Today I Learned

[Itoero]

Today I learned the first plastic billiard balls had a habit of exploding...they were made with nitrocellulose.

https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-earliest-plastic-billiard-balls-had-a-habit-of-expl-1705491374

[John Cuthber]

29 minutes ago, Itoero said:

Today I learned the first plastic billiard balls had a habit of exploding...they were made with nitrocellulose.

https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-earliest-plastic-billiard-balls-had-a-habit-of-expl-1705491374

They didn't make a habit of it; they usually only did it once.

Today I learned that it was international bad joke day.

[Itoero]

37 minutes ago, John Cuthber said:

They didn't make a habit of it; they usually only did it once.

Today I learned that it was international bad joke day.

I can imagine it's difficult to explode two times, even for a billiard ball!

[Evgenia]

Today i learned around 400 people were cryopreservated for now. Not only by Alcor or other companies abroad, but in Russia too we have such a company providing this service. One of the founders of this company is living and working in my own city. So am planning to visit his lecture and meet him. That's an awesome interesting thing to know for me!

[DrmDoc]

Today I learned how the CIA tried to train cats to be spies.  It was a hilariously absurd idea.

[EdEarl]

Whether cats or mice, I'm pretty sure the CIA will induct some animal into their cadre of spies using implants; I'm sure they want a controllable critter cam. .

[DrmDoc]

15 minutes ago, EdEarl said:

Whether cats or mice, I'm pretty sure the CIA will induct some animal into their cadre of spies using implants; I'm sure they want a controllable critter cam. .

Yes, I think it's all in the tradition of humans training animals for jobs we can't or won't do ourselves.  For example, there was a breed of dog, now extinct, that humans bred and trained to operate a hearth rotisserie attached to a treadmill.  The breed was treated most inhumanely which, if I recall correctly, may have led to the emergence of the very first animal rights group. 

Also, today I learned why we have earwax and why its removal, when necessary, should be performed properly.

[Itoero]

Today I learned that male Chinese hamsters have very large testicles.

http://www.noobooweb.com/Chinese_Info

[DrmDoc]

Today I learned why hydrogen peroxided should not be used to clean wounds.  Its interaction with catalase at the wound site causes oxidation that can slow the healing process by damaging cell and entering the bloodstream.

[John Cuthber]

9 minutes ago, DrmDoc said:

Today I learned why hydrogen peroxided should not be used to clean wounds.  Its interaction with catalase at the wound site causes oxidation that can slow the healing process by damaging cell and entering the bloodstream.

Today I learned that the man in that video thinks that H₂O₂ is "2 parts hydrogen and  1 part oxygen" (about 1 min 10sec.)

He thinks it's use by the body is a recent discovery

Well, this wasn't new 30 years back when I was a student.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Respiratory_burst

I always thought the main use of it in cleaning wounds was that thebubbles would lift the dirt out.
It simply doesn't last long enough in the body to do much harm (except in the rather weird situation of causing an embolism)

 

[DrmDoc]

20 hours ago, John Cuthber said:

Today I learned that the man in that video thinks that H₂O₂ is "2 parts hydrogen and  1 part oxygen" (about 1 min 10sec.)

You're quite right; however, the video's host afterwards correctly describes hydrogen peroxides chemical composition.  Also, the host does indeed reference more recent clinical findings by the German Cancer Research Center in 2014 on the nature of H₂O₂ in the body rather than rely on 30 year old references or those supported by a 2003 reference as in the Wikipedia reference you've provided.  Although he did not cite a reference, the host does say (4 min. 20 sec. in) that topical hydrogen peroxide has been implicated in "several fatal and near fatal incidents."  I'll see if I can find a reference for those incidents. 

[hypervalent_iodine]

4 hours ago, DrmDoc said:

You're quite right; however, the video's host afterwards correctly describes hydrogen peroxides chemical composition.  Also, the host does indeed reference more recent clinical findings by the German Cancer Research Center in 2014 on the nature of H₂O₂ in the body rather than rely on 30 year old references or those supported by a 2003 reference as in the Wikipedia reference you've provided.  Although he did not cite a reference, the host does say (4 min. 20 sec. in) that topical hydrogen peroxide has been implicated in "several fatal and near fatal incidents."  I'll see if I can find a reference for those incidents. 

!

Moderator Note

I would suggest opening a new thread if you wish to discuss further.

 

[CharonY]

6 hours ago, DrmDoc said:

You're quite right; however, the video's host afterwards correctly describes hydrogen peroxides chemical composition.  Also, the host does indeed reference more recent clinical findings by the German Cancer Research Center in 2014 on the nature of H₂O₂ in the body rather than rely on 30 year old references or those supported by a 2003 reference as in the Wikipedia reference you've provided.  Although he did not cite a reference, the host does say (4 min. 20 sec. in) that topical hydrogen peroxide has been implicated in "several fatal and near fatal incidents."  I'll see if I can find a reference for those incidents. 

Going through lit two things stood out. It is still commonly used and much of the utility is, as John said, for debridement. What has been criticized is that its antibacterial efficacy is undertested. Nonetheless there are publications that ~2% or even lower concentrations seem to have benefits in a variety of applications, including for grafts but also for general wound healing. There are a few that indicate slower wound healing at higher concentrations and in animal studies even concentrations as low as ~200 mM were associated with delayed healing. But at lower than 10 mM would healing improved.

By skimming, I could not find any publications with decent data that would support the notion that it could be unsafe (if that was the assertion in the video, I have not watched it).

 

 

 

[Itoero]

Today I learned about the Wallace Line.

The Wallace Line (or Wallace’s Line) is a boundary that separates the zoogeographical regions of Asia and Australasia. West of the line are found organisms related to Asiatic species; to the east, mostly organisms related to Australian species. The line is named after Alfred Russel Wallace, who noticed the apparent dividing line during his travels through the East Indies in the 19th century.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_Line

 

[DrmDoc]

On ‎7‎/‎28‎/‎2017 at 8:46 PM, CharonY said:

Going through lit two things stood out. It is still commonly used and much of the utility is, as John said, for debridement. What has been criticized is that its antibacterial efficacy is undertested. Nonetheless there are publications that ~2% or even lower concentrations seem to have benefits in a variety of applications, including for grafts but also for general wound healing. There are a few that indicate slower wound healing at higher concentrations and in animal studies even concentrations as low as ~200 mM were associated with delayed healing. But at lower than 10 mM would healing improved.

By skimming, I could not find any publications with decent data that would support the notion that it could be unsafe (if that was the assertion in the video, I have not watched it).

If not in violation of our administrator's note, many thanks for your insight.

[MigL]

Cats trained as spies, DrmDoc ?
interesting but unworkable, I'm afraid.

I don't see a problem with the black tux, Omega Seamaster or even the Walther PPK.
But shifting gears in the Aston Martin would be a problem.

[dimreepr]

59 minutes ago, MigL said:

Cats trained as spies, DrmDoc ?
interesting but unworkable, I'm afraid.

I don't see a problem with the black tux, Omega Seamaster or even the Walther PPK.
But shifting gears in the Aston Martin would be a problem.

Maybe not but pigeons were trained as a guidance system.

[DrmDoc]

2 hours ago, MigL said:

Cats trained as spies, DrmDoc ?
interesting but unworkable, I'm afraid.

I don't see a problem with the black tux, Omega Seamaster or even the Walther PPK.
But shifting gears in the Aston Martin would be a problem.

Ha!

[DrmDoc]

Today I learned why we are attracted to people who look like us.  It seems the attraction could be genetically based because people who share similar genetic traits tend to have more stabile relationships.

[CharonY]

3 minutes ago, DrmDoc said:

Today I learned why we are attracted to people who look like us.  It seems the attraction could be genetically based because people who share similar genetic traits tend to have more stabile relationships.

Actually I would be careful with generalizations in that regard. There are studies that indicate that sexual selection often favours dissmilarities in major histocompatibility complex genes. I.e. people prefer people who are genetically dissimilar (and hence likely to look different). The reason being that a larger variety in these genes offers selective advantages to combat pathogens.

A difficulty here is the large numbers of covariates and the complexity of outcomes (such as stability of relationships). For example, having a similar background can lead to more stable relationships as one shares a similar language and beliefs.Also, people with same background may also be more genetically similar. If one only considers genetics, one may assume that the basic is genetic, whereas it just coincides with the actual determining factor.

[DrmDoc]

20 hours ago, CharonY said:

Actually I would be careful with generalizations in that regard. There are studies that indicate that sexual selection often favours dissmilarities in major histocompatibility complex genes. I.e. people prefer people who are genetically dissimilar (and hence likely to look different). The reason being that a larger variety in these genes offers selective advantages to combat pathogens.

A difficulty here is the large numbers of covariates and the complexity of outcomes (such as stability of relationships). For example, having a similar background can lead to more stable relationships as one shares a similar language and beliefs.Also, people with same background may also be more genetically similar. If one only considers genetics, one may assume that the basic is genetic, whereas it just coincides with the actual determining factor.

Indeed, the SciShow  Psych's host for the link above cautioned that small similarities and shared interests rather than overwhelming genetic similarities could be a fact and referenced limited recent studies (2013 and 2014) suggesting as much.   

[DrmDoc]

 Today I learned about the Hyrax.  Although you can't tell from the picture, this rodent-like creature is actually more closely related to elephants!

[Itoero]

Today I learned about  the Honeycomb conjecture.

The honeycomb conjecture states that a regular hexagonal grid or honeycomb is the best way to divide a surface into regions of equal area with the least total perimeter.

Some examples: Chicken wire, Graphene,  carbon nanotube,

You can also see this in how cell membrane is ordered, soapbubbels, crystal structure, carbohydrates...

Edited August 6, 2017 by Itoero

[DrmDoc]

Today I learned how caffeine keeps us awake.  Caffeine is an adenosine antagonist, which is one of the substances produced by the brain's metabolic processes that induce drowsiness. Caffeine works by blocking adenosine receptors, which can cause the emergence of new receptors inducing higher caffeine consumption to block the effects of adenosine.   

Also, today I learned that an analysis of meta-data shows that human sperm count has been declining since 1973.  It's down 59% and is showing no signs of stopping.  For some reason, I don't think that decline will have that much of an affect on our population. 

Edited August 7, 2017 by DrmDoc

[koti]

Today I learned that spending half a day posting in a thread about religion prevents you from learning anything.