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LowWattBulb

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  • Favorite Area of Science
    Biochemistry

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  1. The color is definitely suggestive of ferric oxide, but a whole host of things can produce similar colors. If the rest of Salem, Oregon, is not complaining about their water quality, then it seems very likely that it is something in your plumbing, and if it happened after the water heater was installed, then I'd say their is your culprit. If I had to make a guess as to the most likely cause of the diarrhea and GI complaints, I would say it is an iron bacteria. Iron bacteria metabolize iron ions in the water and produce ferric oxide, which is insoluble in water. A bacterial agent would explain the GI symptoms and the discoloration.
  2. When I hear the symptoms my first thought is a microorganism of some sort, though in reading through the EPA testing list I see that the chemicals listed can produce the symptoms that you mentioned. Some questions: When you got the symptoms, did they come on quickly after drinking the water? How long did the symptoms persist when you had them? Where do you live? What type of area are you in? Is it residential or mixed use? What type of industry does your local are have? What was on your land before your house? Did you develop a fever when the symptoms came on? Has anyone else in your area complained of the same thing?
  3. Pain, or intense physical exertion. Run on a treadmill at your max heart rate for a while. Right when you can't take any more, push yourself for 30 more seconds. Watch how slow time can go.
  4. Sorry, that was a typo. I meant to say "I have no doubt you had a negative experience."
  5. Popcorn, I say this with all due respect and I don't mean it in any derogatory way. Mental health issues are mishandled many times, even by professionals such as doctors and nurses, and well meaning family members can make issues worse. I have doubt that you had a very negative experience regarding psychiatric care, and I have no doubt it was extremely traumatic for you. That being said, it does seem evident from your posts that you do suffer from some form of mental illness. But it does seem that you need professional help, and I hope you get it.
  6. Sure, Popcorn, they'll get right on that. Maybe you should go to college, then medical school, then do a psychiatric residency, then come back with your demands.
  7. I find diffuse axonal injuries work pretty well.
  8. Insects have extra appendages that allow them to fly. All vertebrates, to my knowledge, that capable of true flight have traded their front limbs in for a set of wings, both birds and bats. There are gliding animals like the flying squirrel that make use of extra skin, but this is not true flight. Even if you were able to manipulate DNA in such a way to alter your limbs to approximate wings, you'd be giving up your arms, not having them sprout out of your back. Then you'd need pectoral muscles roughly 6 feet long or so to generate enough lift to get you off the ground. If you were satisfied with gliding, I guess you could use modern plastic surgery techniques ramped up to horrific levels to stretch your skin enough to make a human wing suit... I couldn't tell you the aerodynamics of how that would go for you, but I can guarantee you sailing through the air via your extra skin will not make you the graceful pixie you imagine. Then you'd still have to land. So you'd be a huge ball of flapping skin attached to a parachute, which would make a great video game villain in a survival horror series, I think. So, you can think on it all you want, you're not going to sprout wings out of your back any more than you're going to develop glands capable of sending you backwards through time.
  9. The only thing I can think of is if the increased capillary permeability associated with septic shock allowed fluid from the intravascular space to be released back into the GI system. It can happen in capillary leak syndrome, so in cases where the osmotic gradient suffers a serious enough derangement, then you could probably get diarrhea secondary to fluid leakage bag into the intestines. But more likely, the pathogen causing the septic shock is causing the diarrhea, rather than the septic shock itself.
  10. There are many varying standards for physical fitness. Usually they focus on muscle strength, tone, body mass index, aerobic capacity, and the ability to walk to the mailbox without getting winded.
  11. Probably not. You probably have arthritis. The thing about the internet is that if you look long enough, you'll find the answer you're looking for. So if you go to enough forums and Google enough, you'll probably eventually come across a toxin that causes symptoms similar to those. But that's probably not what is happening. But if it concerns you enough, you should go to a doctor. Which begs the question, why haven't you seen a doctor? Usually posts like yours that incorporate personal issues are rooted in a desire for people to listen to and empathize with your situation, rather than looking for an actual answer. When people want an actual answer, they go to the doctor. Also, stop dating bad people.
  12. Sorry, you can't just chalk this up to simple electrons and organic molecule interactions. Well, I guess everything we experience comes down to chemical interactions, but when it comes to human body and our perceptions, the whole is definitely greater than the sum of its parts. Your fear comes down to two possibilities. The first is that you have been cut with a sharp object before, and it was a traumatizing experience. While we do not remember pain, the experience of being in pain heightens our senses and creates very detailed memories, so much so that the emotional aspect easily overrides logical reason when faced with similar circumstances. The other possibility is that you have never suffered a serious injury before, and you're simply afraid of the unknown, which is a perfectly reasonable fear. Biochemically speaking, either a fear of the unknown or a fear associated with a previous injury causes a catecholamine release via the fight or flight response mechanism leading to anxiety, increased breathing, and increased heart rate.
  13. Hey all! Hope you'll bear with me. I'm an adult who finally has an opportunity to re-invest and further his science educaiton. My last formal educaiton was University level General Chemistry about 15 years ago. I'm hoping to be able to go back and do some organic chemistry courses in the near future. So in the mean time I'm doing some self-study. So I was experimenting with some copper sufate in an aquaeous solution. I then added some aluminum and precipitate out the copper, and then I outdid myself and decanted the aluminum sulfate and added magnesium, precipitating out what I assume is aluminum powder. My focus is on understanding the exact nature of the reactions going on. Now, I understand, copper sulfate when added to the solution forms an equilibrium reaction, ionizing into Cu+ and SO4-. Now here's what I'm trying to understand. When I add the aluminum, I'm guessing a redox reaction happens, with the copper being reduced from Cu+ to Cu, which then comes out of solution, and the aluminum is oxidized from Al to Al2-. If someone could help me visualize how exactly the electrons are transferred, and how this relates to the electronegativity of copper, aluminum, and magnesium, I would really appreciate it.
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