General science thread

September 8th, 2024 at 10:10:30 AM permalink
rxwine
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 200
Posts: 20764
Pain reduction.

Quote:
115 participants, which consisted of two separate clinical trials in healthy participants, who were randomly placed into groups to be given four interventions: a guided mindfulness meditation, a sham-mindfulness meditation that only consisted of deep breathing, a placebo cream (petroleum jelly) that participants were trained to believe reduces pain, and as a control, one group listened to an audiobook. The researchers applied a very painful but harmless heat stimulus to the back of the leg and scanned the participants' brains both before and after the interventions.

To analyze the participants' brain activity patterns, the researchers used a novel approach called multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA), which uses machine learning to disentangle the many complex neural mechanisms underlying the experience of pain, including those stemming from specific heat stimuli, negative emotions and pain responses that are driven by the placebo effect. The researchers were then able to identify whether mindfulness meditation and placebo engage similar and/or separate brain processes.

Although placebo cream and sham-mindfulness meditation lowered pain, the researchers found that mindfulness meditation was significantly more effective at reducing pain when compared to placebo cream, sham-mindfulness meditation and the controls.

They also found that mindfulness-based pain relief reduced synchronization between brain areas involved in introspection, self-awareness and emotional regulation. These parts of the brain together comprise the neural pain signal (NPS), a documented pattern of brain activity thought to be common to pain in different individuals and different types of pain. In contrast, the placebo cream and sham-mindfulness meditation did not show a significant change in the NPS when compared to controls. Instead, these other interventions engaged entirely separate brain mechanisms with little overlap.

"It has long been assumed that the placebo effect overlaps with brain mechanisms triggered by active treatments, but these results suggest that when it comes to pain, this may not be the case," said Zeidan. "Instead, these two brain responses are completely distinct, which supports the use of mindfulness meditation as a direct intervention for chronic pain rather than as a way to engage the placebo effect."



Not sure what the detaiils are of "mindful meditation" although I've read about it before. I'm not sure if there is one consistent method.
"Facts are whatever I say they are." - Trump
September 9th, 2024 at 2:56:14 AM permalink
odiousgambit
Member since: Oct 28, 2012
Threads: 162
Posts: 5953
that the mind can shut off pain is proven by it's ability to ignore pain in one spot when a greater pain arises somewhere else

even bug bites are like that. When I have more than one, there's only one that will bother me at any given moment
I'm Still Standing, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah [it's an old guy chant for me]
September 10th, 2024 at 6:14:23 AM permalink
odiousgambit
Member since: Oct 28, 2012
Threads: 162
Posts: 5953
short video

https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/1fd017i/genetic_scientist_explains_why_jurassic_park_is/
I'm Still Standing, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah [it's an old guy chant for me]
September 19th, 2024 at 6:59:01 AM permalink
odiousgambit
Member since: Oct 28, 2012
Threads: 162
Posts: 5953
quantum physics weirdness, cont.

Quote:
Thanks to quantum effects, a particle of light can exit a cloud of extremely cold atoms before it even enters.


https://www.newscientist.com/article/2448067-light-has-been-seen-leaving-an-atom-cloud-before-it-entered/
I'm Still Standing, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah [it's an old guy chant for me]
September 19th, 2024 at 8:49:05 AM permalink
rxwine
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 200
Posts: 20764
Quote: odiousgambit


I’m starting to wonder if quantum realms are like looking in water. You see a bend in an object that isn’t there when part of it is below the surface.
"Facts are whatever I say they are." - Trump
September 19th, 2024 at 4:09:30 PM permalink
GenoDRPh
Member since: Aug 24, 2023
Threads: 2
Posts: 1806
Article on CNN about the race to bring nuclear fusion power tot he power grid.

I know,I know. Nuclear fusion has been 10 years away for the last 50 years...

https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/19/climate/nuclear-fusion-clean-energy-china-us/index.html
October 1st, 2024 at 4:10:00 AM permalink
odiousgambit
Member since: Oct 28, 2012
Threads: 162
Posts: 5953
a lot of uncertainty but ...

"'Sungrazer' Comet May Be as Bright as Venus and Visible in Daylight"

https://www.newsweek.com/new-comet-discovered-sungrazer-visible-day-1961453
I'm Still Standing, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah [it's an old guy chant for me]
October 1st, 2024 at 4:13:19 AM permalink
rxwine
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 200
Posts: 20764
Quote: odiousgambit
a lot of uncertainty but ...

"'Sungrazer' Comet May Be as Bright as Venus and Visible in Daylight"

https://www.newsweek.com/new-comet-discovered-sungrazer-visible-day-1961453


As long as it doesn’t start looking as large as the Moon.
"Facts are whatever I say they are." - Trump
October 14th, 2024 at 4:37:46 AM permalink
odiousgambit
Member since: Oct 28, 2012
Threads: 162
Posts: 5953
Elon Musk’s robots stole the recent Tesla show,
Quote:
[the robots were] … talking with guests, playing rock-paper-scissors or simply pouring a drink from a tap for the thirsty—before coolly flashing a peace sign with its metallic hand


only one problem!

Quote:
… They were voiced and operated by humans remotely wearing special suits that translated their movements to the droid.

“Today I’m assisted by a human, I’m not yet fully autonomous,” one Optimus operator admitted on video that was shot by a guest who asked
[emphasis mine]

https://fortune.com/2024/10/13/elon-musk-tesla-optimus-robot-tele-operated-robotaxi/ .
I'm Still Standing, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah [it's an old guy chant for me]
October 25th, 2024 at 3:21:24 AM permalink
odiousgambit
Member since: Oct 28, 2012
Threads: 162
Posts: 5953
Apparently a soliton is something that is not a particle, but really exists

>>>

Quote:
In mathematics and physics, a soliton is a nonlinear, self-reinforcing, localized wave packet that is strongly stable, in that it preserves its shape while propagating freely, at constant velocity, and recovers it even after collisions with other such localized wave packets

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soliton .
I'm Still Standing, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah [it's an old guy chant for me]