IIRC, the bacteria go bananas with the making of more bacteria, and dying off, creating a toxic environment for the squid if they are not released. It's beneficial for the bacteria in that it makes MOAR bacteria happen. I think.

That's what I love about the way things evolve. There's always a reason. There are all these interrelationships that evolved and changed and became more involved and fraught, and it's just so cool.

Take a fairly simple and well-known example, the milkweed and the monarch butterfly. The monarch needs the milkweed for its caterpillars to live on; the milkweed defends itself by producing latex in such quantities that the caterpillars either drown, or have their jaws gummed up and starve. Maybe a third of the caterpillars survive their first day. But when they've grown and pupated, it's the adult monarch that pollinates the milkweed. The two species need each other, but their equilibrium is driven by them each trying to kill each other.

I love this kind of stuff.

Now tell me how to make my petunias eat tobacco bud worms.

The two species need each other, but their equilibrium is driven by them each trying to kill each other.

I think this is the same line evo psych people use to explain male/female relationships.

PZ Myers once gave a talk in which he said (paraphrasing) that if we can't manage to communicate with a squid, how can we expect to communicate with some aliens on another planet out there?

I always wonder about that but teevee tells me that all aliens (except the illegal ones from Mexico) speak English. Which will be a relief, I'm sure.

The other thing I wonder is why we always define the parameters of Places Life Can Exist based on just what we're used to seeing here. First, that is what exists here because it evolved here. I suspect evolution can go many ways. Partially because, hey, fossil records show it but also because we keep finding new life and boggling at the extremophiles that we're certain can't live where they live.

this is awesome

have you seen it billytea?

[link]

gorilla pets human

I love this kind of stuff.

It is really one of the coolest things ever. Second to how every element beyond hydrogen and helium exists because stars exploded.

Sea snakes freak me out. Land snakes do too. Sea snakes have a whole extra dimension of mobility. That is just not okay with my lizard brain. (Planet Earth reruns)

I wonder is why we always define the parameters of Places Life Can Exist based on just what we're used to seeing here.

It narrows down the targets for search. Since we already know that like can exist within our parameters, we look for places that match up with us, increasing our chances of finding life.

gorilla pets human

It all could have gone so wrong. Our primate cousins scare the bejeesus out of me. Especially when their gaze is fixed right on the camera. It's like they're saying, "you guys are such fucking jerks."

For the record, this is my favorite kind of buffistas conversations. Especially the "texting" and "squid have 4g?" insertions.

It's not quite Dogs in Elk, but it will do.