Seeing a lot of discourse tonight about D&C procedures, aka medical abortion. Most pro-life arguments focus on intent meaning the surgery isn’t the same, but:

D&C, or dilation and curettage, involves scraping the uterus. The procedure is the same regardless of the condition. 1/n D&C procedures surgically remove the lining of the uterus, which can electively remove a fetus, remove an incomplete miscarriage, or used to treat uterine polyps and cysts.

It’s literally one procedure and accordi no to medical billing, the medical codes are the same. 2/n

In case you wondered what it’s like to be a woman who needs reproductive medical care:

The hospital just called to ask why I wanted sedation for my surgical procedure tomorrow.

Because it’s usually done without. I have had several procedures done awake. Some were planned, they told me it wouldn’t hurt “that bad”, and some in ERs lying on a table being told “it will be over soon.”

Technically a colonoscopy can be done awake (and is in some countries), but we don’t bat an eye at sedation.

The internet is a weird place where you say weird things. The thing I’ve said over and over today:

MEN ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR SPERM. I’ve had dozens of people tell me today that pregnancy is a woman’s responsibility and a repercussion she should face alone because she got pregnant. Like a magic trick, or an asexually reproducing lizard, because apparently no men on earth are responsible for their sperm.

Many of you know my mom’s house was destroyed in the 2021 Texas freeze, just 6 months after my dad died. We just learned @ATT has been billing internet at this house for nearly 3 yrs and she owes ~$5000 for a house that was ripped down to the studs. @ATT won’t help. .@ATT my mother has tried to get assistance but so far no one seems able to help. Y’all are just saying “that’s too bad” for billing an account *with no card on file* for 3 years for a totally destroyed house. As a result she can’t get internet service by any provider right now.

Since Twitter is talking about rabies, a quick thread:

The second time I got a rabies shot was because I got scratched by a *dead* raccoon. I was transferring one that died in a rehab center to a museum. A claw poked thru the bag and scraped my hand. Imagine, dear reader, explaining this to the ER physician and *not* sounding insane.

“So I was carrying this dead raccoon in a trash bag and an arm kinda reached out and scraped me. No I know it wasn’t intentional, he was dead. Why was I carrying him in a trash bag? Well…”

I’m a biologist, but I’ve got a bone to pick with how woodpeckers are named. To preface this, here is a woodpecker who is *not* problematic. We know what to call them. Aptly named. 10/10.

Here’s the thing.

I have never had an abortion. Yes, some of that is due to planning, but some of it is down to sheer luck. And access to emergency contraceptive. And supportive partners. And money to help me stay in control of my plans.

Those logistics are not moral things. 1/ It’s easy to say folks are in control of their decision to get pregnant. For those with sex education access, access to birth control, support systems, and upward mobility? Yea, sometimes. But, plan or not, there are a LOT of circumstances that result in unwanted pregnancy.

Grad school lesson: you don't need to angst over that email quite so much. Grad school lesson: A draft doesn't need to be perfect before you send it. Don't waste your time worrying whether it's enough. If it's not, it will be, that's why it's a draft.

Good morning! PSA:

Ivermectin is a broad-spectrum anti-parasitic agent. It is used in the livestock industry as a dewormer and treats some human parasitic infections. It does NOT treat the COVID-19 virus. There is no clinical evidence that it prevents or treats COVID. I am gobsmacked to learn that folks are legitimately taking livestock dewormer as a preventative for COVID. Ivermectin works by inactivating the gut of developing parasites, killing them off and thus resulting in "deworming."

A virus is not a parasite.

Chivalry isn’t dead: a group of men just catcalled me at 10:30pm.

And y’all wonder why we’re hypervigilant. I’m a hotheaded person. I will walk right up to a beast of a man and light his world up.

Didn’t say it hasn’t gotten me into trouble, but

I literally couldn’t do a thing here. What if they decided to approach? I’m alone, it’s dark, there’s four of them, in a car.

A lot of ridiculous and some downright nasty tweets have been thrown at me in the last 24 hours because I provided my expert opinion on...bears. Thanks to every single person who valued my input and who totally smashed the misogynistic responses. That was cool of you. I guess that last thing I'll say about this is it's exhausting to be shown over and over that a woman's credentials will always be doubted. Its also exhausting when these evidence-based experiences are dismissed over and over via gaslighting, tone policing, and more misogyny.

Alright fine, let’s talk about rabies. And rabies vaccines.

A thread. For starters, rabies is a viral disease that causes fatal inflammation of the brain and spinal cord. It is zoonotic, meaning it can be transmitted from animals to humans, and it is progressive, meaning it gets worse over time. There is no cure for rabies.

Yo, bat folks! Got a friend with 3 live bats in the house. I’ve done a little bat capture but had nets and a rabies vax.

EXPERIENCED FOLKS ONLY:

Best/safest methods to get them out of the house *during the day*? No nets. Please don’t answer if you aren’t 1. a bat researcher and/or 2. don’t have relevant experience. I can Google just as easily as you, but want to hear from someone who understands how to keep a bat safe AND keep themselves safe. Thanks!

CW: grief

I'm seeing a lot of discourse surrounding Sha’Carri Richardson's positive drug test. A lot of folks feel really good saying "I know her mom died, but how could she risk her career like that? SHE KNEW BETTER"

For many reasons, I am so angry for Sha'Carri. Foremost, let's get one thing straight: white male Olympians have gotten passes for the exact same thing while this Black woman is being professionally crucified. You should not be surprised by this. Clearly this is a case of "There are rules, and there is what is done."

“Bobcat” is trending and I feel like I’ve been training for this my whole life.

A thread. So it looks like a juvenile bobcat was sitting under a family’s car and got totally freaked out by human activity around said car and attacked the legs of a woman. Her husband *wrestled the bobcat into the air* and tosses it across the yard. It’s...a lot.

Doing a poll with @beecologist. We want to know the best chocolate combination flavor. There are two posts and we agree only one correct answer, but we want to see what you think. Second set of choices for the best chocolate combination poll:

I've been seeing a lot of "not all men" commentary on here re: Sarah Everard's abduction and murder, as if that's even remotely the only layer to this global issue. Y'all we need to talk about this. Buckle up, I have stats.

Heavy content warning for this thread. First, and most important, please take care when reading this thread. Second, protect yourself when choosing to comment, as I have no idea what the troll response is going to be like. I will block quickly and do my best to help you should trolls shift your way.

Alright, it’s the thread everyone needs:

Photos of my angry cat. Chopsticks, aka Stix, is a 12 year old barn cat I adopted during undergrad. I rescued his feral mom and sister when they were two days old. Mom + sister hated me, Stix *literally* hated them, so I kept him. This is the only sweet photo you’ll see in this thread (he’s my baby).

@kslnewsradio Content like this requires input from a wildlife professional lest it encourage carnivore intolerance/retaliatory killing. I’m relieved the runner is safe, but he was not stalked. He’s being pushed away from a cub. While both are scary, the threat is not the same. @kslnewsradio While wildlife management sometimes involves removing dangerous individuals, this should be selective. If uninformed voters are deciding management regulations based on biased or misinformation, we’re doing them and our wildlife a disservice.