this post was submitted on 08 Jul 2026
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Science Memes

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Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!

A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.



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If you are here asking: "Is this a science meme?"

Probably, yes. We use the Dawkins definition of meme: a replicating idea, not just an image macro with a fact on it. A good post here doesn't need to teach you something. It needs to make you ask something: who, what, where, when, and especially why or how.

Science isn't a filing cabinet of facts, it's a conversation. For example, a photo of an eel or other localized wildlife counts because most people never see one, and wonder is the first step of inquiry. A car meme counts if it makes you curious about what's under the bonnet. If you want to talk about something you noticed in the world, chances are someone else wants to talk about it too.

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See the pinned paper on Shitposting as Public Pedagogy if you want the academic case for why this works.



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[–] riskable@programming.dev 24 points 12 hours ago (5 children)

It's not the only animal like this! The Iberian Ribbed Newt (Pleurodeles waltl) will push its own ribcage out of its chest (turning them into spikes) and secretes toxic venom through those bones...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iberian_ribbed_newt

[–] MoffKalast@lemmy.world 9 points 8 hours ago

P. waltl is a model organism for the study of adult regeneration. Similar to other salamanders, P. waltl can regenerate lost limbs, injured heart tissue, and lesioned brain cells, in addition to other body parts such as the eye lens and the spinal cord. The 20 Gb genome of P. waltl has been sequenced to facilitate research into the genetic basis of this regenerative ability.[20] Regeneration is able to occur due to the newt's specialized progenitor cells and the transduction of their somatic cells, which act like stem cells.[21] Stem cells repair damaged tissue and contribute to regeneration effects. In most organisms, the efficiency of the function of these stem cells decrease, but in some organisms like P. waltl, this degeneration does not occur.

This thing is genuinely Wolverine in terms of healing superpowers.

[–] diaphragmwp@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 7 hours ago

Uh huh, yeah, I recognize some of these words

[–] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 12 hours ago

Amphibians are crazy, dude! 😄

[–] grrgyle@slrpnk.net 4 points 11 hours ago
[–] frightful_hobgoblin@lemmy.ml 1 points 9 hours ago

That's nice, dear.