May 30, 2025

IT’S JUST VIBES:

If it looks like a dire wolf, is it a dire wolf? How to define a species is a scientific and philosophical question (Elay Shech, 5/30/25, The Conversation)


This gap between appearance and biological identity raises a deeper question: What exactly is a species, and how do you decide whether something belongs to one species rather than another?

Biologists call the answer a species concept – a theory about what a species is and how researchers sort organisms into different groups.

There’s no such thing as species.

IT’LL NEVER FLY, ORVILLE…:

Bioprinted organs ‘10–15 years away,’ says startup regenerating dog skin (Thomas Macauly, May 29, 2025, The Next Web)


Human organs could be bioprinted for transplants within 10 years, according to Lithuanian startup Vital3D. But before reaching human hearts and kidneys, the company is starting with something simpler: regenerating dog skin.

Based in Vilnius, Vital3D is already bioprinting functional tissue constructs. Using a proprietary laser system, the startup deposits living cells and biomaterials in precise 3D patterns. The structures mimic natural biological systems — and could one day form entire organs tailored to a patient’s unique anatomy.

It’s impossible to overstate deflationary pressures.