Species Search Results

News: Watch Out Amateur Mushroom Hunters — Death Caps Are Nothing to Mess With

There is a reason the Amanita phalloides mushroom is called the "Death Cap." It can kill you. Mushrooms are a type of fungi, an organism that produces thread-like mycelia that often produce spores. Spores allow the fungi to reproduce. Molds, lichens, and yeast are all fungi, but the most visible fungi are mushrooms. Some fungi are delicious, but others can cause disease or, and still others, like Penicillium, can cure it.

News: Another Reason to Wash Your Sheets—Deadly Hospital Fungus Linked to Moldy Linens

Six people have died from fungal infections in Pittsburgh hospitals since 2014—that fact is indisputable. The rest of the situation is much vaguer. A lawsuit has been filed against the hospitals on behalf of some of the deceased patients, alleging that moldy hospital linens are to blame. While the lawyers argue over who's at fault, let's look at how this could have happened.

News: Why You Should Care About the Nevada Woman Killed by the Totally Resistant Nightmare Superbug

Humanity is standing on an infection precipice. As antibacterial resistant grows, we're running out of options, and a recent scary case of total antibiotic resistance is a frighting view of our potential future. In the end, it was septic shock that took the life of a 70-year old woman with an incurable infection. One of few such cases in the US, her death could nonetheless be the shape of things to come.

Gaming: The 9 Best Paid Action Games for Android & iPhone

Thanks to ever more powerful smartphones — the iPhone X with its advanced A11 processor and the Galaxy Note 8 powered by Snapdragon's 835 come to mind — the mobile industry is fast closing in on consoles and PCs with regards to gaming. Game developers have been aware of this fact, and have ported many games once dedicated to computers onto our handheld devices.

Ingredients 101: Selecting, Cleaning, & Storing Fresh Mushrooms

Eating vegetarian isn't just for vegetarians. There are plenty of reasons, health and economics-wise, to consider forgoing the meat for a meal or three. Rather than get deep into the world of fake meat (although there's many a tasty alternative to be found there, to be sure), you should consider getting to know your humble-seeming fungal friend: the mushroom. Thanks to their hearty flavor, cooks tend to treat mushrooms like meat, albeit one with its own unique characteristics. Mushrooms are e...

How To: 15 iPhone Tips for Busy Users to Maximize Your Productivity

When they first appeared, smartphones came with a promise to make our lives easier and make us more productive so we could have more free time and energy. But now, the average user spends almost 5 ½ hours daily on their smartphone. If that sounds like you, there are ways to use your iPhone more efficiently — without getting sucked into distractions.

How To: Dwarf a tree

Love the beauty and fresh fruit of trees but have limited space? Try your hand at dwarfing a tree. You can enjoy all the benefits of a tree without any worry of the tree outgrowing the area or roots damaging side walks and property. Plus, they just look adorable.

How To: Raise sheep on a farm

In these videos on raising farm animals, learn some of the basic facts about sheep. Our expert naturalist will discuss the major characteristics of this bovine species, including different types of sheep, types and colors of wool, eating habits and digestion (it is a ruminant animal), how to raise and handle a sheep, how to go about buying a sheep of your own, signs of disease, when to shear, how to tell a ewe and a ram apart, and how to breed sheep.

How To: Eat ants

Tired of the same old snacks? This cheeky treat will be sure to shock your guests. Although, we might not consider ants as a regular food source, they are edible. Plus, anything tastes good with butter and garlic.

How To: Get aloe from a plant

If you’ve got a minor cut or nasty sunburn you may reach for the aloe vera for the soothing and healing qualities. You don’t have to buy aloe, it is easy to extract the aloe from the inside of the leaf of a living aloe vera plant.

How To: Draw a girl

Drawing a woman is a lot like drawing a man, only curvier. You can use triangles to sketch the basic form of a woman, giving you a guideline to sketch in more and more detail until you’ve given her the look you want.

How to Identify birds: the meadowlark

Is there a black or yellow mustache stripe? This is just one of the physical characteristics you will need to know to determine what kind of meadowlark you are looking at. Take a minute to enjoy the outdoors while identifying the distinct sound, look and location of meadowlarks.

How To: Raise sheep

In these videos on raising farm animals, learn some of the basic facts about sheep. Our expert naturalist will discuss the major characteristics of this bovine species, including different types of sheep, types and colors of wool, eating habits and digestion (it is a ruminant animal), how to raise and handle a sheep, how to go about buying a sheep of your own, signs of disease, when to shear, how to tell a ewe and a ram apart, and how to breed sheep.

How To: Raise pigs

In these videos on raising farm animals, learn the basic facts about pigs. Our expert naturalist will discuss some of the major characteristics of this species, as well as tips for raising them, including stages of pig growth, eating habits and digestion, housing , common problems, signs of disease, keeping pigs as pets, breeding and piglet care and development.

How To: Grow Cold, Hardy Running Bamboo

Bamboo is easy to grow, but there are a few things you should know before starting. There are hundreds of species of bamboo and they can be roughly divided into either running or clumping bamboos. Almost all cold hardy bamboos are runners and almost all tropical bamboos are clumpers. Running bamboos send out root like rhizomes underground and can spread many feet each year. Clumping bamboos slowly expand and stay in a tight clump with canes close together. We grow dozens of cold hardy bamboo ...

How To: Handle and restrain a ferret for injections

This Animal Welfare Foundation two-part video tutorial is from expert veterinary staff demonstrating the correct procedures for handling small mammals for clinical examination and medication. Its aim is to show that the primary consideration should be for the the welfare of the animal. This video guide will show you practical animal handling for a ferret.