discuss Science & Technology news & discussion

CraigD · Oct 19, 2020

Post and discuss interesting articles & videos about science and technology.

You don't need to be an expert - just interested in the wonders of modern science, technology, and the history of these fields.

Please keep it rational, and post articles from reputable sources.
Try not to editorialise headlines and keep the copy to just a paragraph with a link to the original source. When quoting excerpts from articles, I think the best method is to italicise the copy, and include a link to the source.

Have some fun with your comments and discussions... just keep the sources legitimate.

Other threads:
The Break Room has a number of other popular threads, so there is no need to post material here that is better suited to these other threads:

- Covid19-Coronavirus updates and news
- Conspiracy Thread Free For All
- The *religious* discussion thread

Please enjoy!

koolishman · May 2, 2021

Samer said:
If Closed Oil wells still leak...
There’s no hope for Chernobyl...

jus comparin 2 natural manmade disasters

Chernobyl radiation damage 'not passed to children'

There is no "additional DNA damage" in children born to parents who were exposed to radiation from the Chernobyl explosion before they were conceived.

This is according to the first study to screen the genes of children whose parents were enlisted to help in the clean-up after the nuclear accident.

Participants, all conceived after the disaster and born between 1987 and 2002, had their whole genomes screened.

CraigD · May 2, 2021

Samer said:
If closed Oil wells still leak...
There’s no hope for Chernobyl...

Wasn't Chernobyl buried under tons of concrete and steel?

Apparently that has degraded and they are now building a new sarcophagus to move over the old one.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_Nuclear_Power_Plant_sarcophagus

koolishman · May 2, 2021

.
NASA Conducts Simulation Exercise to See How an Asteroid Impact Would Play Out

Earlier this week, the space agency kicked off a five-day “tabletop exercise” that simulates a hypothetical asteroid impact on Earth—a scenario that reportedly remains very unlikely at this point. The exercise, which is being lead by Center for Near Earth Object Studies, aims to test how experts and agencies across the world would respond to a potential killer-asteroid situation.

“Each time we participate in an exercise of this nature, we learn more about who the key players are in a disaster event, and who needs to know what information, and when,” Lindley Johnson, NASA’s Planetary Defense Officer, said. “These exercises ultimately help the planetary defense community communicate with each other and with our governments to ensure we are all coordinated should a potential impact threat be identified in the future.”

The exercise took place during the United Nations’ 7th IAA Planetary Defense Conference in cooperation with NASA and the European Space Agency. The participants “discovered” a potentially dangerous near-Earth object on April 19, about six months before its estimated impact. Throughout the following days, exercise leaders provided updated information about the fictitious scenario and tasked experts to offer possible responses.

NASA is now gearing up for its Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, which is said to be the first test of asteroid deflection technology. The agency plans to launch DART later this year on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket headed to the Didymos binary asteroid system. The goal is for the spacecraft to crash into one of the asteroids and change its orbital speed.

koolishman · May 2, 2021

Rare orchid lures in beetle pollinators using deceitful sexual bait

Longhorn beetles deposit sperm in orchids they pollinate, but why?

An exceedingly rare species of orchid, Disa forficaria, found in southern Africa, does not produce nectar. Yet, it is reliably visited by males of the longhorn beetle, Chorothyse hessei, which carry away its pollen packets attached to their underside. Before they depart, though, the beetles exhibit vigorous copulatory behavior perched on top of the orchid flower. They bite the furry antennae-like petals and extend their aedeagus — an arthropod equivalent of a penis — to fit into a floral notch. These visits often end in ejaculation, with sperm being deposited at the floral tip. The beetles are under the false impression that the orchid flowers are females of their species. But why?

Callan Cohen, from the University of Cape Town, who first observed this behavior in the longhorn beetles, investigated the reason behind this unusual sexual encounter. He separated the chemicals released by the orchid flower and tested the response of the beetle antennae, an organ which they use to detect odors, to each of them. One of these compounds, named “disalactone”, produced electrical responses in the antennae of all tested individuals. The odor molecule was exceedingly attractive to male beetles, so much so that disalactone beads treated with it not only drew in the beetles, but also enticed them to try and mate with them. While it is presumed that the scent must be the same as that of female longhorns, until scientists catch and examine one, we won’t know for sure.

CraigD · May 2, 2021

koolishman said:
Rare orchid lures in beetle pollinators using deceitful sexual bait

Longhorn beetles deposit sperm in orchids they pollinate, but why?

An exceedingly rare species of orchid, Disa forficaria, found in southern Africa, does not produce nectar. Yet, it is reliably visited by males of the longhorn beetle, Chorothyse hessei, which carry away its pollen packets attached to their underside. Before they depart, though, the beetles exhibit vigorous copulatory behavior perched on top of the orchid flower. They bite the furry antennae-like petals and extend their aedeagus — an arthropod equivalent of a penis — to fit into a floral notch. These visits often end in ejaculation, with sperm being deposited at the floral tip. The beetles are under the false impression that the orchid flowers are females of their species. But why?

Callan Cohen, from the University of Cape Town, who first observed this behavior in the longhorn beetles, investigated the reason behind this unusual sexual encounter. He separated the chemicals released by the orchid flower and tested the response of the beetle antennae, an organ which they use to detect odors, to each of them. One of these compounds, named “disalactone”, produced electrical responses in the antennae of all tested individuals. The odor molecule was exceedingly attractive to male beetles, so much so that disalactone beads treated with it not only drew in the beetles, but also enticed them to try and mate with them. While it is presumed that the scent must be the same as that of female longhorns, until scientists catch and examine one, we won’t know for sure.

The background bokeh in that image is messing with my eyes. I think it's been taken with a mirror lens.

Cannuck · May 2, 2021

koolishman said:
Chernobyl radiation damage 'not passed to children'

There is no "additional DNA damage" in children born to parents who were exposed to radiation from the Chernobyl explosion before they were conceived.

This is according to the first study to screen the genes of children whose parents were enlisted to help in the clean-up after the nuclear accident.

Participants, all conceived after the disaster and born between 1987 and 2002, had their whole genomes screened.

My wife was exposed to Chernobyl fallout and we were concerned about the future of our children. This helped to alleviate fears, thanks for the info

CraigD · May 2, 2021

Cannuck said:
My wife was exposed to Chernobyl fallout and we were concerned about the future of our children. This helped to alleviate fears, thanks for the info

My father was at the Maralinga test site

... I glow in the dark but aside from that I think I'm OK

CraigD · May 2, 2021

The Calculator Wars

J Sokol · May 3, 2021

SpaceX returns four astronauts to Earth in darkness

“We welcome you back to planet Earth and thanks for flying SpaceX,” mission control radioed moments after splashdown. “For those of you enrolled in our frequent flyer programme, you’ve earned 68m miles on this voyage.”

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/may/02/spacex-returns-four-astronauts-to-earth-in-darkness

J Sokol · May 3, 2021

Streams and lakes have rights, a US county decided. Now they’re suing Florida

A network of streams, lakes and marshes in Florida is suing a developer and the state to try to stop a housing development from destroying them.

The novel lawsuit was filed on Monday in Orange county on behalf of the waterways under a “rights of nature” law passed in November. It is the largest US municipality to adopt such a law to date.

The listed plaintiffs are Wilde Cypress Branch, Boggy Branch, Crosby Island Marsh, Lake Hart and Lake Mary Jane.

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...-nature-lawsuit-waterways-housing-development

Cannuck · May 3, 2021

CraigD said:
The Calculator Wars

My first calculator... HP-35 was Hewlett-Packard's first pocket calculator and the world's first scientific pocket calculator (I'm showing my age, lol)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP-35

That served me well for a decade until I got a programmable HP-71B

I still use use it for certain programs

CraigD · May 3, 2021

Cannuck said:
My first calculator... HP-35 was Hewlett-Packard's first pocket calculator and the world's first scientific pocket calculator (I'm showing my age, lol)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP-35

That served me well for a decade until I got a programmable HP-71B

I still use use it for certain programs

I still use this Sharp Elsi EL8112 model which is almost as old as I am - I love the green lit display.

koolishman · May 3, 2021

My old buddy.

pLXz1o9fdMprMtdDHqSDIGCryvlCgBye2ILkxpDjn7zrvdL5Yb8rrBoyanG7m-a9eXWjz1w49L1_puJD9voPrA8

Cannuck · May 3, 2021

J Sokol said:
Streams and lakes have rights, a US county decided. Now they’re suing Florida

A network of streams, lakes and marshes in Florida is suing a developer and the state to try to stop a housing development from destroying them.

NICE!

TED Talk - she speaks about the Midewiwin Society (of which I belong)

Corporations have legal personhood and protection, but not nature?

J Sokol · May 3, 2021

Cannuck said:
Corporations have legal personhood and protection, but not nature?

Seems it should be the other way around, doesn't it?

Cannuck · May 3, 2021

J Sokol said:
Seems it should be the other way around, doesn't it?

...and in a traditional sense, nobody owns the land, water or air - like the the gift of life from the Creator, and that which is our shared responsibility to protect and nurture.

J Sokol · May 3, 2021

@Cannuck

CraigD said:
Thanks, the New York Times article was a very enjoyable read!

I particularly liked the quote towards the end that "The truth is the spike in global population has not been caused by some worldwide surge in fertility. What changed is people stopped dying."

One of the big issues I see at the moment is that many elderly people do not have good quality of life in their later years, but now that more people are living longer, more resources are also being spent on diseases that affect the elderly like dementia, osteoarthritis, heart disease etc. and the results of these studies will also influence other fields that benefit all age groups.

I thought it was a great article as well, and it brings up some interesting ethical questions.

CraigD · May 3, 2021

koolishman said:
My old buddy.

Nice green readout!

I used the Fx-82 at school, with the LCD readout.

I still have it, but I prefer the older Sharp Elsi Mate above because it is simpler with the green lit readout and bigger keys.

Cannuck · May 3, 2021

LOL, we're like a bunch of nerds showing off our calculators

CraigD · May 3, 2021

Cannuck said:
LOL, we're like a bunch of nerds showing off our calculators

LOL, do you want to see my slide rules?

My grandfather would be rolling his eyes, saying in his day they used a pencil and paper.
.

Cannuck · May 3, 2021

CraigD said:
LOL, do you want to see my slide rules?

My grandfather would be rolling his eyes, saying in his day they used a pencil and paper.
.

LOL, good one!

I still have one too, but I'll be damned if I can remember how to use it

Cannuck · May 3, 2021

J Sokol said:
Streams and lakes have rights, a US county decided. Now they’re suing Florida

A network of streams, lakes and marshes in Florida is suing a developer and the state to try to stop a housing development from destroying them.

The novel lawsuit was filed on Monday in Orange county on behalf of the waterways under a “rights of nature” law passed in November. It is the largest US municipality to adopt such a law to date.

The listed plaintiffs are Wilde Cypress Branch, Boggy Branch, Crosby Island Marsh, Lake Hart and Lake Mary Jane.

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...-nature-lawsuit-waterways-housing-development

This is a very basic argument, a thesis definitely worthy of revisiting IMHO.

Where does it say in the US Constitution (or any nation for that matter) that God-Given rights apply to land, water and air...or even to Space?

If God granted us life, wouldn't He want the same rights for all His creation?

...and if this argument is valid, why then are they taken for granted (by people) and not protected?

Would these same rights apply to other planets? Are we so advanced that we ignore the basis of life?

CraigD · May 3, 2021

Cannuck said:
LOL, good one! I still have one too, but I'll be damned if I can remember how to use it

Well, glad you asked...

I'd have to read the instructions. We did have a few classes on them in early school, but the hand-held calculator was kicking off at the time so I think they realised it was a waste of time.

I've got a few strange ones from my grandfather who was an aeronautical engineer with DeHavillands from the 30's to 50's. One is round, one is a over foot long, and a small pocket one he carried around.

Cannuck · May 3, 2021

CraigD said:
Well, glad you asked...

It's all coming back now...my brain hurts

I've actually haggled over prices in the Kazbah (Morocco), and in small villages (China) when I couldn't speak the local language ...using an abacus, lol

CraigD · May 3, 2021

Cannuck said:
It's all coming back now...my brain hurts

I've actually haggled over prices in the Kazbah (Morocco), and in small villages (China) when I couldn't speak the local language ...using an abacus, lol

I was just looking up finger math/abacus on Youtube. There are even techniques for trigonometry.

It appears to be a craze amongst Indian kids.

EDIT: It's interesting that you can haggle using an abacus.

Math really is the universal language!

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