Ontological Harmonescence

Image source: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/102498933

Middle Island is so close to the mainland that foxes can cross over at low tide. The penguin colony crashed from about 600 birds in 1999 to fewer than 10 by 2005; one research paper says only 4 birds were recorded arriving to breed that year. After the Maremma guardian dogs started work in 2006, the island had no recorded fox attacks while the dogs were there, and the colony reached an estimated 180 penguins in the 2016–2017 breeding season. In 2017, some penguins arrived before the dogs returned, foxes attacked again, and the attacks stopped once Eudy and Tula, the guardian dogs, came back.

Many birds swallow tiny stones, sand, or small shell pieces because they do not have teeth to chew like humans do. These little hard pieces sit in the gizzard, a strong muscular part of the stomach. When the gizzard squeezes, the stones help crush seeds, nuts, and other tough food into smaller pieces. It works like a tiny food grinder inside the bird.

Some of Earth’s oldest visible signs of life are stromatolites, layered structures made by ancient microbial mats. Smithsonian says they date back about 3.5 billion years. They may look like ordinary rocks, but they are basically ancient life leaving a layered receipt.

Some white blood cells fight infections in a wild way. Neutrophils can burst open and release their own DNA like a tiny net. This sticky DNA trap can catch bacteria, fungi, and other pathogens, helping the immune system stop them from spreading.

Iodized salt is one of the cheapest public-health fixes in the world, costing only about 5 to 6 cents per person per year. It helps prevent iodine deficiency, a major preventable cause of brain damage and intellectual disability. Iodized salt also helped wipe out old goiter problems in places like the U.S. and Switzerland.

Clouds float because their water is not sitting in one giant bucket. It is spread out as billions of tiny water droplets or ice crystals. Each droplet is so small that air can hold it up for a long time, especially when gentle rising air pushes upward. Clouds can contain a lot of water, but that water spreads across a huge space. When the droplets join together and become heavy enough, they fall as rain.

Lightning does more than light up the sky. Its powerful energy can break apart nitrogen in the air and help form nitrates. Rain then carries those nitrates down into the soil, where plants can use them to grow.