Some linketies.

A beautiful aurora!
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120124.html

Nevermind Texas, don't mess with Alaska. Things I love about it for 500...
http://ontd-political.livejournal.com/9228794.html

Life discovered on dead hydrothermal vents
http://www.physorg.com/news/2012-01-life-dead-hydrothermal-vents.html

Eee, same niche colonized by different flavors of extremophile at different times in its geological history. ^^ Living things rock.

Flexibeast on attractiveness and trans folks in porn
http://flexibeast.livejournal.com/131254.html

Oh heck yeah. I love some of Tobi Hill-Meier's work in this area, but on the whole it's a big complex messed-up situation.

Nematodes communicate using precise chemical "language"
http://www.physorg.com/news/2012-01-worm-chemicals.html

What was I saying about living things, again?

Restored wetlands don't measure up
http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2012/01/study-restored-wetlands-quality

Not surprising -- it's like old growth forests: those long-established patterns add a great deal of biological and ecological complexity that's missing from replanted ones. It takes a long time to build up, yet it does a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of making that biome a productive, resilient entity.

Donate to Bobby Montoya, that trans girl scout who's been making the internet rounds lately.
http://imatyfa.org/girlscouts/

Incidentally: what a cutie! I do hope that this trend of gradual normalization doesn't reverse -- it's nice to see that these days some folks can come out in their single digits and be supported by their parents. ^^

Speaking of cuties: Baby crow!
http://imgur.com/r/aww/0sz9D