Thread seems real similar to another thread started Sunday by same poster, with some of the same questions raised.  Just curious why two threads needed.

2 hours ago, Maartenn100 said:

We can use a bunch of steel wool and run electricity through it and we should have recreated a small artificial brain. 

Ahem....

Seems like doing it the hard way, and deceleration takes a lot more newtons than deflection.   I would favor a high energy laser that strikes one side to form a jet of vaporized material.  Depending on the mass of the rock and its distance, a few hundred newtons of thrust could steer it off its collision course.  

The musician finally gave up and began to erase all the lines of notes.   His wife walked into the room and asked, "what is that smell?" 

"I'm decomposing," he replied.

When people see a magnet doing work it is actually (e.g. a salvage yard crane) electric forces in the electromagnet and motor that do work. Could one say that magnetic forces are used to redirect and apply those electric forces?  So you have to have an electric current for the magnetic forces to be instrumental in doing work.

Sort of like a smooth ramp that is redirecting a lateral force (me pushing on a heavy appliance) to lift my appliance several feet upward.  The ramp does no work, it only redirects my force.  

4 hours ago, Emma Jesus said:

It's sure that ephedrine helps losing weight but there is no clear evidence for the "numerous deaths" especially since many countries have not banned its consumption, and it does not appear that this specifically poses problems. What is certain is that it must be consumed in small quantities.

Yes there is clear evidence, and "small quantities" is not a safe option.  Your post contains dangerous misinformation.  Ephedra was killing people.  Shame on you!

19 hours ago, Luc Turpin said:

Mind over genes?

"An international study led by the UGR using artificial intelligence has shown that our personalities alter the expression of our genes. The findings shed new light on the long-standing mystery of how the mind and body interact."

"In previous research, we found significant differences in well-being between people in the three personality groups, depending on their level of self-awareness. Specifically, those with greater self-awareness (the creative group) reported greater well-being compared to the organised and unregulated groups....

 

However, he cautions that it remains to be confirmed whether the regulation of gene expression through interventions that enhance self-awareness is the mediating factor in the association between self-awareness and well-being.

Good caution there.

3 minutes ago, swansont said:

To me a shortened version of a first name is not a nickname

I agree but was going with the OP usage, which seemed to include diminutives.  They exampled Chris.

And yes, nickname makes me think more of Shorty or Pigeye or what have you.  For reasons never clear to me, I was "Newt" for a few weeks while working as a teenager on a corn detasseling crew.  This bears no relation to my RW name, an affinity for Fig Newtons, or amphibious creatures.

21 minutes ago, exchemist said:

Jan, for men at any rate, is not a nickname but a full name,

It can be short for Janus, a name which has come into usage in the US in recent years.  But yes, it's often a full name.

A lot of G-N nicknames can be derived by shortening a name, e.g. Mel (Melissa, Melanie or Melvin).  Or Alex (Alexander or Alexis or Alexandra). Or putting an "ie" on the end of a stub, e.g. Ollie (Olivia or Oliver). 

Other shortener examples are Pat, Jo (as exchemist mentioned), Jan, Kris, Sam.  In the US, Nick is sometimes used for Nicole, though as @exchemist said Nicky is more common.  

3 hours ago, Phi for All said:

You slippery types know the drill and rig the system so it pans out well for you. It's a viscous cycle!

  Sometimes slick jokes are a way to drum up support.  

Poland may offer a lesson to would-be Far Right autocrats.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/04/14/abortion-poland-maga/

The United States is not alone in confronting a right-wing authoritarian movement that, in addition to undermining democratic institutions and lashing out at the news media (“enemy of the people”), makes curtailing women’s reproductive freedom central to its agenda. The experience of Poland, in which a right-wing government virtually eliminated access to abortion and later paid for it at the ballot box, is instructive as Republicans try to flee from the harsh implications of their antiabortion ideology....

3 hours ago, Sensei said:

Clouds are moving in the foreground, which gives the impression that the sun is moving..

 

You would think this would be blindingly obvious.  iNow might be right - possibly a way to set a cookie.  Embedding videos on a forum can result in cookies being set by the video hosting website, potentially collecting information about the user's browsing habits.  I would advise everyone do a cache/cookie clean after watching.

I thought chitinases were pretty heat-stable.  Cabbage is boiled and still retains chitinases.  Bananas are fried, and also retain chitinases. (ethylene gas will increase chitinase production in some plants, like bananas)  Are you sure heating agar, which is derived from red algae, would destroy the chitinase?

btw,

Does your name mean "meth, a neon Titan" or "methane on Titan"?

🙂

5 hours ago, NeptuneSeven said:

 In Edge theory, pho/tons are seeds that can grow into DNA based l/ife, or pla/nets and s/tars like our sun.

Hog/was/h.

Your friend should consult with her physician.  Not you.

44 minutes ago, CharonY said:

Since it has popped up a couple of times, I want to stress that the role of the gut microbiota is unclear.

For sure.  I saw a good review of the current published material on this a few years back.  Found it. June 2020.

Here is abstract and link:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7333005/

The Influence of the Gut Microbiome on Obesity in Adults and the Role of Probiotics, Prebiotics, and Synbiotics for Weight Loss

The link between the gut microbiome and obesity is not well defined. Understanding of the role of the gut microbiome in weight and health management may lead to future revolutionary changes for treating obesity. This review examined the relationship between obesity and the gut microbiome, and the role of probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics for preventing and treating obesity. We used PubMed and Google Scholar to collect appropriate articles for the review. We showed that the gut microbiome has an impact on nutrient metabolism and energy expenditure. Moreover, different modalities of obesity treatment have been shown to change the diversity and composition of the gut microbiome; this raises questions about the role these changes may play in weight loss. In addition, studies have shown that supplementation with probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics may alter the secretion of hormones, neurotransmitters, and inflammatory factors, thus preventing food intake triggers that lead to weight gain. Further clinical studies are needed to better understand how different species of bacteria in the gut microbiome may affect weight gain, and to determine the most appropriate doses, compositions, and regimens of probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics supplementation for long-term weight control.

Similar points seem to recycle in this thread.  12 days ago I posted

And a person's weight relates to more than one cause.  Faster metabolism can be one, balance of intestinal microflora and efficiency of gut absorption can be another.  Autoimmune disorders can also factor in, through inflammatory response in the small intestine and induced lesions.   Also, hormone levels, environmental toxins, fiber consumption, sensitivity to fermentable polysaccharides, etc.

Many studies have shown that the usual suspects in weight control are consistently factors - overall average level of physical activity, total calorie intake, proportions of fiber and anti-nutrients (like lectins, phytates, agglutinins, raffinose, protease inhibitors, alpha-amylase inhibitors, et al), types of protein consumed (fish takes less energy to catabolize than red meat, e.g.) and as oft-repeated....balance of gut bacteria.  My career intersected with this area of study for about four years and I learned again and again how complex is the matter of metabolizing food and how little we still know.  For example, I learned that Caesarian birthed children often diverge considerably from their parents in metabolism because their gut bacteria are less derived from the maternal gut colony.  (I'll spare you the details)  

Generally, based on what we've found so far:  walk everywhere, eat lots of plants with lots of fiber, and skip desserts and sweet juices.  If you have a choice between ultra processed food and something yanked from the ground, pick the latter.  Rakes not leaf blowers.  Stairs not elevators.  Etc.  It's mostly sticking with the game plan and getting a little closer to the hunter -gatherer that is your DNA blueprint.  Good luck.

Relax, NSA monitors!  He's just joking!

36 minutes ago, toucana said:

The RCG production team apparently didn’t examine the videos too closely, and succeeded in broadcasting one clip sent in by a prankster which shows the sun being eclipsed by a descending pair of testicles.

 

That is a whole different ball game.  

https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/09/world/peter-higgs-physicist-nobel-winner-dies-scn/index.html

Physicist Peter Higgs, whose theory of an undetected particle in the universe changed science and was vindicated by a Nobel prize-winning discovery half a century later, has died aged 94, the University of Edinburgh said on Tuesday.

The discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012 at the CERN research centre near Geneva was widely hailed as the biggest advance in knowledge about the cosmos for over 30 years, and pointed physics towards ideas that were once science fiction.

“For me personally it is just the confirmation of something I did 48 years ago, and it is very satisfying to be proved right in some way,” the British scientist told Reuters at the time.

“At the beginning, I had no expectation that I would still be alive when it happened.”

Edinburgh University, where Higgs held a professorial chair for many years, said he had passed away peacefully on Monday at home following a short illness.

9 minutes ago, Sensei said:

C'mon. They want to use liquid Hydrogen inside of regular cars. I have here buses which run on liquid Hydrogen ATM...

 

The way hydrogen is contained in a fuel cell or IC system has far less flammability problems than a giant bubble of gaseous hydrogen.  There's a reason blimps are required to use helium rather than Hindenburg gas.  

12 minutes ago, Sensei said:

There are smarter ways to use this precious helium than balloons and airships.

Yes.  My point exactly.

4 minutes ago, Phi for All said:

Have they come up with a way to make H fuels not so dirty? Iirc, it used more gasoline than just burning gasoline.

Well, the presumption of the green energy economy is that H fuels will be made cracking water using windmills or other clean sources.  That is the hope for future big rig trucks, where a battery system looks less practical.

On 4/2/2024 at 6:30 AM, Wigberto Marciaga said:

As can be understood, both muscle hypertrophy and adipose tissue hypertrophy are anabolic processes.

Not exactly.  Conversion of carbs to triglycerides is not that simple.  The polymerization pathways of anabolism are a different process from adipose storage of triglycerides..

Here's a look at the topic....

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4985254/

The worldwide epidemic of obesity and type 2 diabetes has greatly increased interest in the biology and physiology of adipose tissues. Adipose (fat) cells are specialized for the storage of energy in the form of triglycerides, but research in the last few decades has shown that fat cells also play a critical role in sensing and responding to changes in systemic energy balance. White fat cells secrete important hormone-like molecules such as leptin, adiponectin, and adipsin to influence processes such as food intake, insulin sensitivity, and insulin secretion. Brown fat, on the other hand, dissipates chemical energy in the form of heat, thereby defending against hypothermia, obesity, and diabetes. It is now appreciated that there are two distinct types of thermogenic fat cells, termed brown and beige adipocytes. In addition to these distinct properties of fat cells, adipocytes exist within adipose tissue, where they are in dynamic communication with immune cells and closely influenced by innervation and blood supply. This review is intended to serve as an introduction to adipose cell biology and to familiarize the reader with how these cell types play a role in metabolic disease and, perhaps, as targets for therapeutic development.

Also, unlikely any regulatory body would sign off on hydrogen as the lifting gas, which would mean helium.  Which there's a shortage of, so it's getting expensive.  I've seen estimates that we will run out in 100-200 years unless some other sources are found or ways to reduce loss.  

AFAICT, a sun behind solid overcast is indistinguishable from a 58% obscured sun behind solid overcast.  As has been discussed in another thread, the human visual system does poorly at perceiving diminution of brightness.  An analogy I offered my spouse was a small room in a house illuminated by an 800 watt bulb.  Extremely bright.  Leave the room and come back after a while, after it's been replaced with a 400 watt bulb.  Still extremely bright.  You would be hard put to correctly identity the illumination as being halved.  

4 hours ago, toucana said:

Not to be outdone by Nineveh and Carbondale Illinois, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the embattled MAGA Governor of Arizona has declared a 14 day state of emergency in Arizona on account of the total solar eclipse today 8 April 2024, and has released $100,000 from the state’s emergency Response & Recovery funds to ensure that the 2m of darkness during the totality doesn’t cause a collapse of Arizona’s transportation system.

Arkansas.   

I found this interactive map website handy for finding the times and percent obscuration where the eclipse is partial.

http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/solar_eclipses/TSE_2024_GoogleMapFull.html

We have heavy overcast til late afternoon, so not much to see here.  58% obscured so maybe a slight increase in the gloom.