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Updated: 34 min 38 sec ago
Secondhand Marijuana Smoke Risk
Though nearly everyone recognizes that smoking cigarettes is a known carcinogen, many marijuana users think marijuana smoke is safe. They may not realize it is inhaling the smoke, not that the smoke is from one plant or another, that is the worry. Nicotine or THC is as harmless as caffeine, but when combusted in a leaf with paper and inhaled, everything becomes harmful. Including marijuana plants.
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The Future Of Experimental Design
Ever since experimental physics was a thing, the worth of scientists could be appraised by how carefully they designed their experiments, making sure that their devices could answer as precisely as possible the questions that crowded their mind. Indeed, the success of their research depended on making the right choices on what apparatus to build, with what materials, what precise geometry, and how to operate it for best results.
(Above: Ramsay and Pierre Curie in their lab)
(Above: Ramsay and Pierre Curie in their lab)
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Planting Trees Can Fix The Climate, But Only If We Eliminate 80% Of Energy Usage
Nothing is more ridiculous than annual logjammed airports because celebrities use private jets to go to climate conferences and tell attendees eating four-course meals they need to do more to convince poor people using dung and wood for fuel that they should want solar panels. Environmental journalists insist they must also attend in person because it "builds relationships" and they promise to give money to some company that says it will plant a tree to assuage their guilt.
It's all nonsense, of course, the kind of rich white elitism that has a different name than in the 19th century but is still warmed over colonialism.
It's all nonsense, of course, the kind of rich white elitism that has a different name than in the 19th century but is still warmed over colonialism.
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Bruce Willis Has Aphasia: What Does That Mean?
In an Instagram post, the family of Bruce Willis revealed that the actor has been diagnosed with aphasia, and the cognitive decline resulting means he is stepping away from his acting career.
Aphasia is devastating for an actor because all three kinds - Broca's aphasia, Wernicke's aphasia, and global aphasia - mean a loss of communications ability. And when an actor has to struggle to communicate at all, they are losing the ability to act.
Aphasia is devastating for an actor because all three kinds - Broca's aphasia, Wernicke's aphasia, and global aphasia - mean a loss of communications ability. And when an actor has to struggle to communicate at all, they are losing the ability to act.
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With Detection Of Earendel, Hubble Just Set A Viewing Distance Record Of 28 Billion Lightyears
Fermilab, now a tourist attraction, found the Higgs Boson before the Large Hadron Collider did, but the lack of comparative luminosity made it a struggle to know that as quickly as the LHC did.
That's why the discovery of a star by Hubble 28 billion lightyears away, a new record, may not last long if everything goes as planned with its long-delayed successor, the James Webb Space Telescope. It's so far away that Hubble can't tell astronomers if it is even one star or two, because statistical blips in the data need more clarity that a deeper space telescope will provide.
That's why the discovery of a star by Hubble 28 billion lightyears away, a new record, may not last long if everything goes as planned with its long-delayed successor, the James Webb Space Telescope. It's so far away that Hubble can't tell astronomers if it is even one star or two, because statistical blips in the data need more clarity that a deeper space telescope will provide.
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Sea Cucumbers Are Ecologically Critical But Asian Food Market Demand Puts Them At Risk
Tiger blood, rhino horns, any number of natural supplements, including from endangered species, are used in the alternative medicine spheres - and that market is dominated by Asia.
Sea cucumbers are used in Chinese folk medicine but are also a luxury food product and that demand has meant once-thriving Mexican sea cucumber populations have been decimated due to poaching. China doesn't care where its products come from, so any certification could be as illegitimate as an organic food sticker from Russia.
Sea cucumbers are ecologically critical but a new literature review finds that Asian food markets have them on the brink of crisis.
Sea cucumbers are used in Chinese folk medicine but are also a luxury food product and that demand has meant once-thriving Mexican sea cucumber populations have been decimated due to poaching. China doesn't care where its products come from, so any certification could be as illegitimate as an organic food sticker from Russia.
Sea cucumbers are ecologically critical but a new literature review finds that Asian food markets have them on the brink of crisis.
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The Ukraine War Punctured The Myth Of Viable Alternative Energy
The war in Ukraine has driven oil prices to their highest leve
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Recent Volcanism On Pluto Brings Up Questions
Pluto, the Solar System’s largest dwarf planet, just became even more interesting with a report that icy lava flows have recently covered substantial tracts of its surface. In this context, “recently” means probably no more than a billion years ago. That’s old, of course – and there is no suggestion that volcanoes are still active – but it’s only a quarter the age of the Solar System and no one knows how Pluto brewed up the heat needed to power these eruptions.
The news, coming nearly seven years after NASA’s New Horizons probe made its spectacular flyby of Pluto on July 14, 2015, is thanks to analysis of images and other data by a team led by Kelsi Singer of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado.
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COVID-19 May Be Bad But If You Get That And Flu, It's Really Bad
Prior to the latest coronavirus pandemic, many were indifferent about getting the flu vaccine. They shouldn't be. Co-infections are not common but a new study finds that adults in hospital who have COVID-19 and the flu at the same time are at much greater risk of severe disease and death - over four times more likely to require ventilation support and 2.4 times more likely to die than if they only had COVID-19.
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How Antibodies Navigate Pathogen Surfaces
A new mode of how antibodies navigate the surface of pathogens like coronaviruses compares the migration of these pathogen hunters to the random movements of a child on stepping stones.
Antibodies are often thought of as Y-shaped proteins but perhaps a more accurate way to envision them is to flip the picture upside down and regard antibodies as walking stick figures, stepping on antigens. Those two characteristic “Y” branches function as legs of sorts.
Antibodies are often thought of as Y-shaped proteins but perhaps a more accurate way to envision them is to flip the picture upside down and regard antibodies as walking stick figures, stepping on antigens. Those two characteristic “Y” branches function as legs of sorts.
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Would You Buy Vitalized Minerals in 2022? Then You Shouldn't Buy Vitamins Either
I got an email from a PR agent for a vitamin company criticizing other vitamin companies for doing a questionnaire for visitors to their website and then recommending up to 8 vitamins based on their health goals and current self-reported state in this material plane. Others got it down to 2 pills a day. Still too many, they said!
The two doctors behind this company did the exact same thing, except the big news was they got it down to 1 pill. In other words, they paid someone to promote the big breakthrough that they created a multivitamin. Multivitamins have existed since 1943. Even during World War II, with sugar and meat rationed, someone found a way to be a grifter and call it science.
The two doctors behind this company did the exact same thing, except the big news was they got it down to 1 pill. In other words, they paid someone to promote the big breakthrough that they created a multivitamin. Multivitamins have existed since 1943. Even during World War II, with sugar and meat rationed, someone found a way to be a grifter and call it science.
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The Game Of The Three Spin Wheels
The late Martin Gardner held for many years a fantastic feature in the popular Scientific American magazine. It was called "Mathematical Games", and it was worth the whole magazine by itself, although SciAm always featured many interesting articles about scientific advancements. Upon picking the magazine up at a newsstand, "Mathematical Games" was the first article I would read as a teenager eager to learn about the endless tricks Gardner taught there, in his wonderful tale-telling style.
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Food Is Essential And Fertilizer Is Expensive; A New RNA Sequencing Study May Improve Both
When a giant chunk of the work force is told to stay home, and even paid to do it, the results can be felt for years. The US is facing supply chain issues due to conflicting stances like politicians demanding prices be kept low while workers must be paid more. Few areas have felt the pinch like agriculture. Food is simultaneously a strategic resource, a commodity, a values issue, and a commodity.
Labor costs have gone up across the spectrum, including fertilizer and crop protection tools, while politicians in states like California say if farmers, processors, and stores raise prices they are price gouging and will face lawsuits.
Labor costs have gone up across the spectrum, including fertilizer and crop protection tools, while politicians in states like California say if farmers, processors, and stores raise prices they are price gouging and will face lawsuits.
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Limiting Purchases Of Firearms By People On Psychiatric Medication May Reduce Suicides
Random violence is obviously a psychological problem. Every mass shooting has a link to psychiatric medication but medicine doesn't cause shootings any more than guns do. Yet we know that together there may be warning signs because number one in firearm deaths is not mass gun shootings, those are so rare they are big news, it is suicide. (1)
Discouraging gun purchases among people with major depressive symptoms may be an opportunity to diminish suicide risk while help is obtained. A new cross-sectional survey found that people with moderate depressive symptoms were more likely to have recently purchased a first firearm.
Discouraging gun purchases among people with major depressive symptoms may be an opportunity to diminish suicide risk while help is obtained. A new cross-sectional survey found that people with moderate depressive symptoms were more likely to have recently purchased a first firearm.
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During The Pandemic, Plants Became The New Pets And Greenhouses Boomed
No one will miss the COVID-19 pandemic. Except maybe greenhouses.
New surveys show about one out of every three people began gardening in 2020 because they were home more due to SARS-CoV-2 restrictions and worries. Many also put in new grass lawns and did outdoor renovations, such as installing new plant beds and other landscaping.
New surveys show about one out of every three people began gardening in 2020 because they were home more due to SARS-CoV-2 restrictions and worries. Many also put in new grass lawns and did outdoor renovations, such as installing new plant beds and other landscaping.
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The James Webb Space Telescope Achieves A New Milestone
The $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope peered into the universe and captured one of the most stunning images you will ever see.
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Sac, Tac, Mate
Chess is a wonderful game, one that contains in itself a universe of situations, choices to make, strategic concepts, tactical ideas. Through its study we realize how difficult it is to take the correct decision in a maze of opportunities, even when everything is under the sun and nothing is hidden from our view. By losing game after game with stronger opponents we get to learn the hard way -but still, within an imaginary world- that our actions have consequences. Even more: we understand that if we are sometimes powerless to choose correctly even when we have all the information available to us, we cannot possibly believe we can do that in the real world, when we have to deal with incomplete, faulty, or missing data.
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Putin’s Information War: Winning Or Losing?
Putin’s Information War: Winning or Losing?
Remarks for World Talent Economy Forum, March 21,2022
Fred Phillips
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Activists Oppose Vaccines, Agriculture And Now...Vegetarians?
The pandemic changed a lot of political landscaping when it comes to science. The anti-vaccine movement was once squarely centered inside the left but now lots of right-wing people have done their best to make Republicans look just as stupid.
Prior to 2021, environmental activists were not only comfortable with anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists under their umbrella, they embraced them, because they were overwhelmingly their wealthy donors. Now even Brooklyn hipsters and their shoulder cats say they are on Team Science again but the kookier members of the progressive movement remain opposed to nearly all applied science. They are even turning on vegetarians.
Prior to 2021, environmental activists were not only comfortable with anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists under their umbrella, they embraced them, because they were overwhelmingly their wealthy donors. Now even Brooklyn hipsters and their shoulder cats say they are on Team Science again but the kookier members of the progressive movement remain opposed to nearly all applied science. They are even turning on vegetarians.
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Pests And Disease Ruin 20% Of The Global Wheat Harvest Each Year - These Scientists Think They Can Fix It
With war in Ukraine, Europeans are worried a key source of their food, Russia and Ukraine, is at risk.
They are right to be concerned. Food is a strategic resource but European countries chose to embrace higher cost lower yield alternatives to modern agriculture at home because they got cheap food from the east.
If an additional 290,000,000,000 loaves of bread were available, that would ease the strain worldwide. That is how much wheat is lost each year due to pests and diseases that the so-called organic process can't prevent. But science can.
They are right to be concerned. Food is a strategic resource but European countries chose to embrace higher cost lower yield alternatives to modern agriculture at home because they got cheap food from the east.
If an additional 290,000,000,000 loaves of bread were available, that would ease the strain worldwide. That is how much wheat is lost each year due to pests and diseases that the so-called organic process can't prevent. But science can.
Categories: Science 2.0