A thread for scientific nerdiness

[Rose White]

Grow your own bioluminescent micro-algae, aka dinoflagellates!

Grow More - Glow More - Know More - An Overview

Learn more about this awesome glowing algae. Grow More - Glow More - Know More

pyrofarms.com

 

[Rose White]

The weight of human-made materials on Earth now equals the amount of biomass and is projected to double every 20 years.

The Mass of Human-Made Materials Now Equals the Planet’s Biomass - Weizmann Wonder Wander - News, Features and Discoveries

We are doubling the mass of the human-made, “anthropogenic” part of the world every twenty years and the curve is not flattening

wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il

 

[Rose White]

Lately have been studying Darwinian evolution again, this time about mating strategies and signal selection.

Continuous female sexual receptivity (as opposed to it being tied to ovulation like in dogs, cats, rabbits, etc) evolved in primates partly as a strategy for females to ward off male infanticide. If a female monkey has sex with a male monkey who is not the father of her baby he is less likely to kill the baby. Babies are such a huge energetic drain on the body of the mother that it is advantageous for her to avoid losing a perfectly healthy baby. The advantage for the male to kill the baby is so that he can reproduce his own genes.

I got the information from a video about the evolution of menstruation. The part of the video that talks about what I mentioned above is around the 32 minute mark.

I’m linking this to sexual assault and abuse in my mind because “allowing” it to happen (a common narrative mistruth of the psyche that survivors of sexual assault must wrestle with) is a primate survival instinct linked to the behavioral trait of continuous sexual receptivity.

 

[Rose White]

Continuous female sexual receptivity (as opposed to it being tied to ovulation like in dogs, cats, rabbits, etc) evolved in primates partly as a strategy for females to ward off male infanticide.

Another benefit to continuous female receptivity and concealed ovulation is a keeping the male around to help with child rearing. Almost no other primate males invest in child rearing though, and especially not to the extent that human males do. Male assistance with child rearing, along with cooked food and increased meat consumption, likely led to astronomical brain growth in hominids between 3 million and 1 million years ago.

 

[Rose White]

In women, but not men, higher body fat is associated with a lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. And higher fat mass is associated with better bone density in peri- and post-menopausal women.

The Health Benefits of Healthy Body Fat

Research shows that body fat, especially in midlife, is not all bad and it may provide benefits to bone density and heart health.

www.feistymenopause.com

Our bodies get fat in menopause to protect us from the loss of estrogen production—whatever small amounts we have stores well in fat, so it’s like our camel humps to keep us going for the rest of our lives.

 

[Rose White]

The three main ingredients in Smarties are dextose, citric acid, and calcium stearate. Calcium stearate is classified in organic chemistry as a metallic soap and is the main component of soap scum. In addition to being used in candy and drug tablets, it is also commonly used as an industrial lubricant and waterproofing sealant.

Weird thinking about the people creating that candy. “Hey, I’ve got a great idea… did you know you can eat soap scum?” It’s almost like they were thinking of how to feed people trash and charge them for it.

 

[Rose White]

AI helps humans have a 20-minute 'conversation' with a humpback whale named Twain

In a remarkable encounter, human scientists had what they describe as a "conversation" with a humpback whale named Twain.

www.earth.com

They basically said hi to each other for 20 minutes. Makes me think of that scene in the old cartoon movie Jungle Book when the vultures keep saying, “Whatcha wanna do?” “I dunno, whatcha wanna do?” Ad Infinitum