A fluorescent flea

Almost daily we have to deal with arthropods such as insects, spiders and their kind around us. Yet we realize less often that these animals can provide a beautiful light show.

Fireflies and other bioluminescent animals produce their luminous shine through a chemical reaction. Other arthropods produce light via fluorescence. At certain wavelengths of light including ultraviolet light, molecules in their exoskeleton absorb this light and radiate it again in a different color with a (longer) wavelength, (there are 'excited electrons' involved, but let's skip the details here)

Protected against harsh conditions

Helm grass is what we encounter in the dunes among others in the Netherlands. The Ammophillia arenaria can withstand the salty water and salty sea air. Ammophillia arenaria can be planted on all types of soil, only on clay soil it is best to make the soil poor with masonry sand. The soil must be calcareous.

Fibrosarcoma cat

A fibrosarcoma is a malignant tumor of mesenchymal connective tissue cells. Fibrosarcoma mainly occurs as a solitary tumor in the older cat. It can occur in several parts of the body. Usually on the trunk and often also between the shoulder blades, because injections are usually given here. First there is an injection site reaction that degenerates neoplastic. The rabies vaccine is known to be a possible cause of this. It is a malignant derailment of the dermal and subdermal connective tissue cells. The sarcoma grows locally very infiltratively and aggressively, not metastasizing quickly. But if so, then to the lungs and lymph nodes. Fibrosarcoma can also occur in young cats. In these cases it is often induced by a virus and there are multiple tumors over the entire body.