Subject: More, different BIG science news
User: TNmountainman
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We (certainly I) could see this coming, as a follow-on to "environmental" COVID testing - not that it's a *direct* result. I think the idea has been "out there" (pun not intended but noted) independently. For example..............I'm sure mrbuck has been assiduously collecting air filters in his area, as have I, to search for Bigfoot DNA. All we need now is a verified sample of Bigfoot DNA to be able to track how many of these reports are 'true'.
Beyond that...............as there are air filters everywhere.........it would have been sooo much easier to track Whitey Bulger, for example, or any "missing person(s)" with this technique. That seems far-fetched, yes, but think about how far face-recognition cameras and license-plate readers have come. Only about 1 or 2 more steps to go........
We just need DNA analysis labs every few blocks or so. Or do-it-yourself home models. Suspect your spouse has been cheating on you? Wonder how big the party was your kids had when you left town for a couple of days? Wonder if that critter up in the attic is a squirrel, skunk, 'possum, or escaped murderer? Is your Bolivian flake *really* from Bolivia? Is your expensive box of corn flakes *really* GMO-free?
But seriously.............if I may.................this could be a great tool going forward - looking backward, as it were.
Link: "environmental DNA" is on the case
User: mrbuck
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Excellent idea TN! I wondered where else I could go for hints on finding a samsquanch when I remembered we have AI now. So a quick question to ChatGDT on how to find bigfoot and here's the response:
Finding Bigfoot, also known as Sasquatch, has been a subject of interest for many people. While the existence of Bigfoot remains unverified, here are some general tips that people have used when conducting their searches:
Research: Learn about Bigfoot sightings, reports, and known hotspots. Explore accounts from witnesses and researchers to understand the patterns and characteristics associated with Bigfoot encounters.
Join or Create a Research Group: Connecting with like-minded individuals who share your interest in Bigfoot can be beneficial. Joining an existing research group or forming your own can allow you to collaborate, share information, and pool resources.
Field Investigations: Visit areas with reported Bigfoot activity. Look for remote forests, mountains, and wilderness areas known for sightings. Keep an eye out for footprints, tree structures, and other potential signs of Bigfoot activity.
Gather Evidence: Equip yourself with appropriate tools such as cameras, audio recorders, and thermal imaging devices to capture potential evidence. Document any unusual sounds, tracks, or other phenomena you may encounter during your investigations.
Practice Patience: Conducting a successful Bigfoot search requires patience and dedication. It's important to spend significant time in the field, observing and studying the environment. Keep in mind that finding definitive evidence of Bigfoot may take time and persistence.
Network and Share: Engage with the Bigfoot research community, attend conferences, and participate in online forums and discussion groups. Sharing your findings, collaborating with others, and learning from experienced researchers can enhance your knowledge and increase your chances of finding credible evidence.
Respect the Environment: While searching for Bigfoot, it's essential to respect the natural environment and wildlife. Follow local regulations, obtain necessary permits, and practice responsible outdoor ethics. Leave no trace and avoid causing any harm or disturbance to the ecosystem.
Remember, the existence of Bigfoot has not been scientifically proven, and the search for it is still considered speculative. Approach your search with an open mind and be prepared for the possibility that TN will find one first.
User: TNmountainman
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Well...........I think we both already do all of those things, right? Except....................I had not thought of this: "Keep an eye out for footprints, tree structures........". Tree structures!! Perhaps they're had to find because they build tree houses and live up there, harder to spot! Good for AI to open up that 'level' of searching!
User: TNmountainman
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Euclid joins the Webb and Gaia in the Lagrangian L2 dance.....
Euclid telescope shares its first glimpses of the universe | CNN
Direct from ESA (nearly the same content):
ESA - Euclid test images tease of riches to come
The blog (which includes a nice representation of L2) to follow Euclid news:
User: Katya
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Carrying the air filter idea further into the wilderness so to speak. How ya gonna know it's BigFoot's DNA in there? LOL
User: TNmountainman
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Well............it's up to humans (for now) to "define" "Bigfoot", right? So.........if we could ascertain, with 100%, or very near 100% certainty, that it's a primate, but not any known primate, I think that'd be close enough for cousins. That would still not answer the question of which he/she/it's related to Yeti, Ozark or Appalachian mutated hillbillies, or other crypto-species however.
User: TNmountainman
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I think this is a HUGELY important article. There's lots of links in there, some, or many of which you all may want to explore, but the overall message is wonderful. Wish this knowledge was "out there" when I was a younger chap:
The curious ways your skin shapes your health - BBC Future
[Disclaimer: my deep science research background has made me a big believer in the theory of inflammatory processes causing a lot of diseases - certainly those related to aging - so I'm already one of the choir being preached to here.]
User: TNmountainman
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This probably only barely qualifies for the title of the thread, but I think it's more relevant here than in, say, the "random posts" thread. To be sure, this article just gives an insight to the ongoing process of discovery, so the story is only beginning to be told. But it's an important educational topic, for those not hep to it:
What makes a human human? Largest-ever DNA analysis of mammals offers clues. (msn.com)
As the story notes, there's ELEVEN (count 'em, 11) papers on this topic in the current (*special*) issue of "Science", but here's the introductory one:
User: firenze
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Maybe, we need a thread entitled:
More, different MIDDLING science news
User: TNmountainman
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I actually thought, both this time and several times earlier..........of starting such a thing, but haven't for a couple of reasons:
1. It would dilute the science content too much. Don't wanna have 10 or 12 of them akin to the 30-40 "freecell vs. freecell lite" threads. 😁
2. Such a description might cause only casual science 'fans' to skip that thread entirely. To their detriment, of course.
3. The couple of threads in the catch-all "random posts" universe might actually draw more eyes the any thread with the word "science" in it, shocking as that may seem.
But I don't have my mind closed to it. There definitely are items I haven't posted at all, that would properly fit such an appellation.
User: TNmountainman
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Sorta in the "middling" realm, as it's just a nice "theory" to contemplate:
Scientists propose sweeping new law of nature, expanding on evolution (msn.com)
So what they're saying, among other things, is that there is a force working *against* entropy? (Not really; I'm just teasing, but if one wasn't careful about defining a "system", then one could think along those lines.) I don't think this idea is brand new, but maybe this is the most fully-formed expression of it.
User: BuzzClik
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Entropy is just part of the equation when it comes to determining the state of a system. Forces work against entropy all the time...
User: TNmountainman
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Euclid reports in from its Lagrangian L2 perch:
Euclid telescope’s first images reveal new cosmic details | CNN
User: TNmountainman
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Ok, (for now) this probably falls into the "MIDDLING" category as suggested by firenze, but seems curiously like some threshold may have been crossed.........or something. The places this could "go" is certainly something to ponder:
https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/30/world/living-robots-from-human-cells-scn/index.html
User: GoAdoptADog!
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Gah TN, what a weird time to be alive, huh? I can’t think about such things for too long without my head spinning. You know what I feel like is one of the most important discoveries that many of us take for granted? Placebo effect. I mean, if you really think about it.. the implications of placebo effect are pretty crazy. I haven’t read up on the topic nearly enough, (even though I minored in psych, ha) but the idea that the physical can be affected by the perceptual is pretty neat. A real life magic trick of sorts.
User: TNmountainman
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Hard to decide which Science thread to put this one in; could go in either one, as they've to a large extent cross-pollinated each other.
Back on page 2 of the thread about the Russians invading Ukraine ("C?LABA YKPAIHA!") ..............I wrote this:
"For extra credit................ponder upon the Steppes as being largely the (apparent) origin of the Yamnaya culture, and how that became perhaps the greatest ancient factor leading to the peopling and population of Europe - altho of course its FAR more complicated than that. But it's an interesting (at least for me) exercise to wonder in what ways that past led us to this present. What affect do ancient haplotypes have on the modern world?? I don't know - just interesting to wonder about."
So...........................just published today:
Ancient DNA reveals reason for high multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's rates in Europe (msn.com)
That's discussing not 1, but *4* new papers in the new edition of "Nature". Massive, massive amount of data and work to churn out these studies. I've always been amazed how much the Yamnaya culture has influenced, and continues to influence, our world today - very especially "Western Civilization". More to come from this in the future..........
User: TNmountainman
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mrbuck, do you have spiders in your neck of the woods? Assuming yes..............you'll now have an *even easier* way to detect samsquatch activity in your environs. This is an 'extension' on the news I reported above on Jul. 5, 2023. And wonder if the FBI in Michigan/New York/New Jersey has any Jimmy Hoffa DNA they can try and match?
Spiders spin webs to catch prey. They’re also trapping a wealth of DNA | CNN
User: TNmountainman
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For those who didn't 'get' the colorization process of the Webb images (and others), BBC has just done a small explanatory video on it:
Why space isn't as colourful as photos make it seem (bbc.com)
For reference..................go back in this thread to Aug 4-5, 2022:
Freecell.net - play online competitive Freecell solitaire
User: TNmountainman
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Hubble transitioning to a "safe mode":
The Hubble Space Telescope makes a big change to keep observing the universe | CNN
User: BuzzClik
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The beginning of the end.
Many of us can relate.
User: TNmountainman
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New estimate for the Hubble constant..............using Webb data. Go back in this thread to Aug. 31, and Sept. 1, 2022; and April 7, 2023 for background, if you need it.
(Click on "PDF" in the right sidebar to see the whole article in that form. It's long - and exquisitely dense, but one can read the introduction, and then scroll down to page 53 and read the "Summary and Conclusions" section.)
Here's the lay version, at an absurdly elemental level - for those who follow and care about this stuff, at least.
I'm sure they'll get some pushback on this, so we'll see what that's like.......
User: Dr.Bombay
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Tn, one could easily argue that the BBC article about space not being as colorful as it seems (based on enhanced Webb pics) is homo centric crap. A huge number of species (and even more sci-fi alien species) see in ranges outside of the limited range of human vision. Shifting the color spectrum is nothing to apologize for. Our planet, and the entire cosmos, is way more colorful than we think.
User: TNmountainman
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I think we already hashed this out, more or less, back in 2022, in this thread (mostly Aug. 4-5, if anyone wants to go check it out). To call it "homo centric crap" is, imo, a very strong exaggeration. Yes, a huge number of species can see outside of human wavelength perception (not sure about "sci-fi alien species", but yeah, likely). But the *degree* of "outside" is VERY limited (again, not sure about the sci-fi ones) in all the animals we've been able to study. To my knowledge, I don't think any animals can 'see' very far into either the ultraviolet or infrared, and certainly not at all (that we can perceive) into X-rays, radio waves, microwaves, gamma radiation, etc. As you well know, the visible spectrum, *including* the near-IR and near-UV, make up only a TINY fraction of the whole spectrum of electromagnetic radiation. If homo can see (just for the sake of argument, as it's actually probably a lot less), say, 0.1% of the whole spectrum, then maybe cats, or whatever animal has the greatest range, can see something like 0.12%, or maybe 0.15% to be *extremely* generous/optimistic. It's an *extremely* small addition (*to the best of our knowledge, and we've looked*). (Dolphins, bats, etc., use sound waves for their echolocation, so that's off the table, strictly speaking.) We only have tidbits of info about some insects; there may be a bit more frequency range therein - possibly a tad into the ultraviolet, but that research is kind of sketchy, as I recall. Some birds have expanded UV vision, I believe, but it's still quite limited relative to the entire electromagnetic spectrum.
And I agree that shifting the color spectrum is nothing to apologize for. It helps the non-scientific segment of our populace to grasp the frequency differences, even if they're not the 'true' frequencies. Well-explained in that BBC video. *Really* have a hard time understanding why you are raking that over the coals (in their infrared majesty - LOL). So yes, the cosmos is more "colorful" than we think (and moreso than even imagine, probably), BUT..............we need to understand what we mean by "colorful". The reds, greens, blues, pinks, purples, etc. are not "real" in those pics -- but the frequency differences are, allowing us to see all that fantastic definition.
User: TNmountainman
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Nov. 23rd last year, just above, in this thread, I began a post like this:
"Ok, (for now) this probably falls into the "MIDDLING" category as suggested by firenze, but seems curiously like some threshold may have been crossed.........or something. The places this could "go" is certainly something to ponder:
So here's something else I'll throw into that category. Premature to call it "BIG", but it could become that down the road:
Common food dye can make skin transparent in mice, study finds | CNN
User: BuzzClik
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That might explain folks like Larry Bird.
(That's a Bill Murray reference. Space Jam )
User: TNmountainman
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More info from the Lagrangian outpost:
See the first piece of what promises to be the largest 3D map of the universe | CNN
As discussed two posts up............this in and of itself doesn't quite qualify (altho that's debatable) for the thread title, and so I would have stuck it into a "Middling" thread (if one existed), but since we've already been discussing Euclid herein.............. And besides that, the 'astonishment' factor is certainly there, even if mostly looking into the future (for more results/data, whilst at the same time, looking into the past *for* said data -- but that's certainly ok, as we've already established (or *somebody* did!).....that time is not a dimension). 😂
User: TNmountainman
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It just keeps getting weirder. This could go into either one of the main science threads:
https://apnews.com/article/dark-energy-desi-cosmology-astronomy-7856ae96fab5cb42e6b4a6fd7c3555ec
User: TNmountainman
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This is pretty doggone weird:
The comb jelly, one of the oldest animals on Earth, can fuse with another | CNN
No way to know if'n it'll have any future medical import for humans, but it could. It's sorta opened a little doorway into the past, and we really don't know what all's in there.
User: GoAdoptADog!
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> “The blob was bigger than others, and it looked as though two of the jellies had merged into one. ‘I couldn’t believe my eyes at first,’ ”
>”It squirmed. Simultaneously, so did the one to which it seemed to be attached. “We thought, ‘Are they able to feel the same thing? Are they one individual? Two individuals? How can we disentangle this?’”
> “one of, if not the, oldest animals on Earth.”
> “the jelly is able to develop backward, reverting to an earlier life stage following stress.”
> “At first, the jellies continued to contract their muscles independently. Within an hour, their rhythmic movements started to synchronize. By the two-hour mark, they were in sync. When poked gently on one side, both sides of the combined organism contracted in unison.”
> “Eventually, the waste was expelled by both anuses, each in its own time.”
> “most interesting about the study is the way it calls into question what she thought of as ‘pretty hard boundaries’”
> “these animals ‘bypass that sensory rejection to then potentially have an even better chance of survival,’”
> “I would like to investigate how their ‘thoughts’ are integrated,”
Even more fascinating, much of this also describes exact experience of some cable news coverage and many, many campaign rallies..
(Cheap shot, I don’t mean it (mostly, ha) but couldn’t resist. And I didn’t even touch on “hairlike appendages,” nor any mention of “comb-bearers, named for their combs” ..so.. ..you’re welcome.)
User: TNmountainman
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Ok, this is another one of those that isn't *quite* big science news - depending on who one asks. Although the paper appears well-researched, seems like there's plenty of room for alternative explanations, not that I'm going to give one. It's a pretty ingenious trick to be able to measure how much light from such distance is slowed down by the intergalactic medium, thereby "weighing" it. IF this turns out to be true, then it *will* be pretty big news. I'm always suspicious of experiments that arise from simulations, but as BrewCrew would say, "what do I know?":
Mysterious fast radio bursts illuminate ‘missing’ cosmic matter | CNN
And here's the *real* article:
A gas-rich cosmic web revealed by the partitioning of the missing baryons | Nature Astronomy
User: BuzzClik
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(This is as good a thread as any for this.)
It had to happen, but I am providing a peer review of an manuscript that obviously has been heavily dependent on AI for the writing. It's like reading a paper written by a middle schooler who is trying to impress the teacher with their newly minted vocabulary.
For decades, reviewing papers for English language journals written by non-English speaking scientists has been challenging -- trying to see the science beneath the struggles with the language. It's an exhausting exercise, often resulting in marginal science sliding by due to uncertainties in interpretation.
Now, AI strips away the language barrier, and poor science is laid bare. Pluses and minuses and minuses and minuses.
User: TNmountainman
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This is another one that could go into some "MIDDLING" category. It's actually big news, but it's sorta gonna be a continuing story of discovery - thus merely the "middling" designation. Hard to know where all this research will go down the line:
Scientists recover proteins from a 24 million-year-old rhino fossil. Are dinosaurs next? | CNN
24 million-year-old proteins are stupefying, of course. Now there'll be a scramble to see what all's "out/in" there.
User: BuzzClik
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Wouldn’t it be cool if they recovered the Dino DNA and were able to use that DNA to grow living dinosaurs??!!?!?!!!
They could them in a big preserve called … Modern Mesozoic.
User: TNmountainman
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"Modern Mesozoic" is a pretty cool name. Sounds like some fashion or architectural design movement. Scales, anyone?
You might want to trademark that........just in case.
User: BuzzClik
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This is big, but not in a good way: The prestigious journal, Science, retracts article
The article was published in 2010 and claimed that arsenic could replace phosphorus in cellular building blocks. It was a splashy publication that was accompanied by a lot of fanfare from the journal, NASA (who funded the research), and the authors. The spin being placed on the results was that this could indicate a different approach to looking for extraterrestrial life. Immediately upon publication, the scientific community leaped on various flaws in the methods and interpretation. The most meaningful comments dealt with improper steps in the DNA purification and the chemical instability induced by As-substitution. The criticism began as typical scientific squabbling -- heated but professsional. However, the decision to go full public with the announcements opened the door for an avalanche of online "discussion" that had no resemblance to professionalism.
Science held firm and did not retract the paper in the early years because their policy was to not retract papers due to the claim of errors or questionable interpretation. (Proof of faked result is would be an instant retraction.) Science actually encouraged the professional discussions.
In the meantime, the lead author was being featured in popular magazines, which fanned the flames among her detractors. Eventually, it became so noisy that the lead author left her position. Fast forward one decade, and she announced her return to scientific investigation, and Science pulled the plug on the paper.
This mess is the confluence of unfortunate errors in lab studies, incomplete peer review (Science really puts pressure on reviewers, and methodological details are scant in the notoriously short papers), NASA administration's endless desire to put a spin of "seeking life on other planets" on big projects, the lead author basking in popular notoreity, and half-baked faux scientists spewing venom on the internet when they should remain silent.
Yeesh.
User: TNmountainman
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I'm kinda with you on this, Buzz - but can also see the other side of the story. However, as you well know............that's supposed to be hashed out with further experiments, debates, etc., etc. I certainly remember the hub-bub about this back when it was published, and while seemingly far out.................there sure are other 'real' things that are "far out". I have *not* followed the back-and-forth leading to them pulling the paper (nor have I carried out my own arsenic experiments - LOL). And again, as you well know, that's a very extreme move, so I figure they must have "had their reasons". But in this day and time........................odd/novel 'forces' can affect scientific "progress", so very sad to say. Maybe the "Journal of Irreproducible Results" will put it back out? Still waiting on that confirmation of cold fusion here........................🙄🙄🙄
User: TNmountainman
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Ok.................all *that* said....................................here's a new study that *could* be a MAJOR landmark.
Could lithium explain — and treat — Alzheimer’s? — Harvard Gazette
Lithium deficiency and the onset of Alzheimer’s disease | Nature
Yes, we've seen all too many theories/studies fail to make the leap from mice to men, but these folks seem to have covered all the bases they could reasonably cover. Seems VERY well-conducted. This isn't the first go-'round of testing lithium orotate, but the earlier testing was way back in the '70s, and not nearly as well-done as this stuff. Back then, as the saying goes, results were "mixed". I personally have a good feeling about this. Seems like we've been beating all around the correct bush(es) on this for decades, but may have found a proper pathway.
User: BuzzClik
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Fascinating, TN. We do keep spinning around lithium for treating dimentia/Alzheimers. And the concept of lithium deficiency is new to me, but it makes sense. It is front and center in treating bipolar disorder.
[I think we should reserve judgment on those Hahvard (ew) studies until the experts weigh in, specifically, the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Our best interests are his top priority, and he is gifted with deep knowledge and experience in all aspects of human health. (Remember when he was a warrior for renewable energy?)]
User: TNmountainman
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Yes, I remember. Great to have top scientists in charge in these times.
The theory/folklore/old wives' tales of lithium, or more broadly, of "mineral salts" and "mineral baths" likely had **some** truth in it - surprising as that may be. In fact............did you know that the original 7-Up formula had lithium in it?
I smell at least one Nobel down the road for this. Last time I predicted that here: Yep.
User: TNmountainman
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Welp.............this is certainly big news. It'll be a loooong, drawn-out process to see how it unfolds, or if it's ultimately impactful. Will be "interesting" to see the tobacco companies' reactions. OH - check that - the "carbon majors" reactions.
Systematic attribution of heatwaves to the emissions of carbon majors | Nature
"We, therefore, establish that the influence of climate change on heatwaves has increased, and that all carbon majors, even the smaller ones, contributed substantially to the occurrence of heatwaves. Our results contribute to filling the evidentiary gap to establish accountability of historical climate extremes."
User: BuzzClik
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The article re-sorted the existing data to allow assigning contributions to companies rather than countries.
As for the reaction of the carbon majors, I don't think they'll need to react at all. They have built pretty effective walls around themselves in the form of advocates in all the major carbon-polluting countries. Lawsuits will follow. To be resolved in a very long time.
User: TNmountainman
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Yes, it'll take 'forever' to settle it all out [see "Toxxon Valdez" - which is *still* dragging on (in some forms), with the majority(?) of fishermen dying before being compensated. And yes, that's a gross oversimplification; not going down that sea otter hole here.]
Not sure how well those walls will work in Europe, Africa, and CA (for example) long-term. I guess that'll be unfolding over the next few decades. And if one reads carefully, one will see that specific *countries* are named, too. It's a big step 'forward', imo. But it's a very, very long road.
User: TNmountainman
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Earlier in this thread, we've discussed "environmental DNA" sampling, to search for 'whatever'. mrbuck is using it in his environs in his quest for samsquatch. Go back to July, 2023 in this thread for some of the applications. And now a new one - possibly. Amazing if'n it can be 'proved' and refined:
How DNA from the ocean floor might transform the somber search for troops lost at sea | CNN
User: TNmountainman
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Our history continues to "complex-ify":
Mystery foot fossil belonged to a little-known species that lived alongside Lucy | CNN
User: BrewCrewOldSkool
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I think I was thinking of superconductivity research, actually.
User: TNmountainman
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Our two main science discussion threads became sort of entangled quite a while back, which is ok. So for only vague reasons (mostly more recent Hubble content in this one), I've selected this one to carry this enticing news:
NASA’s Hubble spots galaxy made of 99% dark matter | CNN
It's really very cool the thought process they used to deduce what they did. The most specious part of their theory is the
"Astronomers believe, Li explained, that after the formation of the clusters early in the galaxy’s existence, larger surrounding galaxies stripped it of the hydrogen gas required to make more individual stars like our sun."
.....part. Like, I need more reason(s) why another galaxy, presumably thousands or millions of light years away, would be able to suck away the hydrogen from all the dark matter. Since gravitation decreases with the square of distance, that part doesn't make enough sense. I'm sure they've thought all that through, however. Here's the actual article:
I haven't plowed thru it in detail, but skimmed it somewhat. Their evidence is mostly statistical - but after all, most science *is*, right? They're certainly put in the work on it.
This will be VERY big news, assuming it plays out as it portends. VERY big news. While it doesn't tell us what dark matter IS...............it gives us a much better way to study it - and thus a significant step towards solving the mystery.