Lumped on an escalator

Longtime Nautilus contributor and the "Indiana Jones of marine biology," Peter Ward has spent decades studying the ancient cephalopod that gave our magazine its name. On an expedition to Australia's Great Barrier Reef, Ward and his colleagues sampled two nautiluses long regarded as separate species. Despite striking differences in their shells and anatomy, DNA analysis revealed no genetic difference between them. The discovery became the starting point for Ward's exploration of epigenetics—the study of how environmental influences can alter the way genes are expressed without changing the underlying DNA sequence. In this essay, Ward argues that epigenetics may help explain why some organisms that appear to be distinct species are actually one and the same—and why Earth may contain fewer species than scientists have traditionally believed.

are we drawing the connection between worker safety and consumer safety & public health yet?

More on the health point:

"US Department of Labor proposes more than $1M fine following worker fatality at New Jersey vegetable processing facility"

Name the chains! At this point in the article it seems like contracting with prisons is the default for meat plants ☹

was it Hillary Clinton who lived in a mansion staffed by prison slaves? somebody please tell me which politician was called out

Tarantula Hawk Mimic Assassin Bug (Zelurus spinidorsis), family Reduviidae, Costa Rica

As the name suggests, this true bug mimics tarantula hawk wasps in the genera Pepsis and Hemipepsis, which have incredibly painful stings.

Celebes Black-tailed Rat Snake aka Jansen's Rat Snake (Gonyosoma jansenii), family Colubridae, No. Sulawesi, Indonesia

Crucifix Toad (Notaden bennettii), family Limnodynastidae, QLD, Australia

Blue-banded Pitta (Erythropitta arquata), family Pittidae, order Passeriformes, endemic to Borneo

A Cougar (Puma concolor), family Felidae, swims through the surf at Cannon Beach, OR, USA

AKA Puma, Mountain Lion, and Catamount