SCIENCE and things like that

[Kraken]

The complicated history of how the Earth's atmosphere became breathable

More complicated and interesting than I expected. tl:dr - geology and biology need to line up.

[Isgrimnur]

Neat read.

[Isgrimnur]

Stanford

At least 2 billion people worldwide routinely drink water contaminated with disease-causing microbes.

Now, scientists at Stanford University and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have invented a low-cost, recyclable powder that kills thousands of waterborne bacteria per second when exposed to ordinary sunlight. The discovery of this ultrafast disinfectant could be a significant advance for nearly 30 percent of the world’s population with no access to safe drinking water, according to the Stanford and SLAC team. Their results are published in a May 18 study in Nature Water.
...
The new disinfectant developed at Stanford is a harmless metallic powder that works by absorbing both UV and high-energy visible light from the sun. The powder consists of nano-size flakes of aluminum oxide, molybdenum sulfide, copper, and iron oxide.

[Isgrimnur]

City of Tucson continues Cool Pavement project

It begins with the road being covered with treatment, including titanium dioxide.

“That almost acts like a sunscreen that we use when we go outdoors,” said Valenzuela. “There’s a titanium dioxide base that’s sprayed directly onto the roadway and that helps to reflect the sunlight off the surface and less heat absorption as well as reduction in the roadway temperature.”

[Daehawk]

Thats pretty cool.

[Daehawk]

Stanford

At least 2 billion people worldwide routinely drink water contaminated with disease-causing microbes.

Now, scientists at Stanford University and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have invented a low-cost, recyclable powder that kills thousands of waterborne bacteria per second when exposed to ordinary sunlight. The discovery of this ultrafast disinfectant could be a significant advance for nearly 30 percent of the world’s population with no access to safe drinking water, according to the Stanford and SLAC team. Their results are published in a May 18 study in Nature Water.
...
The new disinfectant developed at Stanford is a harmless metallic powder that works by absorbing both UV and high-energy visible light from the sun. The powder consists of nano-size flakes of aluminum oxide, molybdenum sulfide, copper, and iron oxide.

So they want us to start drinking metal to accumulate in our innards and brains? Well fine and dandy.

[Isgrimnur]

American mink regrow their brains in a rare reversal of the domestication process

From sheep to pigs to cows, domesticated animals have smaller relative brain sizes compared to their wild counterparts—a phenomenon known as the domestication effect.

Now, a study by the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (MPI-AB) has discovered a rare reversal of the domestication effect. Over the course of captive breeding, the American mink has undergone a reduction in relative brain size, but populations that escaped from captivity were able to regain almost the full ancestral brain size within 50 generations. The study is published today in the Royal Society Open Science.

"Our results show that loss of brain size is not permanent in domesticated animals," says Ann-Kathrin Pohle, a Master's student at MPI-AB and first author on the paper.

[stessier]

I thought this was really interesting and informative on the different type of microscopy.

[stessier]

Fun with physics!

[Smoove_B]

Our species is the worst:

Some paper and bamboo straws contain so-called "forever chemicals" that could make them a less-than-ideal alternative to plastic, researchers have found.

Scientists in Belgium recently tested dozens of straws from supermarkets, retail stores and fast-food restaurants in the country, and found that the majority contained PFAS — a family of synthetic chemicals used in the manufacture of consumer products because they can resist stains, grease and water.

The researchers sampled 39 brands of straws made of paper, bamboo, glass, stainless steel and plastic. Of those, 27 were found to contain PFAS, though the concentrations were low.

Of note:

Exposure to PFAS can be associated with low birth weight, high cholesterol, thyroid disease and an increased risk of kidney and liver cancers, but researchers are still learning about these health risks and aren't sure which levels of exposure are problematic.

Thimo Groffen, an author of the new study and environmental scientist at the University of Antwerp, said it’s not clear whether the manufacturers of the straws he analyzed are intentionally adding PFAS as a waterproof coating. Other possibilities, he said, are that PFAS accidentally winds up in straws during the production process, or that bamboo straws have trace amounts of PFAS due to plants being grown in contaminated soil.

Additional commentary:

Keith Vorst, director of the Polymer and Food Protection Consortium at Iowa State University, said some of the straws in the study exceeded the proposed EPA concentrations for water. However, he pointed out that the researchers didn’t test whether PFAS leaches from the straws into beverages, or whether using a straw necessarily causes someone to ingest the chemicals.

Plus, Vorst said, he has detected far higher concentrations of PFAS in drink carriers, take-home containers and microwave popcorn bags.

“I have a little fear about, ‘OK, now let’s focus on straws’ when we have much, much bigger issues that are contaminating the environment,” he said.

Peaslee said the amount of PFAS that transfers from packaging to food and drink is generally minimal, especially if the items aren't in contact for very long.

“If you let a straw sit for a day, you’ll get some in the water, but how many of us leave our straw in the water for a day and then still drink out of it?” he said.

[Daehawk]

Soon you may be able to eat all of anything and everything you want and still lose weight. Scientist have found a switch in the brain of sorts.

https://neurosciencenews.com/obesity-as ... ogy-23852/

A revolutionary discovery reveals that astrocytes, star-shaped cells in the brain, play a key role in regulating fat metabolism and obesity. These cells act on a cluster of neurons, known as the GABRA5 cluster, effectively acting as a “switch” for weight regulation.

A new drug, KDS2010, has been shown to facilitate weight loss in obese mice without reducing their food intake—even while consuming a high-fat diet. This could be a groundbreaking advancement in obesity treatment that allows people to lose weight without compromising appetite or avoiding fats.

Worked for mice.

[GreenGoo]

Physicists and mechanical engineers would like a word with him.

[Kraken]

How to outrun a dinosaur

Depends on how big it is.

Unless you’re in contention for a gold medal or are, at the very least, a fast amateur sprinter, all of these dinosaurs athletically outclass you. Yet all is not lost if one should attack. Studies of the chases between cheetah and impalas, and lions and zebras, prove a prey animal like you has a few significant advantages.

Alan Wilson, a professor at the Royal Veterinary College at the University of London who studies locomotor biomechanics, attached accelerometers to these predators and their prey to calculate their exact speed, agility, and tactics in a chase—and came away with encouraging results. His measurements suggest the cheetah is capable of running at least 53 miles per hour, while its prey the impala tops out at a mere 40. Likewise the lion can reach 46 miles per hour, while the zebra runs only 31. But despite their significant speed deficit, both the impala and the zebra successfully escape their pursuers in two out of every three pursuits. And even though the lion is faster than the impala, its capture rate is low enough that it won’t even attempt to chase one in an open field. Wilson’s findings suggest a pursuing dinosaur cannot catch you unless it’s significantly faster.

But that’s only if you know how to run. If you merely flee at top speed from these reptiles, you will exit the Mesozoic era as a coprolite. Instead, to successfully escape a more athletic pursuer, you have to run smart. You have to use tactics. And above all, you must be unpredictable.

Unlike most animals, a T. rex is not at its fastest as an adult. Instead, it reaches its peak speed in its youth before being slowed by its immense bulk. At 14 it is relatively lithe at 2,000 pounds, has an estimated speed of 33 miles per hour, and already has jaws strong enough to tear through your bones. The young T. rex is more likely to attack as well, because unlike an adult, which hunted 7,000-pound duckbill dinosaurs and five-ton Triceratops, a teenage Tyrannosaurus probably ate animals of your size.

[Punisher]

Physicists and mechanical engineers would like a word with him.

I'm sure there's a joke here but I don't get it.
Please explain.

[Blackhawk]

Physicists and mechanical engineers would like a word with him.

I'm sure there's a joke here but I don't get it.
Please explain.

Add to a system and that system has more in it. Add energy to a system designed to store energy, and that system will store that energy. And in animals, that is fat. If you want to add the same amount of energy (IE - eat the same amount) and store less (gain less fat), you only have a few choices. First is to force the system to absorb less energy (like gastric bypass.) Second is to cause the system to use more of that energy so there's less being stored. The latter is what seems to be happening here:

Using this approach the researchers were able to increase the heat production in the fat tissue of the obese mice, which allowed them to achieve weight loss even while consuming a high-calorie diet.

That's scary. It's burning more energy (by turning it into heat), but you need to be very, very careful if you're thinking about fiddling with the thermal regulation of humans. We have a surprisingly narrow window before we start to malfunction, and our brains already run hotter than our bodies. We have a significant amount of infrastructure designed to keep our brains cool - by doing things like heating our blood, which then passes through cooler parts of our body and cools off. Blood is our engine coolant. And our brains more sensitive to heat than the rest of us - it only takes a few degrees before our brain cells start to take serious, permanent damage.

If you increase the heat produced by our bodies, you also increase the temperature of our blood, while simultaneously decreasing how fast it can dump that heat.

Increase the body heat of an obese person, and their AC gives out, or a heat wave hits, or their car breaks down and they have to walk, and you could cause organ damage, brain damage, or just straight up kill them.

It's an interesting study, but it's a data point in understanding a complex system, not a way to modify that system. Collect enough of those data points and we may just learn how to do exactly what this article states - lose weight without eating less - but that's a long ways away, and probably won't work by cranking up your thermostat.

[Blackhawk]

Also, this thread has been here for six years, and I'm still waiting for the 'things like that.'

[GreenGoo]

Also, this thread has been here for six years, and I'm still waiting for the 'things like that.'

Alchemy! If you look back on page 1 or 2 I mention Alchemy there too.

[Punisher]

Thanks for the explanation Blackhawk!
I think I understood it enough.
Basically, while an interesting research it's far from a major weight loss breakthrough at th8s point and if tested on hu-mons, might do a lot more harm then good.

[The Meal]

Also, this thread has been here for six years, and I'm still waiting for the 'things like that.'

Yep.

Also, what's a thinglike science. I'm troubled by the extra-inclusive thread title and my lack of knowledge of these other things.

[GreenGoo]

Alchemy, gosh darn it! I was so proud of myself...but just keep ignoring me. That's fine.

Phrenology! Another good one!

[GreenGoo]

Thanks for the explanation Blackhawk!
I think I understood it enough.
Basically, while an interesting research it's far from a major weight loss breakthrough at th8s point and if tested on hu-mons, might do a lot more harm then good.

Yes, as BH points out, the laws of thermodynamics and conservation of energy have some concerns.

BH also makes a good point. We die fairly easily from heat exhaustion. And our brains burn out long before we die from fever. Don't mess with body temperature.

[Isgrimnur]

ABC

In a medical first, doctors transplanted a pig heart into a patient in a last-ditch effort to save his life and a Maryland hospital said Monday that he's doing well three days after the highly experimental surgery.

Guardian

The first person to receive a heart transplant from a pig has died, two months after the groundbreaking experiment, the Maryland hospital that performed the surgery announced on Wednesday.

One month after experimental pig heart transplant, doctors say they see no signs of rejection or infection

One month after an experimental procedure to transplant the heart of a genetically modified pig into a patient with end-stage heart disease, doctors say the heart is functioning on its own and shows no signs of rejection.

In September, 58-year-old Lawrence Faucette underwent the surgery, only the second ever performed in a human. Faucette’s heart disease and pre-existing conditions made him ineligible for a traditional human heart transplant.

“The physicians taking care of him believe his heart function is excellent,” said Dr. Bartley Griffith, director of the Cardiac and Lung Transplant Program at the University of Maryland School of Medicine who performed the surgery.

[Kraken]

One of the songs my band wrote in 1978 had the lyric "Old farts, new starts. Walking 'round with pigs' hearts." Took reality long enough to catch up.

[Isgrimnur]

Maryland man who received second pig heart transplant dies, hospital says

According to the University of Maryland School of Medicine, the heart had seemed healthy for the first month but began showing signs of rejection in recent days. Faucette died Monday.

In a statement released by the hospital, Faucette’s wife, Ann, said her husband “knew his time with us was short and this was his last chance to do for others. He never imagined he would survive as long as he did."

The Maryland team last year performed the world’s first transplant of a heart from a genetically altered pig into another dying man. David Bennett survived two months before that heart failed, for reasons that aren’t completely clear although signs of a pig virus later were found inside the organ. Lessons from that first experiment led to changes, including better virus testing, before the second attempt.

[Smoove_B]

Holy crap:

In a small initial test in people, researchers have shown that a single infusion of a novel gene-editing treatment can reduce cholesterol, the fatty substance that clogs and hardens arteries over time.

The experiment was carried out in 10 participants with an inherited condition that causes extremely high LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol levels, which can lead to heart attack at an early age. Despite being on cholesterol-lowering medications, the volunteers were already suffering from heart disease. They joined a trial in New Zealand and the United Kingdom run by Verve Therapeutics, a Cambridge, Massachusetts–based biotech company.

The gene-editing treatment aims to permanently lower cholesterol by using Crispr to edit a gene in the liver. Researchers gave a single infusion, in varying doses, to the patients whose average age was 54. While the lower doses didn’t have much of an effect, the highest dose reduced LDL cholesterol by 55 percent in the single patient who received it. Meanwhile, two patients who got the next-highest dose saw reductions of 39 percent and 48 percent.

Also, as a reminder - it's time to get your cholesterol checked. If you're a mutant (that could be Crispr'd), your diet is only part of the reason your levels might be high.

[Hrdina]

Boy, I should talk to my doctor about this at my next physical. My statin prescription has helped with all my cholesterol-related measurements, but not quite enough with the LDL.

Then again I might not be the target for this, as my LDL levels were "high" but I don't think they were "extremely high".

[Daehawk]

I haven't taken mine in 7 months or more. I remembered last night.

[Kraken]

Many prehistoric handprints are missing digits. Were cavemen lopping off fingers?

Men and women might have had their fingers deliberately chopped off during religious rituals in prehistoric times, according to a new interpretation of palaeolithic cave art.

In a paper presented at a recent meeting of the European Society for Human Evolution, researchers point to 25,000-year-old paintings in France and Spain that depict silhouettes of hands. On more than 200 of these prints, the hands lack at least one digit. In some cases, only a single upper segment is missing; in others, several fingers are gone.

In the past, this absence of digits was attributed to artistic licence by the cave-painting creators or to ancient people’s real-life medical problems, including frostbite.

But scientists led by archaeologist Prof Mark Collard of Simon Fraser University in Vancouver say the truth may be far more gruesome. “There is compelling evidence that these people may have had their fingers amputated deliberately in rituals intended to elicit help from supernatural entities,” said Collard.

Nor was the habit unique to one time or place, he added. “Quite a few societies encourage fingers to be cut off today and have done so throughout history.”
...
Collard and colleagues first published their finger amputation thesis a few years ago but were criticised by other scientists, who argued that the amputation of fingers would have been catastrophic for the people involved. Men and women without fully functioning hands would be unable to cope with the harsh conditions that prevailed millennia ago.

Since then, Collard, working with PhD student Brea McCauley, has gathered more data to back the amputation thesis. In a paper presented at the European Society conference, they said their latest research provided even more convincing evidence that the removal of digits to appease deities explains the hand images in the caves in France and Spain.

I think concluding that they were appeasing gods might be a stretch, but the argument for deliberate amputation is convincing as circumstantial arguments go.

[Daehawk]

Ya dont think Ill be joining their church.

[Jeff V]

You try harvesting the delicious tongue from a sabertooth tiger and see how many fingers that'll cost you.

[Daehawk]

[Daehawk]

Those poor little bugs. New news on why bugs are drawn to lightbulbs..........they figured it out. Its sad. (I turned my lights off)

[stessier]

A cool video on the history of appendectomies and how they have been treated through time.

[Daehawk]

[Isgrimnur]

[Isgrimnur]

[Daehawk]

He is all electric motors now no hydraulics. Should be lighter and more agile. Whens he gonna trim my shrubs though?

[GnomeGlimmer]

Did you know that there are more atoms in a single grain of sand than grains of sand on all the beaches in the world? It's mind-boggling to think about the sheer number of tiny particles that make up even the smallest things in our world!

[Punisher]

Did you know that there are more atoms in a single grain of sand than grains of sand on all the beaches in the world? It's mind-boggling to think about the sheer number of tiny particles that make up even the smallest things in our world!

Oh yeah? I seriously doubt abyone bothered to actually count either!

[Daehawk]