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GuanYin · 13-10-2003, 00:02

This thread is for any fact or tid bit from the world of science you feel like sharing, but don't want to start a full thread on.

Please post an accompanying link if you can.

GuanYin · 13-10-2003, 00:03

Sykeirl's Happy Science Fact of the Week #1:
Even correct condom use is ineffective against 40% of STIs you may encounter - If you are sexually active have regular STI screenings.

read more here

GuanYin · 19-10-2003, 22:33

Sykeirl's Happy Science Fact of the Week #2:
99% of all creatures that have ever existed on earth are now extinct.

read/discuss more here

**Capt'n Midnight** · 24-10-2003, 21:17

99% of all TYPES OFcreatures that have ever existed on earth are now extinct.

Actually it is much worse that that - between 94-95% of all species went extinct at the end of the Permian.

In comparison most species, apart of course from large reptiles, surviced the KT extinction that killed Dinosaurs, (and even then large like Crocs and Turtles surviced)

So few species survived the permian extinction that the fossil record from parts of South Africia, Antartica, Siberia and India consist almost entirely of the species Lystrosaurus a mammal-like reptile.
Imagine a fossilised farm - you'd expect to find mostly cows - but you'd still expect that all the dogs, foxes, rats, frogs, birds, badgers, voles, cats, rabbits and other animals would account for more than 5% of the fossils..

Furry Version - http://www.mathematical.com/dinolystrosaur.html
Reptilian version - http://www.fossilsasart.com/lystrosa.htm
GondWanaLand - http://www.museums.org.za/sam/resour...r/gondwana.htm

PS. Scientists calculate that a global increase of 10°C might have been sufficient to release frozen methane hydrate during the Permian period

GuanYin · 26-10-2003, 21:54

Sykeirl's Happy Science Fact of the Week #3:
Skin Cancer accounts for nearly half of cancers diagnosed in Ireland every year. Even though we know that sun exposure causes it.
Use sunscreen people!
Read/Discuss more here

**Capt'n Midnight** · 27-10-2003, 22:56

There are bacteria that use tiny little magnets to tell them in which direction to move.

http://john183.freeyellow.com/magntite.txt - Text
http://www.biophysics.uwa.edu.au/STAWA/magbac_5.html - Movies
http://www.wholeearthmag.com/ArticleBin/274.html - 2billion years
http://redplanetlife.com/mars7.htm - Life on mars ?
http://www.ratical.org/ratville/RofD2.html - claims humans can learn how to use their internal compass (but not if holding a bar magnet to your head)

Also the bacteria have been used like iron filings to view magnitism in samples - though at one micron they'd be smaller - also there was talk a while back of using thier magnets for tape / hdd because they were better than anything man made in terms of size..

GuanYin · 27-10-2003, 22:58

Quote:

Originally posted by Capt'n Midnight
There are bacteria that use tiny little magnets to tell them in which direction to move.

Really? Cool!

name/link/details?

**Capt'n Midnight** · 27-10-2003, 23:57

The first nuclear reactor made by Enrico Fermi & co. went critical* on December 2 - 1942 - http://www.fnal.gov/pub/about/whatis/enricofermi.html http://www.era.anl.gov/

WRONG !

It couldn't have happened more than a few years earlier because it took so long develop the technology and theroy to separate and then concentrate the fissile isotopes of Uranium needed.

WRONG AGAIN !

The first known Nuclear reactor was developed by heat loving BACTERIA nearly two billion years ago in Oklo to generate heat.
The bacteria associated with the site may have selectively accumulated certain isotopes of uranium which caused fission to heat them and their surroundings. These bacteria were probably thermotropic and liked the heat which would have killed off competitiors.

http://www.ocrwm.doe.gov/factsheets/doeymp0010.shtml
http://www.cerncourier.com/main/article/43/2/13
http://www.alamut.com/proj/98/nuclea...lock_Oklo.html

*ie. producing enough neutrons to keep the chain reaction running.

GuanYin · 03-11-2003, 22:52

Sykeirl's Happy Science Fact of the Week #4:
1 in 6 Irish people suffer from food posioning every year.
Wash your hands!
Read/Discuss more here

**Capt'n Midnight** · 09-11-2003, 00:13

You can't live on Guiness alone

Guinness does contain many vitamins and minerals in small quantities, but is lacking vitamin C, as well as calcium and fat.
So, to fulfil all of your daily nutritional requirements you would need to drink
- a glass of orange juice,
- two glasses of milk,
- and 47 pints of Guinness.

http://www.newscientist.com/hottopic...l.jsp?id=lw327

*Sarky* · 09-11-2003, 15:23

Sounds like a wager to me...

GuanYin · 09-11-2003, 20:21

Syke's Happy Science Fact of the Week #5:
The average indoor radon level in Irish houses is 90 Bq/m3. Untreated exposure at the level 200 Bq/m3 carries a risk of about 1 in 50 of contracting fatal lung cancer.
Read/Discuss more here

*Sarky* · 17-11-2003, 19:17

Contrary to popular belief, a duck's quack has indeed been proven to echo.

**Woden** · 17-11-2003, 19:20

when trying to push two atoms of a molecule together the electrostatic forces apparently cancel each other out. what stops you pushing two atoms together is actually electron spin.

**Capt'n Midnight** · 23-11-2003, 22:43

Cancer prevented by Aging !

While most people would think cancer is the main thing that stops us living longer the reverse is true !
The reason we can't live forever may be because of the bodies mechanism to prevent cancer - cells are preprogrammed to die.

So if a cell starts to turn cancerous and grows uncontrollably it will only be able to double, say, thirty or forty times. When it reaches its allotted limit this would-be tumour is stopped dead in its tracks.

Note: because of our size and age we will have 10,000 as many cell divisions as mice - any of which could cause cancer... So we are a lot more resistant to cancer than mice..

telomeres - count down to cell death
Link on Meiosis and reproduction

27-10-2003, 22:56	#6
Capt'n Midnight 00:00 Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 40,668 Adverts \| Friends Mod: Biology, Lifehacking, Popular Science, Windows	There are bacteria that use tiny little magnets to tell them in which direction to move. http://john183.freeyellow.com/magntite.txt - Text http://www.biophysics.uwa.edu.au/STAWA/magbac_5.html - Movies http://www.wholeearthmag.com/ArticleBin/274.html - 2billion years http://redplanetlife.com/mars7.htm - Life on mars ? http://www.ratical.org/ratville/RofD2.html - claims humans can learn how to use their internal compass (but not if holding a bar magnet to your head) Also the bacteria have been used like iron filings to view magnitism in samples - though at one micron they'd be smaller - also there was talk a while back of using thier magnets for tape / hdd because they were better than anything man made in terms of size.. Last edited by Capt'n Midnight; 27-10-2003 at 23:17.

09-11-2003, 20:21	#12
GuanYin Miss Chief Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 13,888 Adverts \| Friends	Syke's Happy Science Fact of the Week #5: The average indoor radon level in Irish houses is 90 Bq/m3. Untreated exposure at the level 200 Bq/m3 carries a risk of about 1 in 50 of contracting fatal lung cancer. Read/Discuss more here Last edited by GuanYin; 23-11-2003 at 23:10.

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13-10-2003, 00:02	#1
GuanYin Miss Chief Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 13,888 Adverts \| Friends	Strange Science Facts This thread is for any fact or tid bit from the world of science you feel like sharing, but don't want to start a full thread on. Please post an accompanying link if you can. Last edited by GuanYin; 13-10-2003 at 00:13.

13-10-2003, 00:03	#2
GuanYin Miss Chief Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 13,888 Adverts \| Friends	Sykeirl's Happy Science Fact of the Week #1: Even correct condom use is ineffective against 40% of STIs you may encounter - If you are sexually active have regular STI screenings. read more here

19-10-2003, 22:33	#3
GuanYin Miss Chief Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 13,888 Adverts \| Friends	Sykeirl's Happy Science Fact of the Week #2: 99% of all creatures that have ever existed on earth are now extinct. read/discuss more here

24-10-2003, 21:17	#4
Capt'n Midnight 00:00 Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 40,668 Adverts \| Friends Mod: Biology, Lifehacking, Popular Science, Windows	99% of all TYPES OFcreatures that have ever existed on earth are now extinct. Actually it is much worse that that - between 94-95% of all species went extinct at the end of the Permian. In comparison most species, apart of course from large reptiles, surviced the KT extinction that killed Dinosaurs, (and even then large like Crocs and Turtles surviced) So few species survived the permian extinction that the fossil record from parts of South Africia, Antartica, Siberia and India consist almost entirely of the species Lystrosaurus a mammal-like reptile. Imagine a fossilised farm - you'd expect to find mostly cows - but you'd still expect that all the dogs, foxes, rats, frogs, birds, badgers, voles, cats, rabbits and other animals would account for more than 5% of the fossils.. Furry Version - http://www.mathematical.com/dinolystrosaur.html Reptilian version - http://www.fossilsasart.com/lystrosa.htm GondWanaLand - http://www.museums.org.za/sam/resour...r/gondwana.htm PS. Scientists calculate that a global increase of 10°C might have been sufficient to release frozen methane hydrate during the Permian period

26-10-2003, 21:54	#5
GuanYin Miss Chief Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 13,888 Adverts \| Friends	Sykeirl's Happy Science Fact of the Week #3: Skin Cancer accounts for nearly half of cancers diagnosed in Ireland every year. Even though we know that sun exposure causes it. Use sunscreen people! Read/Discuss more here Last edited by GuanYin; 26-10-2003 at 21:59.

27-10-2003, 23:57	#8
Capt'n Midnight 00:00 Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 40,668 Adverts \| Friends Mod: Biology, Lifehacking, Popular Science, Windows	The first nuclear reactor made by Enrico Fermi & co. went critical* on December 2 - 1942 - http://www.fnal.gov/pub/about/whatis/enricofermi.html http://www.era.anl.gov/ WRONG ! It couldn't have happened more than a few years earlier because it took so long develop the technology and theroy to separate and then concentrate the fissile isotopes of Uranium needed. WRONG AGAIN ! The first known Nuclear reactor was developed by heat loving BACTERIA nearly two billion years ago in Oklo to generate heat. The bacteria associated with the site may have selectively accumulated certain isotopes of uranium which caused fission to heat them and their surroundings. These bacteria were probably thermotropic and liked the heat which would have killed off competitiors. http://www.ocrwm.doe.gov/factsheets/doeymp0010.shtml http://www.cerncourier.com/main/article/43/2/13 http://www.alamut.com/proj/98/nuclea...lock_Oklo.html *ie. producing enough neutrons to keep the chain reaction running.

03-11-2003, 22:52	#9
GuanYin Miss Chief Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 13,888 Adverts \| Friends	Sykeirl's Happy Science Fact of the Week #4: 1 in 6 Irish people suffer from food posioning every year. Wash your hands! Read/Discuss more here

09-11-2003, 00:13	#10
Capt'n Midnight 00:00 Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 40,668 Adverts \| Friends Mod: Biology, Lifehacking, Popular Science, Windows	You can't live on Guiness alone Guinness does contain many vitamins and minerals in small quantities, but is lacking vitamin C, as well as calcium and fat. So, to fulfil all of your daily nutritional requirements you would need to drink - a glass of orange juice, - two glasses of milk, - and 47 pints of Guinness. http://www.newscientist.com/hottopic...l.jsp?id=lw327

09-11-2003, 15:23	#11
Sarky Herpivore Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Fort Kickass Posts: 19,145 Adverts \| Friends Mod: Ask Doctor Demento, Esoteric Order of Dagon, Legends of the Boards, The Cuckoo's Nest	Sounds like a wager to me...

17-11-2003, 19:17	#13
Sarky Herpivore Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Fort Kickass Posts: 19,145 Adverts \| Friends Mod: Ask Doctor Demento, Esoteric Order of Dagon, Legends of the Boards, The Cuckoo's Nest	Contrary to popular belief, a duck's quack has indeed been proven to echo.

17-11-2003, 19:20	#14
Woden Moderator Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: London Posts: 5,900 Adverts \| Friends Mod: Star Trek	when trying to push two atoms of a molecule together the electrostatic forces apparently cancel each other out. what stops you pushing two atoms together is actually electron spin.

23-11-2003, 22:43	#15
Capt'n Midnight 00:00 Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 40,668 Adverts \| Friends Mod: Biology, Lifehacking, Popular Science, Windows	Cancer prevented by Aging ! While most people would think cancer is the main thing that stops us living longer the reverse is true ! The reason we can't live forever may be because of the bodies mechanism to prevent cancer - cells are preprogrammed to die. So if a cell starts to turn cancerous and grows uncontrollably it will only be able to double, say, thirty or forty times. When it reaches its allotted limit this would-be tumour is stopped dead in its tracks. Note: because of our size and age we will have 10,000 as many cell divisions as mice - any of which could cause cancer... So we are a lot more resistant to cancer than mice.. telomeres - count down to cell death Link on Meiosis and reproduction