathing tube that runs through the body. It connects the apexes of this Star Tetrahedral field. Learning how to breathe through this tube, combined with rotating the fields, produces the merkaba, a vehicle of ascension.he photon energy belt that the Earth will move through during the Shift is so huge that I cannot provide you with a precise description of its immensity. Second, prana is a vital life-giving breath, involving deep inhalation, which allows the photon energy to enter into the body through the crown chakra. Finally, your pineal gland is the receptacle of the photon energy in the body..These are three identical fields superimposed over each other, the only difference among them being that the physical body alone is locked, it does not rotate. The merkaba is created by counter-rotating fields of energy. The mental Star Tetrahedral field is electrical in nature, male, and rotates to the left. Since the higher energies work with your feelings, your focus must be on your emotional body. If you learn to think emotionally, you will be aware that your emotions guide everything within your realm. Your emotional body is between your mental and physical bodies, so when you feel something, the latter two bodies go along for the ride..The emotional Star Tetrahedral field is magnetic in nature, female, and rotates to the right. It is the linking together of the mind, heart, and physical body in a specific geometrical ratio and at a critical speed that produces the merkaba.The MerKaBa (sometimes spelled merkavah and, or merkabah) is a vehicle of Ascension. It was believed in ancient times, and even written about by the Hebrews, that the merkavah could be turned on by certain principles in meditation. This involves breathing changes & mind, heart, and body changes that alter the way a person perceives reality..The word “Mer” denotes counter-rotating fields of light, “Ka” Spirit, and “Ba” body, or reality. So the Mer-Ka-Ba then, is a counter-rotating Living field of light that encompasses both Spirit and body and it’s a dimensional vehicle. It’s far more than just that, in fact there isn’t anything that it isn’t. It is the image through which all things were created, and that image is around your body in a geometrical set of patterns.The field extends out a full fifty to sixty feet in diameter (18 to 20 meters), depending on your height. It looks like a flying saucer (Fig. 1). That field is an immense science that is being studied everywhere throughout the cosmos. How well someone understands the MerKaBa, is usually in direct relationship to their consciousness level..

If, when speaking to your higher self, you say, “I want to get from here to there and I want you to guide me,” your higher self will do whatever it wants, and it might be years before you see any results, because your higher self has no concept of time. If you want the unseen energies to guide you, you must learn to communicate with them effectively, and that means you must work with your feelings. The unseen energies do not understand language or words as you know them. They can feel you, and if they can feel you, they will know what you want. When these energies respond to your feelings, you will feel the responding communication from them. So, when you ask your higher self to guide you from here to there in the shortest manner possible, it means nothing, unless you focus on getting the feeling of where you want to go, and how and when you want to get there. If you give those feelings to your higher self, after you’ve woven them through the two brains, you will accomplish your goal. The key here is weaving the local and omni brains together. Practice this by contacting the Elven world, where the language is closest to yours here on the Earth plane. Photon, or love, energy is at the root of the current Shift in Consciousness. Pineal gland is the true master gland. It is situated between the eyes. It is the organ of clairvoyance, Third eye, the eye of Ra or Heru (God). Biblical Jacob saw God face to face on the island of Pe-ni-el. Its secretes melatonin which is anti ageing in effect and anti oxidant in nature. This also secretes melanin which colours our skin. The pineal gland, the most enigmatic of endocrine organs, has long been of interest to anatomists. Several millennia ago it was thought to be a valve that controlled the flow of memories into consciousness. René Descartes, the 17th-century French philosopher-mathematician, concluded that the pineal was the seat of the soul. A corollary notion was that calcification of the pineal caused psychiatric disease, a concept that provided support for those who considered psychotic behavior to be rampant; modern examination techniques have revealed that all pineal glands become more or less calcified..The pineal organ is small, weighing little more than 0.1 gram. It lies deep within the brain between the two cerebral hemispheres and above the third ventricle of the spinal column. It has a rich supply of adrenergic nerve fibers that greatly influence its secretions. Microscopically, the gland is composed of pinealocytes (rather typical endocrine cells except for extensions that mingle with those of adjacent cells). Supporting cells that are similar to astrocytes of the brain are interspersed.. The pineal gland contains a number of peptides, including GnRH, TRH, and vasotocin, along with a number of important neurotransmitters such as somatostatin, norepinephrine, serotonin, and histamine. The major pineal hormone, however, is melatonin, a derivative of the amino acid tryptophan. Melatonin was first discovered because it lightens amphibian skin, an effect opposite to that of melanocyte-stimulating hormone of the anterior pituitary. Secretion of melatonin is enhanced whenever the sympathetic nervous system is stimulated. Of greater interest, however, is the fact that secretion increases soon after an animal is placed in the dark; the opposite effect takes place immediately upon exposure to light. Its major action, well documented in animals, is to block the secretion of GnRH by the hypothalamus and of gonadotropins by the pituitary. While it was long thought that a decrease in melatonin secretion heralded the onset of puberty, this hypothesis cannot be supported by studies in humans. It is possible that the pineal contains an as yet unidentified hormone that serves that function. Melotonin is the only hormone secreted by the pineal gland. (The pineal gland is a tiny endocrine gland situated at the centre of the brain.) Melatonin was discovered in 1958 by Aaron B. Lerner and other researchers working at Yale University. Melatonin is produced in humans, other mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. It is present in very small amounts in the human body. Melatonin was previously known to cause the skins of amphibians to blanch, but its functions in mammals remained uncertain until research discoveries in the 1970s and '80s suggested that it regulates both sleeping cycles and the hormonal changes that usher in sexual maturity during adolescence. The pineal gland's production of melatonin varies both with the time of day and with age; production of melatonin is dramatically increased during the nighttime hours and falls off during the day, and melatonin levels are much higher in children under age seven than in adolescents and are lower still in adults. Melatonin apparently acts to keep a child's body from undergoing sexual maturation, since sex hormones such as luteotropin, which play a role in the development of sexual organs, emerge only after melatonin levels have declined. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that children with tumors of the pineal gland often reach sexual maturity unusually early in life, presumably because the pineal's production of melatonin has been hampered. Melatonin also seems to play an important role in regulating sleeping cycles; test subjects injected with the hormone become sleepy, suggesting that the increased production of melatonin coincident with nightfall acts as a fundamental mechanism for making people sleepy. With dawn the pineal gland stops producing melatonin, and wakefulness and alertness ensue. The high level of melatonin production in young children may explain their tendency to sleep longer than adults. In mammals other than humans melatonin possibly acts as a breeding and mating cue, since it is produced in greater amounts in response to the longer nights of winter and less so during summer. Animals who time their mating or breeding to coincide with favorable seasons (such as spring) may depend on melatonin production as a kind of biological clock that regulates their reproductive cycles on the basis of the length of the solar day.When activated, the pineal gland becomes the line of communication, with the higher planes. The crown chakra, reaches down, until its vortex touches the pineal gland. Prana, or pure energy, is received through this energy center in the head. With Practice, the vibration level of the astral body is raised, allowing it, to separate from the physical. To activate the 'third eye' and perceive higher dimensions, the pineal gland and the pituitary body, must vibrate in unison, which is achieved through meditation and / or relaxation. When a correct relationship is established, between personality, operating through the pituitary body, and the soul, operating through the pineal gland, a magnetic field is created. The negative and positive forces, interact and become strong enough, to create the 'light in the head. ' With this 'light in the head' activated, astral projectors can withdraw themselves, from the body, carrying the light with them. Astral Travel, and other occult abilities, are closely associated with the development of the 'light in the head'. After physical relaxation, concentration upon the pineal gland, is achieved, by staring at a point in the middle of the forehead. Without straining the muscles of the eye, this will activate the pineal gland and the 'third eye'. Beginning with the withdrawal of the senses and the physical consciousness, the consciousness is centered in the region of the pineal gland. The perceptive faculty and the point of realization, are centralized in the area between the middle of the forehead and the pineal gland. The trick is to visualize, very intently, the subtle body... escaping through the trap door of the brain. A "popping sound" may occur at the time separation of the astral body, in the area of the pineal gland. Visualization exercises, are the first step, in directing the energies in our inner systems, to activate the 'third eye'. The magnetic field is created around the pineal gland, by focusing the mind on the midway point, between the pineal gland and the pituitary body. The creative imagination visualizes something, and the thought energy of the mind gives life and direction to this form. 'Third eye' development, imagination, and visualization are important ingredients, in many methods to separate from the physical form. Intuition is also achieved, through 'third eye' development. Knowledge and memory of the astral plane, are not registered in full waking consciousness, until the intuition becomes strong enough. Flashes of intuition come, with increasing consistency, as the 'third eye' is activated to a greater degree, through practice. Universal Knowledge... can also be acquired...The pineal gland, corresponds with divine thought, after being touched by the vibrating light of Kundalini. Kundalini starts its ascent, towards the head center, after responding to the vibrations from the 'light in the head.' The light is located at the top of the sutratma, or 'soul thread', which passes down from the highest plane of our being... into the physical vehicle. The 'third eye,' or 'Eye of Siva,' the organ of spiritual vision, is intimately related to karma, as we become more spiritual in the natural course of evolution. As human beings continue to evolve, further out of matter, on the journey from spirit to matter... back to spirit, the pineal gland will continue to rise from its state of age - long dormancy, bringing back to humanity... astral capacities and spiritual abilities...Your body produces its own photon energy, but you can bring more of this golden energy into your body by prana breathing it in through your crown and down through your pineal. That simple activity will awaken your God cell, also known as your Signature Cell, which is in your pineal gland. Prana breathing will flow the golden particles from the pineal through the whole of your physical body, affecting the emotional, mental and spiritual bodies in the process.Next, your thought process must be pure. If you want to get from Manhattan to a specific place in Queens and you’ve never been to Queens, you must have pure thoughts about the journey, concentrating only on the specific place you want to reach, feeling every aspect of it. Then you must go into the etheric pattern until you find and get through that little “gray space” that lets you know you’ve left the third-dimensional reality. You will find yourself in Queens, looking at the specific place you wanted to reach. You will then have to back away from it until the neighborhood where it actually is comes into focus. You will recognize the surrounding neighborhood. You may not have seen how you got there, but you will have enough information, such as an address, to Google it or to ask someone how to get there. You can go from where you are to any place in the world that way during these pre-Shift times. As a four-bodied energy, you have spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical bodies, and you have four strands of DNA that correspond to each of those bodies. The first strand of DNA is the physical, the second, the emotional, the third, the mental, and the fourth, the spiritual...The four strands of DNA are powerful, but one strand is more powerful than the rest and that is the golden strand. Each set of four strands of DNA has one golden strand, which is found in the spiritual, or etheric, body. The golden strand is pure photon energy. The photon energy you bring into your body through prana breathing gets woven with everything else via the pineal gland. During the Shift, you will let go of your third-dimensional reality with the help of that magical golden fourth strand of DNA, which is equipped to transfer you into the fourth dimension.The foundation of our spiritual practice has to be very clear to us, otherwise it is very easy to enter into mistaken techniques and practices. In the Gnostic tradition, we always seek to re-evaluate our spiritual approach; our teacher Samael Aun Weor was very rigorous in his analysis of himself, his spiritual practice, and his technique. He constantly re-evaluated his method, and corrected himself in order to ensure he was on the right path. This is because he relied on practical experience, and was constantly examining the nature of suffering in himself, and was not satisfied with concept or theory. Samael Aun Weor suffered a lot, and that suffering is what gave him the impulse, the motivation, to constantly revise his spiritual practice in order to conquer suffering, and also to help others to do the same. Really, this viewpoint about suffering is the foundation of every genuine path, so understanding suffering is the foundational aspect of all teachings. In essence, spiritual practice is about harnessing energy. In the first levels, in the foundational and Mahayana levels, the two classifications of teaching, we are really learning how to discipline our mind stream and attune it with the mind stream of Christ. This is why Bodhichitta can also be translated as Christ mind (bodhi = wisdom = Chokmah; chitta = mind).

Bodhichitta is a kind of energy that vibrates with the ray of creation, with the Ain Soph Aur, a type of light that emerges out of the Absolute, a light that comes from Adhi-Buddha, the primordial Buddha. This light, which is the supreme clear light, is the type of light that is absolutely perfect, and is the first and primordial expression of the divine. It is a light of unbelievable, indescribable radiance, whose chief characteristic is a brilliant, shining love. If you meditate on that, simply that, you will comprehend why most of the teachings of Tantra you find in the world are black. They are completely contradictory to that light. That light is not interested in pleasure. That light is not interested in the satisfaction of desire. Those are the interests of demons.

When that light emerges out of the Absolute abstract space, it emerges as a form of an archetype, related to the world of Atziluth in Kabbalah. An archetype is a blue print, a primordial form that has not yet become. For that becoming to happen, there has to be a long process of development, and that is the path of initiation, the path through which the soul is born, the soul is created. We are only the embryo of soul, a seed. We are not a soul yet. This is why Jesus said, “With patience you will possess your soul.”

The development and creation of the soul depends upon it being nourished by the light of Christ, this Christic force, which is also called Avalokiteshvara, Quetzalcoatl, Vishnu, and Osiris. They are all the same force. Christ is not a person, but an energy, an intelligence, a light.

That energy creates what we see here as the Tree of Life. That energy descends and condenses and unravels and reveals everything that exists. It is also called the great breath, and is symbolized in Kabbalah and other religions as the breath of God that emerges out of the nothingness. That great breath, that exhalation, is how everything comes to exist, macrocosmically and microcosmically. That Great Breath in Sanskrit is called Prana. The relationship between the Pineal Gland and the Sun shows how much influence the Sun has on us. It is our body clock. The Pineal Gland also reads the Sun and informs animals when it is time to hibernate..Many primitive cultures related to the Sun as the closest physical structure to God due to it’s influence on daily life. Without the Sun life would be over, but the Sun shows up everyday and on-time. The Sun not only influences human bodies internally, but provides the energy for the food humans need to survive to grow. Thus the Sun is the source of life on this planet.

The Bazylika Mariacka (full name: Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or in Polish: Bazylika Mariacka Wniebowzięcia Najświętszej Maryi Panny w Gdańsku), the co-cathedral of Gdańska. This the largest church in Poland, the biggest brick church in the world and largest Brick Gothic building in Europe. It was heavily damaged in world war 2 and was not reconsecrated until 1955.

I know nothing about the ruins in the foreground. Wish I'd enquired now.

(Sorry for any spelling errors or mistranslations, my Polish is very scant and this was four years ago. I would appreciate any corrections.)

Taken with a Pentax Optio S, during a trip for the 29th European Peptide Symposium, and converted to B&W with a grad tint filter applied with Google Picasa.

More of my photos can be found here./a>