TheVat

Hog/was/h.

Your friend should consult with her physician. Not you.

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!

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.

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. Yes. My point exactly. 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.

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.

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.

The last goat we ordered was so small, we could only take sponge baths. And Ishtar wasn't too happy, either.

I find jokes like that to be divisive.

I've driven through Carbondale, had a friend who went there for two years. For some years, the town was notorious for its Halloween riots, when drunken revelers would try to at least partially end the world. IIRC, the town council eventually closed down the bars every Halloween. Might not hurt to take the same precaution this Monday.

Who is this "we" you speak of? Scientists love to engage in peer review and try to poke holes in each other's models and data. This thread might be better suited for the Speculations forum.

This past week, an experiment in geoengineering. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/geoengineering-test-quietly-launches-salt-crystals-into-atmosphere/ Geoengineering Test Quietly Launches Salt Crystals into Atmosphere A solar geoengineering experiment in San Francisco could lead to brighter clouds that reflect sunlight. The risks are numerous. CLIMATEWIRE | The nation's first outdoor test to limit global warming by increasing cloud cover launched Tuesday from the deck of a decommissioned aircraft carrier in the San Francisco Bay. The experiment, which organizers didn't widely announce to avoid public backlash, marks the acceleration of a contentious field of research known as solar radiation modification. The concept involves shooting substances such as aerosols into the sky to reflect sunlight away from the Earth. The move led by researchers at the University of Washington has renewed questions about how to effectively and ethically study promising climate technologies that could also harm communities and ecosystems in unexpected ways. The experiment is spraying microscopic salt particles into the air, and the secrecy surrounding its timing caught even some experts off guard.

Your citation doesn't support this. The authors do not dispute that selective breeding was the primary cause of the shrinkage. And they stress, in the paper, that the rebound effect (to a wild size brain) which took 50 generations, is rare and relates to an unusual effect called Dehnel's phenomenon. The rebound effect appears to be a result of natural selection reinstated on a formerly domesticated (artificially selected) population. Individuals with the smallest brains were less likely to successfully reproduce in the wild, thus a fairly strong selective pressure that yielded change within 50 generations. The evidence still supports that animals are adapting to a domesticated setting by being selectively bred for docility and lower fear response to human handlers. Your study only suggests that some species may recover the phenotypic wild brain more quickly through strong selective pressure than others due to a predisposition like Dehnel's. Good luck in your studies of evolutionary biology. Regarding eidetic memory...this lasts from 1-5 minutes. And does not provide a comprehensive record of all experience. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-there-such-a-thing-as/ As it turns out, however, the accuracy of many eidetic images is far from perfect. In fact, besides often being sketchy on some details, it is not unusual for eidetikers to alter visual details and even to invent some that were never in the original. This suggests that eidetic images are certainly not photographic in nature but instead are reconstructed from memory and can be influenced like other memories (both visual and nonvisual) by cognitive biases and expectations. …The vast majority of the people who have been identified as possessing eidetic imagery are children… With a few notable exceptions, however, most research has shown that virtually no adults seem to possess the ability to form eidetic images.

Yes I've met a couple such millionaires, down in the low millions. Their main form of high-rolling seemed to be in occasional purchase of experiences (overseas trips, cruises, private lessons) rather than material items. Technically I'm down at the low end of that category, with a fairly minimalist life that does allow the occasional splurge. When someone asks me how someone on a modest salary such as mine could have accumulated over a million, I can only point out that the DIY personality can unleash a fair amount of invisible thrift. I recently replaced a fair amount of house circuits and the main breaker panel, which would have come with a price tag of around $4000, and deprived me of the hands-on fun. And the other tip is the one that Warren Buffett workshops will empty your wallet to share with you, which is keep debt at zero. Buy nothing on credit. And, full disclosure: I'm a beneficiary of generational wealth, in the sense that support from middle class parents meant that I could get a decent education and not rack up early debt that would have gnawed away at my earnings for many years. Many are not so lucky. As @dimreepr points out, an initial boost from parents in providing capital makes a huge difference. And a good axe, yes. 🙂

Domestication effects on phenotypic traits are driven by a mix of artificial selection and natural selection. These effects are not operating within an individual species member in the way you describe. And research doesn't support the level of retention you posit, and neuronal ensembles are far from retaining "the smallest detail of every sensory experience." This is a theory that's been long discredited.

That chloroplasts were using these wavelengths was news to me, as well. One of those facts which, once you are aware of it, everything makes more sense. Especially in how foliage is optimizing its absorption within a shaded canopy where it needs to make the most of whatever light is getting through. Nature finds a way. A plus one to Charon for bringing this...to light.

Always baffled me, given that most working age adults below the poverty line are doing some of our civilization's hardest (and often most directly essential to survival) work and getting meager pay for it. As for "self-made," my impression is that those who are truly self-made are more likely found in squatter cabins than penthouse suites.

Hydrogen peroxide is effective. (it will even deodorize pet urine, and not fade carpet or upholstery colors) Any stain removing product that is peroxide based will probably get odor out, too.

Could be. I grew up in farming country so am pretty familiar with anhydrous ammonia - the strongest solution you can make is 34% ammonia by mass. IOW, 34% NH3 in NH4OH (ammonium hydroxide). This would be an industrial strength cleaning agent which would kill microbes (but not viruses unless it is converted to quaternary ammonia). I know it's all nonsense so far, but I wouldn't want someone naive to read this and think ammonium hydroxide could be part of any sort of nutritional medium.

Which you still have not done, due to your many paragraphs of profuse apologies given as plenipotentiary ambassador of the Vogon League. Still waiting for the research data on growing terrestrial microbes in ammonia.