March 19, 2021

Dr. John Campbell updates the third/fourth wave of Covid

March 9, 2021

Iceland earthquake swarm, over 20,000 in 10 days

I don't know how many armchair geologists have been following this, but it looks as though the lava field on Reykjanes Peninsula, 27 KM southwest of the capital city, is about to open up. It's unlikely to be explosive, more like what happened on Hawaii, and historic lava fields have been on the smaller side. The problem is that historically, once it opens up, it erupts for a century or two.

If you're keeping up with this, I recommend these videos, the man is a photographer with a side interest in geology.

Pro tip to the townies: when the ground starts shaking like jelly, it's generally time to get out of Dodge.

You can always return if it quiets down.

March 5, 2021

Lucy gets a new face

A more precise facial reconstruction has been done of one of the earliest homonins and it's amazing:

.webp

https://www.livescience.com/lucy-taung-child-facial-reconstructions.html

February 28, 2021

It's not your imagination, it really is the ODAL rune

https://wildhunt.org/2021/02/editorial-yes-that-is-an-odal-rune.html

Long discussion of the rune's meaning in various cultures and why it is banned in Germany today.
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It is intentional. It is transparent. let the gaslighting continue.

February 17, 2021

No, it wasn't the windmills.

Foaming nutbars on the far right never fail to disappoint, especially when they're in power and have ignored massive problems for years.

February 17, 2021

Beau on Dumdum's nasty letter to and about Mitch

Edit: Bugger You Tube's autoplay.

January 6, 2021

Thought you'd like to know, this is being live streamed over most of the planet.

Most of the forums I post on are international ones and sympathy has come in from everywhere but Russia.

Putin is likely having the best day of his life.

December 16, 2020

It's ba-a-ck! Merry Frigging Xmas to you, too!

https://defector.com/the-2020-haters-guide-to-the-williams-sonoma-catalog/

December 15, 2020

Liquid e-cigarette flavorings measurably injure lungs

Known for their appetizing flavors, such as bubblegum, banana and strawberry, e-cigarettes continue to grow in popularity around the world. Promoted by makers as a "healthy" alternative to regular tobacco cigarettes, researchers are finding e-cigarettes, or vaping, still result in injury to the lungs.
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Combined, the researchers said the data suggests people who use flavored e-cigarettes are damaging their lungs every time they vape. Among the most toxic: chemical profiles for some chocolate and banana flavors.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-12-liquid-e-cigarette-flavorings-lungs.html

Posting for information on flavorings, mostly.

One big caveat: this study detected inflammatory proteins, not gross physical damage. The proteins signaled that damage would lilely occur over time. Also, no comparison was done to the nasty shit in smoke, so the question of relative harm was ignored.

So for now, vape 'em if you must, just consider eating bananas and chocolates instead of inhaling them.

December 14, 2020

A Landmark Study on the Origins of Alcoholism

Many lab studies treat animals as if they were identical, and any variation in their behavior is just unhelpful noise. But in Augier’s work, the variation is the important bit. It’s what points to the interesting underlying biology. “This is a really good study,” says Michael Taffe, a neuroscientist at the Scripps Research Institute who studies drug addiction. “Since only a minority of humans experience a transition to addiction, [an approach] such as this is most likely to identify the specific genetic variants that convey risk.”

That is exactly what the team did next. They compared the alcohol-preferring and sugar-preferring rats and looked for differences in the genes that were active in their brains. They focused on six regions that are thought to be involved in addiction, and found no differences in five. “But in the sixth, we did,” says Heilig. “And it made me smile because I started out doing my Ph.D. on the amygdala.”

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/a-landmark-study-on-the-origins-of-alcoholism?utm_source=pocket-newtab

This is a well written article, well worth the read. It explains what is certainly one biochemical difference contributing to addiction and will possibly apply to other addictions.

I've always thought four things about true addiction: it's hard wired, it's rare, most of it stems from self medication, and it's different from dependency.