Science and Technology Thread

[Kane]

NASA’s Webb In Full Focus, Ready for Instrument Commissioning

[shafnutz05]

Webb is coming right along... Incredible.

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

I saw a report on the local news tonight that they've discovered some connection between Alzheimer's and herpes.

Ive uh, done a lot of research on herpes in the last 48 hours. I do not know if I have it; I probably do but I've never had an outbreak so medical professionals in my life recommended I not get blood tested for it. I can give more info but holy **** the public is misinformed on herpes





anywho, not only can herpes help cause dementia, but there is a hypothesis that herpes-targetting antiviral drugs can lower your chances for dementia (aka those who have oral herpes, HSV-1, and take antiviral medication have a lower rate of dementia thsn tnose who dont have herpes at all). There's currently a study taking place to test this

[tifosi77]

Did you know: 3/4 of people with genital herpes contracted the disease from a partner who was non-symptomatic at the time of transmission?

[Shyster]

I would imagine the same applies for oral herpes, which is the one in question. HSV-1 is most commonly oral herpes, and HSV-2 is most commonly genital herpes, although either virus can infect either location. For oral infection, the virus travels into the nerves in the face and cranium and hides there. It can also infect the nose and eyes (ocular infections can be nasty). For genital infection, the virus hides in the nerves connecting the base of the spine to the groin. Because the virus specifically infects nervous cells, it can travel back up those nerves into the brain. People can shed virus from either location without having an obvious infection. I've had cold sores since I was a little child. Some well-meaning family member probably kissed me as a baby and infected me.

Alzheimer's can't be herpes alone, though. Globally, something like 2/3 or more of the population has been infected by HSV-1 by age 60 or so, but not 2/3 of the population develops dementia, so there have to be other factors.

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

developing dementia doesn’t mean you have herpes, but having herpes could potentially cause dementia

[Tomas]

Some nerd humor (i.e., I liked it...):

https://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations

[Sam's Drunk Dog]

How are people dieing from being tangled in bed sheets?

[Willie Kool]

[Viva la Ben]

Big if true; quite possible the biggest in mankind.
Reports: US scientists expected to announce long-awaited nuclear fusion breakthrough

The US Department of Energy is expected to announce Tuesday that scientists have for the first time successfully produced a nuclear fusion reaction resulting in a net energy gain, according to the Financial Times and The Washington Post.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/12/politics ... index.html

[dodint]

NIMBY!

[Troy Loney]

And we are now going to hand this over to the fossil fuel industry to make sure they maintain their rent seeking positions

[Troy Loney]

But in serious, sounds like they are able to create the energy, but there is not way to transmit it (commercialize it).

So would it be able to transmitted through our current infrastructure?

[NTP66]

More of this, please.

Base editing: Revolutionary therapy clears girl's incurable cancer

A teenage girl's incurable cancer has been cleared from her body in the first use of a revolutionary new type of medicine.
All other treatments for Alyssa's leukaemia had failed.

So doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital used "base editing" to perform a feat of biological engineering to build her a new living drug.

Six months later the cancer is undetectable, but Alyssa is still being monitored in case it comes back.

Alyssa, who is 13 and from Leicester, was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in May last year.

T-cells are supposed to be the body's guardians - seeking out and destroying threats - but for Alyssa they had become the danger and were growing out of control.

Her cancer was aggressive. Chemotherapy, and then a bone-marrow transplant, were unable to rid it from her body.

[Willie Kool]

But in serious, sounds like they are able to create the energy, but there is not way to transmit it (commercialize it).

So would it be able to transmitted through our current infrastructure?

Yes, the actual electricity generated by fusion is no different from that generated by coal, gas, hydro, wind, solar etc. - it's just electrons, so transmission is not the issue. The fusion reaction would heat something which would then heat water to turn a turbine to produce electricity.

They aren't able to commercialize it yet because it is barely net positive energy produced, and I'm also not sure how long they were able to sustain the reaction which has been a major issue.

[count2infinity]

More of this, please.

Base editing: Revolutionary therapy clears girl's incurable cancer

A teenage girl's incurable cancer has been cleared from her body in the first use of a revolutionary new type of medicine.
All other treatments for Alyssa's leukaemia had failed.

So doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital used "base editing" to perform a feat of biological engineering to build her a new living drug.

Six months later the cancer is undetectable, but Alyssa is still being monitored in case it comes back.

Alyssa, who is 13 and from Leicester, was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in May last year.

T-cells are supposed to be the body's guardians - seeking out and destroying threats - but for Alyssa they had become the danger and were growing out of control.

Her cancer was aggressive. Chemotherapy, and then a bone-marrow transplant, were unable to rid it from her body.

I highly highly highly recommend “the song of the cell”. I’m just over halfway through it and it has been eye opening to the history of cell therapy and where it’s heading.

[shafnutz05]

[faftorial]

But in serious, sounds like they are able to create the energy, but there is not way to transmit it (commercialize it).

So would it be able to transmitted through our current infrastructure?

Yes, the actual electricity generated by fusion is no different from that generated by coal, gas, hydro, wind, solar etc. - it's just electrons, so transmission is not the issue. The fusion reaction would heat something which would then heat water to turn a turbine to produce electricity.

They aren't able to commercialize it yet because it is barely net positive energy produced, and I'm also not sure how long they were able to sustain the reaction which has been a major issue.

10 quadrillion watts of power that lasted 100 trillionths of a second.

Edit: That was in 2021. I don't see the figures for the latest test results.

[count2infinity]

I'm reading A Short History of Nearly Everything. It's older... about 20 years now, which in the scientific world makes it ancient, but it spends time going through the scientific revolution, how we know what we know, how some of science history has played out, etc. So far it's an enjoyable book. But it introduced me to this grade A dickhead... Thomas Midgley Jr.

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

The dude is responsible for both leaded gasoline AND Freon. Single handedly might be the biggest environmental supervillain of all time.

[Gaucho]

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

How are people dieing from being tangled in bed sheets?

Ask that Midgley guy…

In 1940, at the age of 51, Midgley contracted polio, which left him severely disabled. He devised an elaborate system of ropes and pulleys to lift himself out of bed. In 1944, he was found entangled in the device and died of strangulation.[25][26][27] [28]

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

I feel like where AI is and where it’s heading, we’re entering the Ian Malcolm “your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should” territory


I’m in software so I’m aware of AI tech but not intimately familiar with it (ie I’ve never used ChatGPT and don’t know if I ever will). That said, I think there’s a few kind of terrifying possible futures. I don’t think we’re too far off from very realistic fake videos of celebrities, politicians using both their voices and likenesses saying some dangerous stuff (I’ve seen a crude video of fake Biden and Trump but I can see where it’s going)

Also it’s alarming to see how much people use tools like ChatGPT to write things like essays, emails, etc. I think there’s a possible Idiocracy future where people just get dumber as we rely on AI more and more


idk, I’m not saying it’s definitely going to be bad, but the unknown of where it’s going is a bit unnerving

[MalkinIsMyHomeboy]

And that’s not to say that it’ll be all bad too. I think we’re not too far off from AI diagnostic tools that can screen for all types of cancers at early stages

But we’ll see if the good ends up outweighing the bad or not. What sucks the most is none of us can have any affect and we’re all really just along for the ride

[Kane]

Picture taken from Japan's lunar lander before it crashed later:

[MR25]

I found the science thread so posting video in here. Again, worth the watch: