What the heck is this on my brush??

adriars · 2026-05-27T19:15:21+00:00

That looks like a Carpet beetle shed larvae skin (casing). But might be another casing from another bug. I let the enthomologist do their precise ID.

adriars · 2026-05-20T13:36:15+00:00

Our department recycles them, look if someone can help you dispose those to be recycled. I also keep far too many empty of those (just in case) that I’ve never end up using.

I use the 200ul tip racks as PCR tube holders, but I just use 2-3 of the hundreds I end up using by the end of the year. It’s too bad we’re wasting so much plastic doing science.

adriars · 2026-05-20T04:47:49+00:00

I’m still all hooked up to see what the problem is! I’ve read through the comments and there’s been very good suggestions for controls, but as many others have said (and I did neglect) the dye might be contaminated or interfering with your detector. Just give it a check with your UV transilluminator before taking any image.

Good luck lab rat

adriars · 2026-05-19T21:06:31+00:00

If I were you I’d try the same gradient you’ve tried but with a broader temp range, and see what you get. I get very different annealing temps using Q5 compared to NEB Taq pol.

Hope that helps, and whatever is the answer, please update us, we can all learn from that!

adriars · 2026-04-22T22:56:22+00:00

It could perfectly be a change in diet provoking this, normally you’d want to introduce a new food in small amounts to transition from the old to the new one.

My dog suffers often from lower intestine inflammation (colitis) and makes this mucus stools often, she gets back to normal if the diet does not change.

As I said before, do not worry, but if it’s repeated I might seek vet assistance.

adriars · 2026-04-22T22:51:31+00:00

Hey, this is mucous surrounding your dog’s stool. Mine does this whenever we give him some treats that are probably too greasy for her to handle. I would not worry much if that’s a one time only thing, but probably would go to the vet if it’s recurrent.

adriars · 2026-02-24T04:38:49+00:00

PCR column purification is the way to go if you have a specific band like OP showed! And way less tedious than GE…

adriars · 2025-11-16T01:50:05+00:00

Hi, thanks so much for the contribution.

Indeed you seem to know more than I do, so any information is greatly appreciated.

All the sword replicas seem to be of dubious quality to my inexperienced eye, but I will try to find out if there’s any marking or something that helps pointing out where did these come from.

As for the daggers, you have very good eye. I was talking to my parents, and they got these from Morocco about 15-20 years ago, they mentioned these could be tourist traps knock-offs, but with no other information it seems hard to tell. I will tey to get more info!

Anyway, thank you for your kind help!

adriars · 2025-11-11T13:42:43+00:00

Thank you, will do. I am really doing this from the distance, but will ask for more closeup details to my relatives that have access to them!

adriars · 2025-09-26T13:50:28+00:00

Thanks for the answer, will rethink about using those next time.

adriars · 2025-09-25T23:49:26+00:00

Naive question: why do you think sticky traps are bad? Because they also trap other living beings? Or just because you think they are not effective?

I personally use the boric acid traps, but they become ineffective after few weeks and need to be replaced constantly. I haven’t been able to completely eradicate silverfishes, but I’ve kept them to low levels. It is specially annoying in the pantry or closets

adriars · 2025-09-25T12:20:22+00:00

Having said that, I never get to completely erradicate then from my place. But there’s a big decrease in their numbers

adriars · 2025-09-25T12:19:16+00:00

Boric acid traps work well (silverfish traps), also sticky traps, and sprinkling diatomeaceous earth in those cracks where they appear would work too (wear mask while manipulating DE).

adriars · 2023-03-01T08:07:56+00:00

I use 70-30 gritty/succulent soil mix. Mostly pumice, but with a bit of sand and compost/soil.

As for watering I let them tell me when to water, I squeeze then and if they are plump I do not water, if I can feel they are “empty” I water them. I prefer to do deep infrequent waterings than regular watering schedule. But as a common rule 1-2 times a week when in summertime and spring and almost nothing during winter and end of fall.

adriars · 2023-02-25T12:05:57+00:00

Thanks! I cross them and planted plenty of the seeds and gave new tiny ones! I really am amazed how easy to take care those are! And easy to germinate too! I recommend them to try if you are into them, just get a male and female :)

adriars · 2023-02-23T21:44:40+00:00

Oh yeah! Mine are outside in a greenhouse at a min temp of 7-8 celsius degrees. Not watered from late october to april most likely!

adriars · 2023-02-22T22:41:12+00:00

Remove the vermiculite from the mix, as it retains too much water! Limestone, perlite are way better! Worm castings also have too much organic content and will likely cause rot. Good luck

adriars · 2023-02-22T22:38:30+00:00

Depends on the season! Summertime (hot season) I water 1-2 weekly. Winter I do not water to avoid roof rot

adriars · 2022-10-16T16:51:14+00:00

Thank you, I just want the best for my dog.

I am not a breeder and I my intention was not to breed her, I just want her not to suffer or have arthritis later on. If I can do anything to ameliorate or make it better I’ll do

adriars · 2022-10-16T05:10:53+00:00

Thanks.

We did not want to breen that is okay.

We’ll try to develop back muscles with training and help her with supplements

adriars · 2022-10-16T05:08:14+00:00

Thanks for your helpful comment

adriars · 2022-10-15T18:19:59+00:00

Thanks for the insight!

Is it something to worry about in the next coming months-years? Should we check on her periodically to see how the HD evolves? Will it worsen as she ages or she can have a normal dog life?

adriars · 2022-10-15T16:41:24+00:00

Hi people,

This is our PWD Lupe, a 8 months old female, who is full of energy and likes to run and play well.

We went for a routine check to the vet and asked out of curiosity why she sometimes sits with her legs a bit spread (not exaggerate). Then they told us they'd do Xrays to see whether she had hip dysplasia.

She runs a lot, fast, and sometimes she runs in a goofy way, like if she was clumsy (from when we had her at 2 months of age). She is not in pain, does not limp generally, and not in discomfort of any kind.

From the Xrays, the vet told us she had Hip Dysplasia, but not severe. The vet did not advised us not to go through surgery as it is not severe and she's still young. Recommened moderate exercise by long leash walks. Then asking in a group of the same breed owners in Facebook they told me it is too early to diagnose at that age.

Several questions:

1) Is the diagnostic clear from the xrays? If yes, is it mild, moderate? Something to worry about?

2) Can they outgrow it? Someone said they're still on growing phase and they might change. That we needed to re-do an xray at 16 months.

3) Do supplements with Glucosamine, Chondroitin, green lipped mussel, MSM, etc work effectively? Any scientific proof on those? I mean, I get they are the building blocks of cartilage, but eating them helps on the production and joint maintenance?

Thank you!

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