Science is Cool....

[Fish]

This is a repository for all cool scientific discussion and fascination. Scientific facts, theories, and overall cool scientific stuff that you'd like to share with others. Stuff that makes you smile and wonder at the amazing shit going on around us, that most people don't notice.

Post pictures, vidoes, stories, or links. Ask questions. Share science.

This is in support of the Penny 4 NASA project. If you enjoy anything you learned from this thread, consider making a donation and signing the petition.

http://www.penny4nasa.org/

Why should I care?:

[ThaVirus]

I've actually read that viruses aren't alive at all; they're just strands of DNA or RNA encased in a protein shell. They can't even reproduce without invading a living host first..

[Fish]

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

I've actually read that viruses aren't alive at all; they're just strands of DNA or RNA encased in a protein shell. They can't even reproduce without invading a living host first..

"Viruses exist in two distinct states. When not in contact with a host cell, the virus remains entirely dormant. During this time there are no internal biological activities occurring within the virus, and in essence the virus is no more than a static organic particle. In this simple, clearly non-living state viruses are referred to as 'virions'. Virions can remain in this dormant state for extended periods of time, waiting patiently to come into contact with the appropriate host. When the virion comes into contact with the appropriate host, it becomes active and is then referred to as a virus. It now displays properties typified by living organisms, such as reacting to its environment and directing its efforts toward self-replication".

So it's not "Alive" in the same sense that you and I consider ourselves alive. But it satisfies enough criteria by reacting to its environment and promoting replication to be considered living by the most basic interpretations of "Life". Would you consider a tree to be "Alive"? It can't reproduce until coming in contact with a "Host"(soil, water, minerals).

[tooge]

First off, cancer is not a virus. Secondly, the primary reason for cancer rates being higher than in the 1950's is that people are living much much longer. Given enough time, free radicals, which are a naturally occuring process of aging, will cause cancer.

[Fish]

Ever wondered if this is accurate?



Turns out it's not...

Students calculate what hyperspace travel would actually look like

The two Star franchises (Wars and Trek) and countless science fiction movies have given generations of armchair space travelers an idea of what to expect when looking out the window of a spaceship making the jump to light speed. But it appears these views are – if you’ll excuse the pun – a bit warped. Four students from the University of Leicester have used Einstein’s theory of Special Relativity to calculate what Han and Chewie would actually see as they made the jump to hyperspace.

The fourth year physics students – Riley Connors, Katie Dexter, Joshua Argyle, and Cameron Scoular – say that the crew wouldn’t see star lines stretching out past the ship during the jump to hyperspace, but would actually see a central disc of bright light. This is due to the Doppler effect, specifically the Doppler blue shift, that results in the wavelength of electromagnetic radiation, including visible light, shortening as the source of the light moves towards the observer.



As the spaceship makes the jump to hyperspace, the wavelength of the light from the stars would shift out of the visible spectrum into the X-ray range. Meanwhile, Cosmic Background Radiation (CBR), which is thermal radiation that is spread fairly uniformly across the universe and is thought to be left over from the Big Bang, would shift into the visible spectrum, appearing to the crew as a central disc of bright light.

“If the Millennium Falcon existed and really could travel that fast, sunglasses would certainly be advisable,” said Connors. “On top of this, the ship would need something to protect the crew from harmful X-ray radiation.”

Taking their investigations one step further, the students calculated that, despite being the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy, the Millennium Falcon would also need to pack some extra energy to overcome the pressure exerted from the intense X-rays from stars that would push the ship back and cause it to slow down. The students say the pressure exerted on the ship would be comparable to that felt at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

“Perhaps Disney should take the physical implications of such high speed travel into account in their forthcoming films,” said Dexter, referring to the fact that Disney last year bought Lucasfilm for US$4.05 billion and plans to add to the Star Wars franchise with another trilogy.

That appears unlikely, not only because it would break with the precedent set by the existing movies, but because star lines look a hell of a lot cooler than a disc of light.

[-King-]

Some of these articles need an idiot reading guide accompanying them.

[Fish]

Here's a neat tour aboard the International Space Station. It shows the science stations, workout area, kitchen, sleeping quarters, docking areas, and even the shitter(at 9:20). So if you were ever curious how an astronaut poops, there ya go. Evidently space causes crazy lady hair.

[-King-]

Originally Posted by Fish

Here's a neat tour aboard the International Space Station. It shows the science stations, workout area, kitchen, sleeping quarters, docking areas, and even the shitter(at 9:20). So if you were ever curious how an astronaut poops, there ya go. Evidently space causes crazy lady hair.

Watched the whole thing. Amazing.

[GloryDayz]

It looks like ***** to me!

[Fish]

Good to Know: Most People Only Breathe out of One Nostril at a Time



Another bizarre human body related fact: Did you know that around 85% of humans only breathe out of one nostril at a time? This fact may surprise you, but even more remarkable is the following: our body follows a pattern and switches from breathing out of one nostril to the other in a cyclical way. Typically, every four hours it switches from left to right, or right to left.

So how does this “nasal cycle” work? Similar to a penis or clitoris, erectile tissue can be found in the nose. During “a switch,” erectile tissue swells up in one nostril, mostly blocking it, while the erectile tissue in the other nostril shrinks, opening it up for breathing. It is thought that this mechanism is regulated by the autonomic nervous system.

So why should you care? Interestingly, the nostril you use for breathing can actually affect the way you are thinking at a given moment. And you can use this to your advantage. Do you want to boost your creative thinking? Force breathing through your left nostril. This makes the right hemisphere more active, which is your creative side. Vice versa, breathing through your right nostril activates the left, “logical” side of the brain, which will, for example, help you make rational decisions.

["Bob" Dobbs]

The amazing part of that video to me, is the concept of Americans flying in and out of the ISS in a Soyuz spacecraft. To this day, I still have the "space race" mindset. I'm old.

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by Fish

That seems to be a popular belief. But there's really not much truth to it. Cancer is being worked on by thousands upon thousands of independent researchers and scientists every day. And again, the power and scope of control necessary to keep something like that under wraps is just not possible.

And keep in mind that cancer cannot be cured by any universal magic bullet solution. It's far from being that simple. Cancer is actually composed of about 200+ different degenerative diseases. Each cell in your body can produce a different form of cancer. And each one acts and reacts in different ways. So something that would beat effective against colon cancer could be completely ineffective against lung cancer. I really doubt that there will ever be something seen as a "Cure" for cancer, until we have nanotechnology available that can regulate any and all cell degeneration. But really once we reach that point, we're going to see all sorts of current human ailments disappear and see average life spans shoot up several hundred years at the least.

I have two college married college friends that went on to doctorate degrees in chemistry and something to do with biochemistry (**** if I know what she's doing). Anyway, I went to visit them over Christmas, and one of them was bitching that otherwise intelligent people think that we can cure cancer. She cited that everybody in research is competitive. Everybody would jump at the opportunity to be the one that cured it.

I then brought up your second point, that cells are structurally different, and different types of cancer are accordingly different. Jesus christ. You would have thought I would have blessed them with the best news they'd ever heard, they were talking over each other and all oogly eyed because I understood that concept.

I know virtually nothing about human physiology. I'm a lot better with plants, but still, I'm far from a cancer doctor. But particularly the biochemist (apparently. According to her anyway) struggle with basic understanding of biological concepts that leads to entirely too many conversations resulting in, "they have the cure for cancer...."

I'm a fairly dumb human, but come on people.

[Ebolapox]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

I have two college married college friends that went on to doctorate degrees in chemistry and something to do with biochemistry (**** if I know what she's doing). Anyway, I went to visit them over Christmas, and one of them was bitching that otherwise intelligent people think that we can cure cancer. She cited that everybody in research is competitive. Everybody would jump at the opportunity to be the one that cured it.

I then brought up your second point, that cells are structurally different, and different types of cancer are accordingly different. Jesus christ. You would have thought I would have blessed them with the best news they'd ever heard, they were talking over each other and all oogly eyed because I understood that concept.

I know virtually nothing about human physiology. I'm a lot better with plants, but still, I'm far from a cancer doctor. But particularly the biochemist (apparently. According to her anyway) struggle with basic understanding of biological concepts that leads to entirely too many conversations resulting in, "they have the cure for cancer...."

I'm a fairly dumb human, but come on people.

people are dumb. enough said.

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by Ebolapox

people are dumb. enough said.

Truth.

I continue to be amazed at the depth of stupidity.

[displacedinMN]

http://www.examiner.com/article/two-...of-the-century

I also use this in class for animations. The guy does well.

http://shadowandsubstance.com/

[mlyonsd]

Originally Posted by displacedinMN

http://www.examiner.com/article/two-...of-the-century

I also use this in class for animations. The guy does well.

http://shadowandsubstance.com/

The second one should be awesome.