General science thread

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May 1st, 2025 at 6:54:51 AM permalink
rxwine
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 203
Posts: 21627
Quote:
Ironclad Beetle:
This beetle, native to Southern California, is renowned for its extreme crush resistance.
Exoskeleton:
The beetle's exoskeleton is remarkably tough, with interlocking plates that act like a jigsaw puzzle, distributing stress and preventing crushing.
Strength:
Studies have shown that the beetle can withstand forces approximately 39,000 times its body weight, according to Berkeley Lab News Center.
Adaptations:
The beetle's exoskeleton is an adaptation that evolved to protect it from predators and harsh desert conditions, according to Nature.
Elytra:
The beetle's elytra, or outer wings, are also fused together to provide additional protection, forming a crush-resistant shield.
Only real derangment going on is people who still believe in Trump
May 1st, 2025 at 2:02:21 PM permalink
DRich
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 56
Posts: 5808
Quote: rxwine

Ironclad Beetle:
This beetle, native to Southern California, is renowned for its extreme crush resistance.
Exoskeleton:
The beetle's exoskeleton is remarkably tough, with interlocking plates that act like a jigsaw puzzle, distributing stress and preventing crushing.
Strength:
Studies have shown that the beetle can withstand forces approximately 39,000 times its body weight, according to Berkeley Lab News Center.
Adaptations:
The beetle's exoskeleton is an adaptation that evolved to protect it from predators and harsh desert conditions, according to Nature.
Elytra:
The beetle's elytra, or outer wings, are also fused together to provide additional protection, forming a crush-resistant shield.


This Beetle would disagree.

At my age a Life In Prison sentence is not much of a deterrent.
May 13th, 2025 at 3:03:01 PM permalink
rxwine
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 203
Posts: 21627
Quote:
Given a choice between two sea snail shells, hermit crabs know which will make a better home. That is, unless their thinking has been muddled by ingesting microplastics. Then, they struggle with a decision that could be crucial for survival.
They aren't alone: across the animal kingdom, it appears, tiny bits of plastic change behaviours and mess up cognition. Exposure to these particles makes mice more forgetful and less social. Bees have trouble learning. Zebrafish act more anxious.


From current issue of New Scientist.
Only real derangment going on is people who still believe in Trump
June 23rd, 2025 at 11:00:01 AM permalink
rxwine
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 203
Posts: 21627
Quote:
Xuanhe Zhao at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his colleagues have developed a power-free water-collecting device that is about 0.5 metres tall and 0.1 m across. It is composed of a glass panel that contains an absorbent hydrogel, a jelly-like substance made from long-chain polymers, and lithium salts that can store water molecules.
The hydrogel, which was folded into an origami-like structure to increase its surface area, absorbs water at night. This then evaporates when the sun shines on the glass panel in the day. The device’s interior is coated in a cooling material, where the evaporated water collects and drips into storage below.

Zhao and his team tested their device for one week in Death Valley, where humidity can reach as low as 5 per cent. For comparison, London’s year-round average is around 70 per cent. The researchers found that the device extracted up to 160 millilitres of water per day, enough to fill a small glass (Nature Water, doi.org/prfd).

They estimate that eight of these panels could supply an average adult’s daily drinking water needs, which may be particularly useful in arid areas.
Only real derangment going on is people who still believe in Trump
July 2nd, 2025 at 2:10:17 PM permalink
rxwine
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 203
Posts: 21627
Cooling a hot car.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/oKRcbRGDC6U
Only real derangment going on is people who still believe in Trump
July 3rd, 2025 at 1:28:14 AM permalink
odiousgambit
Member since: Oct 28, 2012
Threads: 163
Posts: 6070
I find it somewhat amusing to hear how 'scientifically' some people live

more and more in fact, as the country is being swallowed up by pseudoscience
I'm Still Standing, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah [it's an old guy chant for me]
July 5th, 2025 at 6:23:10 AM permalink
odiousgambit
Member since: Oct 28, 2012
Threads: 163
Posts: 6070
anybody else notice that those places covering science news have now gone to the total clickbait approach

here's a headline today: "The sky will go dark — NASA warns of astronomical event not seen in 12,000 years" ... a 'warning' you see. Don't bother checking it out, it's an upcoming eclipse. An especially long one!

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!!
I'm Still Standing, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah [it's an old guy chant for me]
July 5th, 2025 at 6:50:07 AM permalink
rxwine
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 203
Posts: 21627
Quote: odiousgambit
anybody else notice that those places covering science news have now gone to the total clickbait approach

here's a headline today: "The sky will go dark — NASA warns of astronomical event not seen in 12,000 years" ... a 'warning' you see. Don't bother checking it out, it's an upcoming eclipse. An especially long one!

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!!


I really hate slide show articles. But I see a lot of them. Just give me a page of text.
Only real derangment going on is people who still believe in Trump
July 5th, 2025 at 8:05:54 PM permalink
Evenbob
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 148
Posts: 25925
Quote: odiousgambit
anybody else notice that those places covering science news have now gone to the total clickbait approach

here's a headline today: "The sky will go dark — NASA warns of astronomical event not seen in 12,000 years" ... a 'warning' you see. Don't bother checking it out, it's an upcoming eclipse. An especially long one!

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!!


Everything is clickbait now. You click on an article and it takes them five paragraphs to get to what the article is supposed to be about. I'm so used to it that I just automatically scroll halfway through the article cuz I know that's where the point is going to be. It could be something like Detroit Tigers trade Valuable Player. You click on it and they don't mention the guy's name until you've gone through 6in of text amd about 15 ads. And they're not even trading him, they might send them back to the minor leagues for a month. Maybe.
If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose.
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