After reading Neox's post it got me thinking I should contribute more to this forum, I have disappeared for over half a year because I frequently got bored.
SO! I spend most of my time reading sciency articles and watching videos online so what better than to share my passion here? I would be very pleased if others would take part in sharing and discussing anything that is posted. :-3
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First things first, I will share my massive list of science-like channels I watch on YouTube, not all are solely about science, some are more thought provoking ones (hopefully I'll remember to keep updating it :P):
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Veritasium (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHnyfMqiRRG1u-2MsSQLbXA) - This channels has a little bit of everything but mainly focuses on astrophysics, so understanding how the universe works.
ASAP Science (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC552Sd-3nyi_tk2BudLUzA) - Just like what it sounds, little bits and peices of infromation about things in our world.
C.G.P. Grey (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2C_jShtL725hvbm1arSV9w) - Covers a variety of topics, mainly just answering and thouroughly explaining popular questions. Sort of fits into the History area as well.
Crash Course (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX6b17PVsYBQ0ip5gyeme-Q) - From World History to biology, crash course allows you to quickly understand specific topics easily.
Deep Sky Videos (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCo-3ThNQmPmQSQL_L6Lx1_w) - Channel all about astronomy!
It's Okay to be Smart (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH4BNI0-FOK2dMXoFtViWHw) - Similar to the channel "C.G.P. Grey" it mainly answers popular questions and how things work.
MinuteEarth (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeiYXex_fwgYDonaTcSIk6w) - Short videos about everything going on on our planet.
MinutePhysics (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUHW94eEFW7hkUMVaZz4eDg) - Short videos about, well, physics, it's awesome!
The Science Channel (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoCHQ_ANSysYcMeUR25v8iQ) - Covers a variety of topics, but mainly focuses on space.
SciShow (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZYTClx2T1of7BRZ86-8fow) - Another of my top favourte channel that keeps you up to date on what's going on in the world of science.
Sixty Symbols (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvBqzzvUBLCs8Y7Axb-jZew) - Another channel about physics and astronomy! Usually long and complicated, but nevertheless awesome!
SmarterEveryDay (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6107grRI4m0o2-emgoDnAA) - Easy to digest this guy always comes up with something interesting to explore and talk about.
SpaceRip (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1znqKFL3jeR0eoA0pHpzvw) - Well, it seems to be another channel about, you guessed it, space!
The Brain Scoop (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkyfHZ6bY2TjqbJhiH8Y2QQ) - A cute girl talking about dead animals! What's not to love? But really, she collects and cleans dead things for the school's collection. It's awesome.
Thunderf00t (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmb8hO2ilV9vRa8cilis88A) - A crazy looking guy that does crazy experiments and talks about random things.
Bad Astronomy (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC45SDrjKlPSY0bTvH6F7TOA) - An astronomer who talks about and answers questions that have to do with astronomy.
QualiaSoup (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc_xdkOBgSYLmXTn-VSQ4uA) - One of my favourite channels. This psychologists talks about a lot of things every person should look into such as morality, superstition and secularism.
TheraminTrees (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ-vHE5CrGaL_ITEg-n3OeA) - Another Psychologist that talks about really intersting things, works with QualiaSoup.
Vsauce (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6nSFpj9HTCZ5t-N3Rm3-HA) - My personal favourite, vsauce has a huge range and variety of topics either being philosophical to scientific, it's a channel everyone should enjoy!
Vsauce 2 (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqmugCqELzhIMNYnsjScXXw)
Vsauce 3 (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwmFOfFuvRPI112vR5DNnrA)
Sexplanations (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkxMlA7rt-mnIc1AjbyAsPw) - A girl who talks and answers questions about anything sex related. It's actually pretty entertaining. :D
Shots of Awe (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UClYb9NpXnRemxYoWbcYANsA) - One of my newest favourite channels, really gets you motivated or inspired. Its just really amazing!
The RSA (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvhsiQGy_zcNCiSbeXEjhLg) - More videos about random, thought provoking stuff!
TEDTalks (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAuUUnT6oDeKwE6v1NGQxug) - Another place where a bunch of people come to talk about all sorts of ideas and intersting things!
PBS Idea Channel (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3LqW4ijMoENQ2Wv17ZrFJA) - Talks about whatever crazy thing they want to! It's always a surprise, but really entertaining and interesting to think about whatever they bring up.
big think (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvQECJukTDE2i6aCoMnS-Vg) - Gets all sorts of people to talk about random topics, some of the people include Penn Jillette, Neil Degrasse Tyson and Michio Kaku.
AdmidsTheNoise (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaGoVAB64Ojh3JU_VPis8ig) - Talks about current events, among other things, in ways that really make you look at things differently.
(If you'd like me to post more channels I am subscribed to, let me know :-3)
So I'm going to start off with something astronomy related, Comet ISON. Hopefully all of you have heard about this comet by now but if not read about it here (they also have a video :D) : http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/timeline-of-comet-ison-s-dangerous-journey/ (http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/timeline-of-comet-ison-s-dangerous-journey/)
Why is Comet ISON so important? WELL! I'm glad you asked, firstly it's going to be absolutely beautiful for viewing, if all goes well it'll be as bright as the moon worldwide, even slightly visible in daylight! It may even look better than Comet Lovejoy did!
(http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/463/cache/comet-lovejoy-morning_46313_600x450.jpg)
If the sun doesn't destroy it at the end of November it should be a great show in December. Another reason why it's important to scientists is that it may help them understand more about our sun as it gets closer to it, such as it's tail showing where the magnetic field is!
This is something else I have found to be useful: http://violentmetaphors.com/2013/09/08/an-example-of-how-to-read-a-vaccine-safety-study/#more-692 (http://violentmetaphors.com/2013/09/08/an-example-of-how-to-read-a-vaccine-safety-study/#more-692)
It's just a little briefing on how to read scientific studies. They can be very confusing, I know I get overwhelmed by them sometimes.
~*~
Other news:
Yale researchers have found a protein that is the missing link that leads to Alzheimer's disease. When they used a drug to block the protein the deficits in memory, learning and synapse density were restored. :D http://scitechdaily.com/yale-scientists-discover-alzheimers-missing-link/ (http://scitechdaily.com/yale-scientists-discover-alzheimers-missing-link/)
"A team of scientists at Karolinska Institutet and Harvard University has taken a major step towards treatment for heart attack, by instructing the injured heart in mice to heal by expressing a factor that triggers cardiovascular regeneration driven by native heart stem cells. The study, published in Nature Biotechnology, also shows that there was an effect on driving the formation of a small number of new cardiac muscle cells." http://phys.org/news/2013-09-synthetic-mrna-self-repair-regeneration-infarcted.html#jCp (http://phys.org/news/2013-09-synthetic-mrna-self-repair-regeneration-infarcted.html#jCp)
[admin]Could you reduce the size of the image, or make it a clickable link? Thanks.[/admin]
I've been reading about an interesting guy, his name is Elon Musk. Entrepreneur, inventor, business man. He is the founder and ceo of a company called SpaceX.
Basically his goal is to send rockets to mars of only a fraction of the cost of what Nasa would do. To colonize it in the next decade or so (from what I remember correctly).
I heard about him first on the 'Amazing Atheist' channel, a guy named Howard Bloom occasionally posts videos there, dedicated a whole video about Musk, I post the link down below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_6FAZf1PNc (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_6FAZf1PNc)
Also on a very related note about the guy. He just came out with a way to view schematics using your fingers just like they did in Iron Man.
Story here; http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57602032/elon-musk-unveils-iron-man-like-design-tech-for-spacex-rockets/ (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57602032/elon-musk-unveils-iron-man-like-design-tech-for-spacex-rockets/)
Overall, very exciting. I would be happy to know that we can colonize other planets in our lifetimes.
http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/517/111/fbd.jpg (http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/517/111/fbd.jpg)
(Sorry about that RainRat, is what I have now a better image size?)
Ah yes! I have heard about SpaceX, it's really exciting that they're doing so much! :3 I love how he has a total "get-er-done" attitude and doesn't screw around, it's really amazing. Also that iron man tech. is really cool! I haven't even heard about that yet but it blew my mind. xD Imagine if that technology was put towards making new types of video games? You could wear a headset and have projectors create a 3D world around you that you could interact with! (Sort of makes me think of Cylon projection... >.>;;) And if you don't like video games, you could use it to change your house to seem like you're in a forest...Haha, sorry I went a different direction than Musk had intended it to be used for but ah well... :D It has a lot of potential!
Also, it has been my lifelong dream to be a xenobiologist (maybe a little silly... xD; ) and it seemed that could only possibly happen if technology progressed to a point where I could have a longer lifespan, but now it may be possible in 10 years! I hope we keeping making leaps and bounds in space exploration.
: Nibi September 09, 2013, 05:55:59 -06:00
C.G.P. Grey (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2C_jShtL725hvbm1arSV9w) - Covers a variety of topics, mainly just answering and thouroughly explaining popular questions. Sort of fits into the History area as well.
TEDTalks (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAuUUnT6oDeKwE6v1NGQxug) - Another place where a bunch of people come to talk about all sorts of ideas and intersting things!
Does soft sciences like social science count - cause I drink them like my cup of tea.
I see that you also follow CGP Grey's vids. I highly recommend him - he's a teacher by trade and he got a couple of good chuckles out of me. My favourite vid from him is the one focusing on the history of the Canadian/U.S. border.
TED Talks - definitely a must-fave. I was looking through your list for this mention and I am nodding my head in approval.
Have you yet heard that Canadian researchers have developed, and are in Phase 1 clinical trials, of an HIV vaccine?
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/09/04/aids-hiv-vaccine-western-university_n_3865059.html (http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/09/04/aids-hiv-vaccine-western-university_n_3865059.html)
A cure for HIV is right on the horizon, it seems. =)
: Tef September 10, 2013, 05:35:55 -06:00
Does soft sciences like social science count - cause I drink them like my cup of tea.
I see that you also follow CGP Grey's vids. I highly recommend him - he's a teacher by trade and he got a couple of good chuckles out of me. My favourite vid from him is the one focusing on the history of the Canadian/U.S. border.
TED Talks - definitely a must-fave. I was looking through your list for this mention and I am nodding my head in approval.
CGP Grey has amazing videos, I learned so much about things I never could understand before. XD
Also any science is welcomed. :3 I only suggest to make sure that it's backed up by lots of evidence and isn't only based on speculations.
: Neox September 10, 2013, 11:50:03 -06:00
Have you yet heard that Canadian researchers have developed, and are in Phase 1 clinical trials, of an HIV vaccine?
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/09/04/aids-hiv-vaccine-western-university_n_3865059.html (http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/09/04/aids-hiv-vaccine-western-university_n_3865059.html)
A cure for HIV is right on the horizon, it seems. =)
Yes I have heard about that! GAH! It's so exciting, HIV's reign could be over soon. >D
On a sort of related note, I just found this today: http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/at-the-edge/2013/08/29/ebola-treatment-may-be-on-the-horizon (http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/at-the-edge/2013/08/29/ebola-treatment-may-be-on-the-horizon)
Treatment for ebola may just happen! It seems to have worked extremely well when they used it on monkeys. And for those that don't know, ebola is one of the worlds deadliest viruses with 90% fatality and has terrible symptoms such as hemorrhaging. The biggest fear is for it to mutate into an airborne virus so that's why it's very important they find a treatment for it.
Found something that's definitely worth sharing.
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/feature/id/351883/description/The_Anorexic_Brain (http://www.sciencenews.org/view/feature/id/351883/description/The_Anorexic_Brain)
If any of you are like me, you may have thought that anorexia was either 1. a choice or 2. societal pressures to look a specific way. After reading this though I was pleasantly surprised to find that not only is it likely that anorexia is genetic BUT their brains actually function differently than ours.
So if any of you know anybody who has anorexia, you can truly let them know it's not their fault.
(Also there is a difference between anorexia and unhealthy dieting, don't mix the two, apparently less than 1% of girls have anorexia)
~*~
If you're a lover of science like I am, I suggest reading through this: http://www.skepticalraptor.com/skepticalraptorblog.php/pseudoscience-fool/ (http://www.skepticalraptor.com/skepticalraptorblog.php/pseudoscience-fool/)
A lot of people don't even know pseudoscience is a thing that exists, but it does and you don't want to let it fool you.
Not current but I found this interesting book from the mind of Carl Sagan.
The Dragons of Eden is a Pulitzer prize winning book published in 1977; Sagan combined 'the fields of anthropology, evolutionary biology, psychology, and computer science to give a perspective of how human intelligence evolved.' (quoted from the wikipedia page with the link to said wiki page down below).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dragons_of_Eden (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dragons_of_Eden)
I found it after plodding around on this site talk about whats called the 'reptilian case' theory. Basically it theorizes that we evolved from reptiles a long time ago and people nowadays having atavistic traits in them. Most shockingly is those with real tails.
http://www.debunkingskeptics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1721 (http://www.debunkingskeptics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1721)
I mean, it is just theories and all, but if Carl Sagan can look at it and not laugh out loud about how outrageous it is, it could be something to check out.
Scalies for life yo!
: Duke September 11, 2013, 02:12:36 -06:00
Not current but I found this interesting book from the mind of Carl Sagan.
The Dragons of Eden is a Pulitzer prize winning book published in 1977; Sagan combined 'the fields of anthropology, evolutionary biology, psychology, and computer science to give a perspective of how human intelligence evolved.' (quoted from the wikipedia page with the link to said wiki page down below).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dragons_of_Eden (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dragons_of_Eden)
I found it after plodding around on this site talk about whats called the 'reptilian case' theory. Basically it theorizes that we evolved from reptiles a long time ago and people nowadays having atavistic traits in them. Most shockingly is those with real tails.
http://www.debunkingskeptics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1721 (http://www.debunkingskeptics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1721)
I mean, it is just theories and all, but if Carl Sagan can look at it and not laugh out loud about how outrageous it is, it could be something to check out.
Scalies for life yo!
I love Carl Sagan, everything about him is awesome. And to those that don't know him I would highly suggest watching this video series: THE SAGAN SERIES (part 1) - The Frontier Is Everywhere (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY59wZdCDo0#ws)
Also if your read the wiki article a little more it says, "The title "The Dragons of Eden" refers to man's early struggle for survival in the face of predators, and how fear of reptiles may have led to cultural beliefs and myths about dragons and snakes." Thought I'd mention this just incase you thought Sagan meant something else by that title. :3
Don't take me as being mean, but I'm just going to point out some faults with the second link you shared. (I look at it more as a challenge and not an attack on you :) )
1.
"Every ancient culture has stories of dragons, serpents or reptiles creating humans or living alongside them - The "Chitauri" in Africa, the dragons that gave the Chinese Emperors their bloodline, the serpent in the Genesis book of the Bible, India, etc. "I would like to point out that there are dinosaur bones on every inch of our planet, including Antarctica, so having cultures all over the world have dragon-like creatures in myths is no surprise if they found dinosaur remains. Also like Sagan's title of the book implies, reptiles are everywhere as well and were very feared by humans. Many people would die if bitten since they had no cure for the venom. I would assume then that many cultures would either fear reptiles or admire them for what they are.
2.
Many eyewitnesses around the world have reported seeing Reptilian shapeshifters. They have come forth to David Icke and others about it. In fact, Christine Fitzpatrick, a close confidante of Princess Diana, said that Diana told her once that the Royal Family was not really human.There's a reason why the court system doesn't take eyewitness testimony very seriously. It is very unreliable. The human brain can 100% believe something had happened that didn't and said person doesn't even know they're wrong. They will wholeheartedly believe they are telling the truth. This video explains a little more about it: Scott Fraser: The problem with eyewitness testimony (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buhMdC7MO0U#ws)
Also, every time you remember an event from the past our brain network actually changes and that alters the recall of the event. That means that every time you remember something you're not remembering the original event but what you remembered last time. This makes memories extremely unreliable. :S http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2012/09/your-memory-is-like-the-telephone-game.html (http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2012/09/your-memory-is-like-the-telephone-game.html)
3.
Humans have a part of the brain called the "R-complex" which is considered Reptilian. It controls our flight or fight response, regulates aggressive behavior, and responds to fear and hierarchy. Even mainstream scientists like the great Carl Sagan admitted in his book "Dragons of Eden" that the physiological case for reptilians in our ancestry is overwhelming and inexplicable.I haven't read that book (but I plan on it now >D) so I cannot comment on what he claims Sagan said. BUT! Using a single scientist to back up your claims does not validate it. Even if he's a popular and well respected scientist, just because he thinks something is true or has happened does not make it so.
The basal ganglia (what they call the R-complex) is in the brains of amphibians, fish, mammals and sauropsids. That being said, since all modern vertebrates have this in their forebrains they most likely shared a common evolutionary ancestor over 500 million years ago. So that means it does not come from reptiles, but something before them. And we shared that part of our brain with A LOT of species.
4.
Atavistic traitsSo something I heard a long time ago on a documentary that stuck with me is to think of genes as light switches. As creatures evolve, some switches are turned on and some off. But by accident old switches can become turned on and old traits appear again, such as humans with tails. Also if you look at early human embryos they have gill slits! Which are then turned off in a sense as they continue to develop in the womb. And this isn't just for humans but for all life! But in the wild nature is cruel and if these changes don't give them advantages, they die. :( This is a interesting article about a scientist who wants to reverse a chicken back into a dinosaur by turning on old switches again. http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/09/ff_chickensaurus/all/ (http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/09/ff_chickensaurus/all/)
Weird analogies are weird. XD
~*~
I didn't have the time to watch the videos (it's almost 4am for me xD) but I'm happy with what I wrote. I learned a lot from doing this and I hope you do to! In a sense humans did evolve from reptiles but not in the way I believe you wrote it. Mammals evolved from reptiles, and then humans came along sometime after. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_evolutionary_history_of_life (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_evolutionary_history_of_life) Keep that link in mind. ^^
I bring some more news today! :3
1. Lake Hodgson in Antarctica has life! The lake is about 10-13 feet below the surface ice and what's really interesting is that a lot of this life that was genetically sequenced did not match anything currently known to science! So it's all new!
http://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/5/3/680 (http://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/5/3/680)
http://www.livescience.com/39525-life-found-in-antarctic-lake.html (http://www.livescience.com/39525-life-found-in-antarctic-lake.html)
2. "Using Spider Silk as a Scaffold for Carbon Nanotubes Will Create Strong, Flexible, Biodegradeable Conductive Material for Next-Gen Electronics."
http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2013/130910/ncomms3435/full/ncomms3435.html (http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2013/130910/ncomms3435/full/ncomms3435.html)
3. "This study suggests that genetically engineered malaria parasites that are stunted through precise gene deletions (genetically attenuated parasites, or "GAP") could be used as a vaccine that protects against malaria infection. This means that the harmless (attenuated) version of the parasite would interact with the body in the same way as the infective version, but without possibility of causing disease. GAP-vaccination would induce robust immune responses that protect against future infection with malaria."
Also, in 2010 malaria killed 1.2 million people worldwide. :S So creating a vaccine for it is really important.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-09/e-mbd091113.php (http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-09/e-mbd091113.php)
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/feb/03/malaria-deaths-research (http://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/feb/03/malaria-deaths-research)
That's all I have for today, oh well! XD
Yeah Science!
I got something to add:
The awesome folks at SpaceX are preparing to launch their Falcon 9 rocket in only a matter of days. The scheduled launch will take place between 29th and 30th of September 2013.
They completed their last static launch on September 19th earlier last week.
Youtube video here to show;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VX4LH0wn9Rs&feature=youtu.be
More about the rocket;
http://www.spacex.com/falcon9 (http://www.spacex.com/falcon9)
This seems like a good place to post this. (http://www.smbc-comics.com/comics/20130928.png)
Lol, that's a cute comic and informative!
I love random animal trivia so here's a video ^^
http://youtu.be/fBgDrAjDPqw (http://youtu.be/fBgDrAjDPqw)