#ucdavis

“Since 1959, our collection has been open to the public to educate visitors of all ages and provide permanent housing for almost 4,000 plant species, some of which are critically endangered.

We've always been dedicated to the conservation of plant species, including Welwitschias, cacti, succulents, orchids, cycads, water lilies, carnivorous plants, and so much more!

Earlier this week, we were informed that we have been placed on a shortlist for potential permanent closure and will know in May.

At the moment, we are still operating under our normal hours, allowing visitors, labs, and discussions to observe, touch, and smell all of our unique and fascinating plants-for free, as it has always been.

Currently, Marlene Simon, the director of the conservatory, is drafting a letter of support for those who wish to sign in support of the UC Davis Botanical Conservatory to continue to get University funding.

Additionally, supporters are more than welcome to write to our department which is the College of Biological Sciences.

@ucdavisbiology

Lastly, we would deeply appreciate it if all supporters could share this news to help gather more support.

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UC Davis’s botany conservatory needs your help! Please message @ucdavisbiology on instagram and/or email UC Davis’s Chancellor Gary May at [email protected] about why this would be a loss for the botany community, endangered plant species, and the general public!

The behind the scenes details of Neuralink's grisly monkey experiments just keep getting worse.

Now, a followup investigation by Wired reveals that a Neuralink implant "deformed and ruptured" the brain of one female macaque, after an experiment caused severe cerebral swelling.

The trials, conducted at the California National Primate Research Center (CNPRC) at UC Davis by Neuralink scientists, had left the seven-year-old monkey with "severe neurological defects."

After noting the severity of its brain swelling, the researchers realized that the primate was terminal. But instead of easing its suffering, the scientist overseeing the experiment insisted the monkey be kept alive another day.

Its final 24 hours were torturous. Per documents obtained by Wired, the monkey seized and vomited, lost control of her right leg, and shook uncontrollably. It also appeared to have trouble breathing, scratching at its throat and gasping for air.

A postmortem revealed the extent of the damage. Leaked adhesive from the implant had inflamed the part of the brain that secretes cerebrospinal fluid. The effects were so severe that the rear of the monkey's brain protruded from its skull, though how the cavity was created is unclear.

But as bad as all this sounds, we may still not even know the half of it, as the photos that document the trials are being kept secret, Wired adds.

Ethics groups like the Physicians Committee, which sued UC Davis, have been pressing for the release of hundreds of photos documenting Neuralink's grisly brain implant experiments. As a public institution, the committee argues, UC Davis has an obligation to transparency. So far, this has been to no avail.

Questions about whether animals should be made to suffer for research that could one day benefit humans often haunt biomedical research.

It's a thorny issue, but it does sound as though UC Davis and Neuralink — like many of Musk's ventures — has pushed norms to the brink and leveraged aggressive tactics to keep the research quiet. For example, even though the brain rupturing incident with the macaque was acknowledged as a violation of the US Animal Welfare Act by federal regulators, Wired says the CNPRC preempted being legally implicated by self-reporting the violation.

"If you want to split hairs," an anonymous former Neuralink employee told Wired, "the implant itself did not cause death. We sacrificed her to end her suffering."

This only scratches the surface of the legal tricks being used to withhold the potentially damning photos. We won't wade too far into the weeds here, but the most important argument used by UC Davis is that the public is simply unequipped to properly interpret the photographs.

By extension, the institution claims that backlash caused by the content of the photos would not only endanger the scientists, but discourage them from taking such photos in the first place.

But this issue is bigger than Elon Musk's Neuralink, UC Davis, or the CNPRC. They're undoubtedly not the only bodies out there conducting questionable tests on animals, and the Physicians Committee has vehemently argued that the public has a right to know the nature of any animal testing funded by taxpayers.

That certainly doesn't exonerate Neuralink from wrongdoing, however, and its publicity — and that of its eccentric owner — quite rightly invites further scrutiny, its opponents argue.

"Disclosure of the footage is particularly important because Neuralink actively misleads the public about, and downplays the gruesome nature of, the experiments," an attorney representing the Physicians Committee in the lawsuit told Wired.

Before the parade XXII: 2020 Year of the Rat Chinese New Year Parade. San Francisco, 02-08-20.

Pork Belly Fried Rice.

Hi guys!! Since its been a while since I made this studyblr I thought I would reintroduce myself  ＼(＾▽＾)／ My name’s Julie and I made my blog during my summer classes two months ago since i had the time to post. 

About Me: 

I’m 19 years young and from the United States, California 

sun sign: Cancer, moon sign: Aquarius, rising sign: Aries  

a huge potterhead  (⌒_⌒;) and a Slytherin 

I love to draw and edit videos on my free time 

I think note taking and planning is very stress relieving 

I really like boba :)) and also needs to be sipping something when i

Academics: 

3rd year at UC Davis 

Double Major: Poli Sci and Asian American Studies (pre-law) but also interested in criminology/criminal justice and international relations 

Dream career after uni: lawyer or working for the government