Science Megathread

[PSOL]

Scientists reveal 'ideal diet' for peoples' and planet's health

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-diet/scientists-reveal-ideal-diet-for-peoples-and-planets-health-idUSKCN1PA34E

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[Frodo]

Desalinization has its downsides -and it's not just the upfront cost of construction:

UN warns of rising levels of toxic brine as desalination plants meet growing water needs

World's ~16,000 desalination plants discharge 142 million cubic meters of brine daily -- 50 percent more than previously estimated; Enough in a year to cover Florida under a foot (30.5 cm) of brine

[Frodo]

Forest Soil Affected By Fire Or Logging Can Take Almost A Century To Recover

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[Frodo]

For the scientifically minded, were you ever curious to know what exactly caused that huge spike in temperatures ten of millions years ago called the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum?

Now I think we've found one of the culprits -it was a huge volcanic eruption in Scotland back when it was still as geologically active as East Africa and Indonesia are today:

Skye volcanic eruption 'changed climate'

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And here is a link to the study's summary.

[Frodo]

New Theory: Life on Earth Came From Impact With Another Planet

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[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

That's not remotely a new theory?

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

The impact isn't the new theory, but that having such an impact increased the odds of life developing here.

[Frodo]

Fossilized Feathers Of Winged Dinosaur Anchiornis Offer Clues To How Birds Evolved To Fly

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And there's an excellent documentary on the Curiosity Channel that helps to illustrate feathered dinosaurs.

[Frodo]

Scientists Create Fabric That Cools When It's Hot And Warms When It's Cold

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[PSOL]

Plummeting insect numbers 'threaten collapse of nature'

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[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

It's hard to get sad about an inanimate object, but Randall Munroe managed to do that for me today over at xkcd.



And in case you don't know why. here's why.

[Frodo]

This will make you look at a monument like Stonehenge with a whole different mindset.  Or at least provide context:

Europe’s Megalithic Monuments Originated in France and Spread by Sea Routes, New Study Suggests

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Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/articles/europe-megalithic-monuments-france-sea-routes-mediterranean-180971467/#55m6b20cSZDCjhXk.99

[Frodo]

I am sure some of you have seen the Animal Channel 'mockumentary' from several years ago proposing that there are still remnant populations of Megalodons lurking beneath the ocean depths.  Well, not only are they definitely extinct (thank God), but they became extinct a million years earlier than any of us thought.  And the primary culprit of their demise was the Great White Shark:

Megalodon is definitely extinct—and great white sharks may be to blame
New analysis of the ancient behemoths suggests they disappeared a million years earlier than thought, raising questions about what led to their demise.

Here is a size comparison -basically, Great Whites are about the same size as a juvenile Megalodon:

  

[dead0man]

humans killed a lot of megafauna off even before we had things like atl-atls and slings (much less AR15s and semi-auto shotguns)

[muon2]

Shattering my dreams that Meg was killed by muons.

[Frodo]

Thank goodness for GMOs:

How to feed the world by 2050? Recent breakthrough boosts plant growth by 40 percent

[Frodo]

Researchers Succeed In Turning CO2 Back Into Coal

[Frodo]

We may be on the brink of finding a viable alternative to plastic:

Squid Teeth-Inspired Proteins May Provide Eco-Friendly Plastic Alternative

[Lourdes]

HIV-positive man in U.K. is 2nd known adult worldwide to be cleared of the AIDS virus

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/hiv-positive-man-u-k-2nd-known-adult-worldwide-be-n979186

LONDON- An HIV-positive man in Britain has become the second known adult worldwide to be cleared of the AIDS virus after he received a bone marrow transplant from an HIV resistant donor, his doctors said.

Almost three years after receiving bone marrow stem cells from a donor with a rare genetic mutation that resists HIV infection - and more than 18 months after coming off antiretroviral drugs - highly sensitive tests still show no trace of the man's previous HIV infection.

"There is no virus there that we can measure. We can't detect anything," said Ravindra Gupta, a professor and HIV biologist who co-led a team of doctors treating the man.

[dead0man]

meanwhile, in Bad Science News...Canada spends $70k/year on homeopathy in Hondorous

Physicians who go on aid missions abroad want the federal government to review its funding of a program that sends homeopaths to Honduras because of the potential harm to local people.

Since 2015, Quebec-based Terre Sans Frontières (TSF) has been spending $70,000 annually in aid money from Global Affairs Canada to dispatch more than a dozen volunteer homeopaths to Honduras.

The money runs out in 2020. But Dr. Zain Chagla wants the federal government to review the homeopath program which claims to prevent and treat Chagas disease among other serious infections.

"I really do believe this is a wake-up call," he said.

Chagla, who has done tropical medicine training in East Africa and is a professor at McMaster University in Hamilton, said the homeopaths' claims about treating Chagas disease are potentially harmful.

"There is no evidence that what they're using is anything more than diluted water. It's a placebo, and we're talking about a disease that can again kill and cause a significant amount of scarring down the line," he said.

<snip>

[Frodo]

Imagine the original 'Jurassic Park' with a feathered T-Rex:

A new T. rex exhibit takes a deep dive into the iconic dinosaur

[dead0man]

Paleontologists have found a fossil site in North Dakota that contains animals and plants killed and buried within an hour of the meteor impact that killed the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. This is the richest K-T boundary site ever found, incorporating insects, fish, mammals, dinosaurs and plants living at the end of the Cretaceous, mixed with tektites and rock created and scattered by the impact. The find shows that dinosaurs survived until the impact.

[Frodo]

Apparently the Neanderthal were survived not just by modern humans, but also by their Denisovan cousins:

Denisovans Mated With Modern Humans More Recently Than Previously Thought

[Frodo]

Something to think about before you build your dream home:

Transparent Wood That Can Store And Release Heat Could Be Next Trendy Material In Energy-Efficient Homes

[Frodo]

Fossil Of Ancient Four-Legged Whale Found In Peru