New Scientific Discoveries, Part Vier

[InsaneCommander]

On 8/14/2021 at 8:20 PM, rjshae said:

'Likes' and 'shares' teach people to express more outrage online

Does it make sense then to have a like button? Maybe it needs to be more nuanced?

They could use the system from the game Journey. The only reactions you can have are a short and a long sound. And people can interpret that any way they want. But then you would need to remove text too...

On 8/15/2021 at 12:00 PM, kanisatha said:

Maybe a 'disagree' button more so than a 'dislike' button. Too much hate and vilification on the Internet as is.

Or a "respectfully disagree", like some forums have.

Edited August 20, 2021 by InsaneCommander

[rjshae]

Fecal Transplants May Reverse Brain Aging in Mice

Quote

Scientists may have found a crappy solution to winding back the clock. A new study reveals that transplanting the feces of younger mice into the gut of older mice can reverse cognitive declines associated with aging. The work, which was published Monday in the journal Nature Aging, is the first to suggest a link between gut health and age reversal in rodents.

I'm all for reversing cognitive decline but I'm not sure I fancy going in for a fecal transplant. 

[InsaneCommander]

Well, that is a way to solve overpopulation when age reversal becomes available.

[Gfted1]

Astronomers Capture Some of the Most Detailed Galaxy Photos Yet.

[rjshae]

Disagreeable people found to be more prone to conspiracy theories

Quote

 

The traits of the Dark Tetrad are Machiavellianism (manipulativeness and cynicism); narcissism (vanity and self-obsession); psychopathy (impulsivity and callousness); and sadism (cruelty and abusiveness). Most people have elements of some of these traits, Kay said.

"In plain terms, it seems like disagreeable people, who score high in these traits, are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories," Kay said. "They are prone to odd beliefs. They don't feel like they are in control of their lives. They are robbed of their agency and have an innate distrust of other people and organizations like the government."

 

Well that's an interesting find. I'm not sure how it helps, but it's interesting.

[kanisatha]

19 hours ago, rjshae said:

Disagreeable people found to be more prone to conspiracy theories

Well that's an interesting find. I'm not sure how it helps, but it's interesting.

Seems like a load of politically self-serving B.S. so as to allow claiming: If you distrust the government, you're a disagreeable person with bad traits. I imagine governments in places like Beijing, Tehran, Havana, and Pyongyang will LOVE this "study."

[rjshae]

2 hours ago, kanisatha said:

Seems like a load of politically self-serving B.S. so as to allow claiming: If you distrust the government, you're a disagreeable person with bad traits. I imagine governments in places like Beijing, Tehran, Havana, and Pyongyang will LOVE this "study."

Distrusting the government is not the same thing as being particularly susceptible to conspiracy theories.

[kanisatha]

20 hours ago, rjshae said:

Distrusting the government is not the same thing as being particularly susceptible to conspiracy theories.

Yes I agree, and that's my point. According to the study, though, people who believe in conspiracy theories and people who distrust the government are one and the same, apparently because distrusting the government is the equivalent of being a conspiracy nut.

[ComradeYellow]

18 minutes ago, kanisatha said:

Yes I agree, and that's my point. According to the study, though, people who believe in conspiracy theories and people who distrust the government are one and the same, apparently because distrusting the government is the equivalent of being a conspiracy nut.

I think it's normal for Americans to distrust the federal government.  I mean they started a revolution over centralized authority and taxation and won so that kind of sentiment won't disappear in many circles unless another revolution occurs.  Americans seem far more receptive to local initiatives than centralized ones.

[Chilloutman]

My current boss I am working for does not believe in moon landing and thinks NASA is lying about whats going on on space station. Also he believes that our society is manipulated and controlled by illuminates. Yet he is very skilled and educated person. Who knows? BTW he is Canadian

Edited August 27, 2021 by Chilloutman

[Malcador]

7 minutes ago, Chilloutman said:

My current boss I am working for does not believe in moon landing and thinks NASA is lying about whats going on on space station. Also he believes that our society is manipulated and controlled by illuminates. Yet he is very skilled and educated person. Who knows? BTW he is Canadian

This will show up in your performance review.

[Chilloutman]

what? I agree with you mate xD

[rjshae]

Japan tests exploding rocket engine for the first time in space

Bit of a misnomer there. They're talking about testing a pulse detonation engine.

[rjshae]

Common pesticide may contribute to global obesity crisis

Quote

 

"Lifestyle changes around diet and exercise rarely lead to sustained weight loss. We think part of the problem may be this intrinsic dialling back of the metabolic furnace by chlorpyrifos."

Steinberg said chlorpyrifos would only need to inhibit energy use in brown fat by 40 calories every day to trigger obesity in adults, which would translate to an extra five lbs of weight gain per year.

 

 

[Gorth]

3 hours ago, rjshae said:

Common pesticide may contribute to global obesity crisis

 

And here I thought it was because locust swarms helps to reduce the calorie intake worldwide...

Entirely personal opinion, but I do believe the majority of world obesity is a result of a mix of lifestyle and culture. Too much availability of the wrong things because they're cheap to manufacture and distribute and a scarcity of the good things, unless your wallet can support accessing it. I know, a generalization and as such will always have exceptions.

[Gfted1]

The James Webb telescope has a bona fide launch date.

[rjshae]

On 8/29/2021 at 9:00 PM, Gorth said:

And here I thought it was because locust swarms helps to reduce the calorie intake worldwide...

Entirely personal opinion, but I do believe the majority of world obesity is a result of a mix of lifestyle and culture. Too much availability of the wrong things because they're cheap to manufacture and distribute and a scarcity of the good things, unless your wallet can support accessing it. I know, a generalization and as such will always have exceptions.

This reminds me of a story I read recently:

Fructose contributes to obesity by changing cells

Quote

Eating fructose appears to alter cells in the digestive tract in a way that enables them to take in more nutrients, according to a preclinical study from investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian. These changes could help explain the well-known link between rising fructose consumption around the world and increased rates of obesity and certain cancers.

Not only is Fructose unhealthy, but it changes your gut in a way that makes you want to be even more unhealthy.

[Gorth]

Upside-down rhino research wins Ig Nobel Prize

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-58507100

An experiment that hung rhinoceroses upside down to see what effect it had on the animals has been awarded one of this year's Ig Nobel prizes.

Other recipients included teams that studied the bacteria in chewing gum stuck to pavements, and how to control ****roaches on submarines. The spoof prizes are not as famous as the "real" Nobels - not quite.

The ceremony couldn't take place at its usual home of Harvard University in the US because of Covid restrictions.

 

Science...

[Gfted1]

MIT Physicists Just Majorly Advanced The Quest Towards Actual Fusion Power.

[rjshae]

On 9/10/2021 at 5:20 AM, Gfted1 said:

MIT Physicists Just Majorly Advanced The Quest Towards Actual Fusion Power.

Now it's only 30 years away.

[rjshae]

A little nerd humor...

[Gorth]

The only one I knew from top of my head was eV (Electron Volt, because I sometimes follow what the people at CERN are up to)... I fail at nerding

[Zoraptor]

I knew most of them, more or less.
 

Spoiler

differentiation

dunno, but presumably something more complex like differentiation of imaginary numbers

Plank's Constant- photons and quantum mechanics

definitely should remember it, but can't

nope

Avogadro's number (number of molecules present in 1 mol of material)

micrometres- often used in expensive microscopes and things like chromatographs

milliKelvins- presumably those expensive thermometers they use at close to absolute zero

nm- well, you'll blind yourself shining a nanometer laser into your eye for example but I don't like this one since bog standard visible light is in the nanometer range and outside that range can be equally/ more dangerous.

eV- lol particle accelerators etc

mSv- the Lvov/Lviv/Lwow/ FYROM/ Kosovo/ Crimea/ origin of vodka/ borscht of SI units as there are like a dozen different measures still in use apart from Sieverts and they all have their vocal proponents. Bequerels, rads, rems, grays, roentgens, curies, off the top of my head. FTR, roentgens are of course the best.

mg/kg- seen on MSDN (too much computer time) Sheets as a measure of L(ethal)D(ose)50 and means not all that toxic

µg/kg- as above, but a thousand times more deadly

τ/π- can't for the life of me remember what tau is the constant for, though pi is pretty obvious. In context, it's presumably τr --> ratio of circumference to radius vs πd --> ratio of circumference to diameter (==2πr) but I can't think of a context where you wouldn't just use pi.

The board definitely needs a discussion on Sieverts vs the plethora of other measurements used for radiation measurements.

Edited September 28, 2021 by Zoraptor

[InsaneCommander]

4 minutes ago, Zoraptor said:

I knew most of them, more or less.
 

  Hide contents

differentiation

dunno, but presumably something more complex like differentiation of imaginary numbers

Plank's Constant- photons and quantum mechanics

definitely should remember it, but can't

nope

Avogadro's number (number of molecules present in 1 mol of material)

micrometres- often used in expensive microscopes and things like chromatographs

milliKelvins- presumably those expensive thermometers they use at close to absolute zero

nm- well, you'll blind yourself shining a nanometer laser into your eye for example but I don't like this one since bog standard visible light is in the nanometer range and outside that range can be equally/ more dangerous.

eV- lol particle accelerators etc

mSv- the Lvov/Lviv/Lwow/ FYROM/ Kosovo/ Crimea/ origin of vodka/ borscht of SI units as there are like a dozen different measures still in use apart from Sieverts and they all have their vocal proponents. Bequerels, rads, rems, grays, roentgens, curies, off the top of my head. FTR, roentgens are of course the best.

mg/kg- seen on MSDN sheets as a measure of L(ethal)D(ose)50 and means not all that toxic

µg/kg- as above, but a thousand times more deadly

τ/π- can't for the life of me remember what tau is the constant for, though pi is pretty obvious. In context, it's presumably τr --> ratio of circumference to radius vs πd --> ratio of circumference to diameter (==2πr) but I can't think of a context where you wouldn't just use pi.

The board definitely needs a discussion on Sieverts vs the plethora of other measurements used for radiation measurements.

Second one is partial differentiation, like d/dx but with a function f(x,y) and you treat y as a constant.

Tau is 2*pi.

[majestic]

Re is the Reynolds number. I think. 

The fifth one looks like it's related to the Stefan–Boltzmann law, that contains a temperature to the fourth power (hence it is here known colloquially as the "T to the fourth power law", just about the only reason I know about it).