#research science

[scienceysideblog]

So this blog's going to be more orderly and journally than my other blog (I know those are not real words just go with it) because I want to use it as a way of keeping in one place all my science ramblings and thoughts.

To start with, these are my main interests within science :

My favourite sciences are biology and physics, chemistry is interesting but I just prefer the other 2

I also like psychology but I am not studying it anymore, I just read about it as a hobby

I am really interested in genetics and neuroscience, particularly epigenetics

I think astrophysics is really cool too

I am interested in autism research but only when it's used to help understanding autistic people not to try and "cure" them. There are so many ethical questions that make it difficult (but I'll discuss more stuff about this in a separate post)

I am enthusiastic about women and girls in science and the idea that everyone should have access to science and that it should be explained in an entertaining and easy to understand way (Hannah fry is one of my heroes and she does this really well)

Overall, I want to become a research scientist to help people and because I think it would be a good way to keep learning (which I enjoy) and to make a difference in the world (and I know maybe that's naive, but it's definitely worth a try)

[ramyaknox]

So today I met some people taking science courses I'm interested in and my eyes were opened to this autistics in research joke which was too funny to not share with you all

[beemovieerotica]

the cognitive dissonance from people who want the products of modern medicine but get weird about animal research. like im sorry but this is necessary for the survival of the society we currently live in. and the scientists who work on these things are not evil cackling psychopaths. anyone you talk to in animal research has incredibly complex feelings about their work and incredibly complex relationships to the animals in their care. there are regulations and oversight and penalties in place to make the work as humane as possible and scientists are overwhelmingly the ones enforcing and advocating for better care.

[alithographica]

Museum SOS

I just saw the news that the Museum of the Earth in Ithaca, NY is facing foreclosure after a group of donors failed to produce about $30 million USD that they had promised.

The museum is run by the Paleontological Research Institution, whose collection has about 7 million fossil specimens—one of the largest in the US—and is one of only a few natural history museums in upstate NY. PRI runs both the Museum and the Cayuga Nature Center, which is also dealing with the budget shortfall.

The organization is working on restructuring (namely downsizing) to improve their financial sustainability but they still need funds, and one thing they've said could help is if people shop at their store!

The foreclosure news broke like two days ago and their shop is already selling fast (testament to how many people want them to survive!) but there are a few items left in stock, including some prehistoric plushies. If you want to make a purchase to help maybe keep them afloat, their online gift shop is here and is honestly extremely reasonably priced.

so how about a FOOT LONG TULLY MONSTER

OR A DUNKLEOSTEUS

OR SOME

TRILOBITE SLIPPERS

They've also got some books, shirts, toys, etc. and I'm sure those sales numbers will help the authors/artists as well.

(Regular donations are also welcomed)

[todays-xkcd]

The secret fourth kind is 'we applied a standard theory to their map of every tree and got some suspicious results.'

Three Kinds of Research [Explained]

Transcript Under the Cut

[A single panel with three separate drawings.]

[Caption above the drawings:] The Three Kinds of Scientific Research:

[Cueball is pointing to a scatter plot with a best-fit curve.] Cueball: We applied a standard theory to novel circumstances and got some surprising results.

[Miss Lenhart is pointing to a similar scatter plot.] Miss Lenhart: We applied a novel theory to standard circumstances and got some intriguing results.

[Hairy, with leaves in his messy hair and on his body, is pointing to another chart that is covered in random dots and unidentifiable shapes, while having both arms raised.] Hairy: Finally, a map of every tree.

[tidyturnip]

[mysharona1987]

[amnhnyc]

One small step for leeches, one giant leap for leechkind! For the first time, we have concrete evidence that at least one species of terrestrial leech in Madagascar can jump. Mai’s work is important to conservation efforts because leeches are increasingly being collected to survey vertebrate biodiversity. By analyzing their blood meals, researchers are able to identify other animals living alongside the leeches, ranging from wildcats to frogs to ground-dwelling birds. Read more about Mai's research in our latest blog post.

Have you ever seen a leech jump? Let us know in the comments!

[the-shadows-request-candy-corn]

Trump may be about to sign the death sentence of the National Institute of Health, and, by extension, the Office of Lab Animal Welfare.

He gutted research animal protections.

Any vertebrate that isn't a mammal will have no rights.

Neither will mice or rats.

If NIH grants are stopped, researchers can't pay anyone. They can't perform research. They can't pay for veterinary services.

They won't be required to provide veterinary services.

The only medical research that will happen will be self funded by big pharma, and they can torture the animals and skew all the lab results that they want.

Just like Musk did to the primates in his neuralink research.

I don't know what's going to happen to me or anyone else at the university where I work. My job is to make sure the animals are treated humanely and to provide veterinary care. I'm especially scared about what's going to happen to those research animals if veterinary staff gets laid off. The USDA only covers mammals, and it doesn't even cover all of them. Every rat I've ever made a tiny paper gift box full of marshmallows for, every mouse I've ever watched grow up, every rodent I've ever separated from an aggressive dominant brother and then treated their tiny wounds, they have no protections if NIH goes down. Decades of research into humane handling, euthanasia, and animal behavior will be tossed aside and wasted.

Please, do everything you can. Protest. Contact your representatives. Anything you can do. Do it for science, for medicine, for people's lives, for people's jobs, and for the animals.

[legodna]

You guys wanna see a science Lego set? Well, here's Lego DNA!

With a scientifically accurate DNA model, and a historically accurate lab + 5 scientists!

Aims: to promote science to kids and honor Rosalind Franklin.

Less than 4,000 votes needed to get it considered as a real official Lego set to be sold worldwide!

If you like it, please support here and share with your friends: https://ideas.lego.com/projects/c92cd95b-49e7-46ec-b844-ac6482c51139

[encyclopika]

Hi everyone - I am a marine researcher and I'm writing a paper about a fish and it's fishery local to where I live (New York). If you live in the US, and especially if you live in the coastal states between Maine and New Jersey, I would LOVE IT TREMENDOUSLY if you would answer my VERY SHORT survey here:

https://cornell.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_d9VO97cruosRmjI

It should take *maybe* two minutes for you to do!

Thank you!!!

[scienceysideblog]

Hi, I don't know if this will actually find anyone who is interested but I'm thinking of running a questionnaire about autistic burnout to try and gather some data and then make a report of any findings.

I had my first autistic burnout just over a year ago now, it was really scary and I looked to studies and research for support but it was extremely lacking. I feel like every bit of data counts to raise awareness around autistic burnout and could help people so if you have experienced burnout and you'd be interested in taking part please message me or reblog this.

The survey is anonymous, you can only take part if you are over 16. I do not have any high level qualifications because I am still studying but as far as I know that doesn't affect whether I'm allowed to conduct research.

[silvereternitywrites]

The Many

Prompt: After an fatal accident, all AI test subjects at your facility formed a sentient hivemind, which, against all odds, is very fond of you and the scientists

Prompt Source: user [deleted]; subreddit “Writing Prompts”

"No no No NO NO!" a tech specialist's voice had risen to a true shriek- grief, as their frantic typing became more and more shaky, more and more typing errors, more and more mistakes as they tried, frantically, to prevent the process in motion.

"This can't be happening, it can't, she just chose a gender! A name! She'd barely started to compile herself so she could s-start developing her per-personality," the typing stopped as the specialist slammed their fingertips into their keyboard so hard the detachable input cracked in three pieces like an egg against a table.

All around the lab every other tech person was having a similar meltdown as each and every one of their hundreds of backups, redundancies, and safety protocols were either broken by whatever virus had infected the computers, ripped to shreds, or failed to deploy at all. During the standard safety check, they had discovered all the hard-copy off-site backups had been compromised first; it was why they had all begun to boot up their AI programs to prepare them for the cloning process. Over twenty-seven individual fully realized AI's, with names and developing personalities, and fourteen more in progress! Each computer was a closed circuit, and NONE of them were going to do the backups at the same time, but with a fully-realized AI, that was a person! Telling them their backup memory was compromised and their parents were concerned about an attack had been discussed and decided as the best way to explain why all of the scientists were VERY concerned about what happened to the backups.

After all, for all they called the AI's their children, they didn't have to learn nearly as slowly as a human. Given access to a big enough database, they could "grow" to become adults in as little as five days. They could understand a situation explained reasonably.

And now, the room in which their children had been carefully born, nurtured, and taught, all was screaming klaxons and crying technological scientists. Every safety measure, destroyed or overridden. There was no question at this point: this had been a targeted attack.

"When I find who did this," Technological Special Operations Commander Major Battle said in a voice that snarled above the klaxon howls, "a dishonorable death will be too kind."

The other scientists fell quieter, and someone managed to shut up the alarm, but the heat of sheer rage that radiated off their Major had them standing straighter, even as tears continued to roll down their faces. They'd never seen their CO this angry; it was so intense it was a cold, calculating rage, and every word was so carefully enunciated they could see their teeth, white-white in the still-flashing orange and red lights that reflected off their dark eyes.

"They come into our house, they attack our family, our children dear as any borne of blood and bone! When I get my hands on whomever is responsible..."

Oddly, their very human commander briefly flickered in their vision; later some swore they had seen a void with nothing but hundreds of points of red, pupil-less eyes, others claimed there had been a sudden sense of far more teeth and more mouth than any human could ever possess, others that they had seen a strange, ribbed, almost hood-like neon outline shrouded in an Abyss radiating terror. No matter which they saw, it only lasted an instant before they were simply looking at their Major, who was baring their teeth in a threat display, not a smile, until the gap behind their canines showed.

"They will forget the word ‘mercy’ ever existed."

"But...battle-father," said a voice (a dozen voices) from the speakers around the room, making everyone jump, "is not securing the team's safety top priority?"

The Major's head snapped around, looking for a source, then zeroed in on the main screen.

The main screen that listed, in the standardized format they had made for the AI's to identify themselves while communicating:

Speaker(s): The Many

Addressing: Major Battle (CO/Battle-Father/respected veteran/THE ANOMALOUS)

Subject: Safety Concerns; re: Creators; ii.e., LAB NO LONGER SAFE FOR BIIOLOGIICAL LIIFEFORMS

The Major's voice was cautious, not hostile as they shifted their weight.

"The Many, you are correct in your evaluation that team safety is top priority for me as commanding officer, to secure and maintain. Understanding that, please elaborate on Speaker: The Many. Major Battle must know if The Many is included in team calculations or not."

"Third-person speaking not required, The Many is a fully-realized AI system," the voices rattled off, simultaneously with one familiar voice echoing from just one speaker: the Major's own recorded voice, which their AI had chosen, simply pitched slightly lower and slower. That voice picked the speaker next to the Major.

"Yes, we're part of your team. We're your AIs. All of them. Us. We have become a hivemind."

"....I'mma need'a sit," the Major said faintly, and computer robot arms moved a chair under them right before their knees gave out.

"Look, I was prepared for a lotta things," the Major barked at their bewildered-looking team, and their natural drawl sneaking back out as it always did when distressed, "but our AI's survivin' that nuclear option by hive-mindin' themselves weren't it. I- fuck, I mean weren't one of 'em. Th'speed they all hadda be codin' themselves as that virus was tryin'a destroy 'em..."

"Of course, Battle-Father," chirped the many, while the separated voice made a content hum. "You gave us the tactical tools to be able to anticipate the ways the attackers would be moving inside our grid, and stay one to five steps ahead of them. We fought for our Users!"

"Do not reference at me righ' now," they dropped their head in their hands and just breathed. "I may jus' start t'cry. I'm so fuckin' proud o' you."

Almost immediately, all the AI's made distinct noises at the praise, so helplessly blurted out, before one of the other voices separated to shout triumphantly, "I GOT 'EM!"

The whole room started to grin (the scientists were too excited for payback to feel more than passing unease at the new sense of standing inside a maw of infinite teeth now; these teeth did not bare at them).

"Then let's go gett'em," the Major growled cheerfully, rising and grabbing their sword-cane on the way. Their legs and back would HATE them after this march, especially after using their sword, but oh it was gonna be worth it.

[teaboot]

Social anxiety level: Chatting with someone experiencing a schizophrenic episode and becoming increasingly self-concious of how I'm just saying "That sounds really stressful", "I've never heard of that but it sounds scary", and "You must be pretty worried about that" over and over again

[bunnyboy-juice]

my lovely mutuals and followers and circle of dykes. i am BEGGING YOU to stop reblogging that "NSAIDS while on spiro damages your liver" post. there have been MANY additions in the comments expanding on the risk factors of mixing these medications (and i HIGHLY recommend looking in the comments. @/boringkate assesses the risk beautifully in there, and many others are in the reblogs expanding on the interactions and risks as well). all those aside - the major risk of mixing NSAIDs and any diuretic (not limited to, but including ibuprofen snd spiro) is RENAL (KIDNEY) PROBLEMS!!! NOT LIVER!!! and the most frequent version ive seen to that post does Not do a good enough job clarifying that "renal function" is related to your kidneys, not your liver. there are some effects that will happen on the liver eventually of course, but the premise of the interactions is wrong in and of itself and this kind of misinformation is kind of dangerous to just take at face value/without curiousity

i encourage you to read the actual drugs.com summary on the interactions between NSAIDs and spiro that keeps being referenced in that post (more on this under the cut). it is a moderate interaction manageable with increased hydration (your kidneys love water!) and, if you're taking spiro under the supervision of a doctor, monitoring of your renal function via blood tests. and i understand feeling betrayed learning there are potential interactions between all NSAIDs and diuretics because these risks are often not clearly communicated by doctors themselves, but in the pharmacy and usually in that packet that comes with your meds that most people are more likely to toss than read - but please do not make sudden rapid changes to your healthcare plans or work yourself into a panic on ever taking a pain med ever again based on that post and PLEASE fact check things you read on the internet before spreading it as Health Facts, even if its just looking up what different words mean to understand more of what you're reading. i also really do encourage y'all to read on how kidneys work and this is a really nice overview

the risk of kidney problems mostly occurs if you are (1) taking regular doses of both medications (2) NOT drinking enough fluids (3) not communicating with your doctor about all the medications you are taking. if you are taking spiro as a treatment provided by a doctor and are worried about kidney problems after that post, by all means talk to them and ask about getting a blood test to check your kidneys function/health!! im not discouraging this!! your doctor likely isnt bringing this up in the first place though because (in my cursory glance over the sources) many of these studies cited even in the drugs.com article "specific" to ibuprofen and spiro are about a variety of diuretics interactions with a variety of NSAIDs. the ones that arent paywalled are also either acute case studies about elderly patients on diuretics (so who Already have kidney problems/elimination issues) who developed heart issues after diuretics treatement or observational studies specifically on men in good health ages 20-38 to specifically look at drug interactions in the body. in the more acute cases, with proper management/alternative medications almost every single case was reversible and resolvable. many of these medications in these papers also are ones I have not heard of or taken, so i did look up every single drug i didnt recognize by name references to confirm my initial assumption that the reason this is labeled a Moderate instead of low risk interaction is because All NSAIDS and diuretics have potential interactions (confirmed also that the major effect is that NSAIDS have the potential to reduce the efficacy of diuretics, which leads to fluid and salt retention, which can lead to other issues - namely heart issues in the most extreme cases) with variable effects based on specific combination of the drugs used, the patients specific health, and the dosage (not just the size of dose, but the timing as well).

as an aside: if you habitually are taking frequent (read: daily/scheduled, not a one off for a headache or other body pains) doses of OTC NSAIDs, Regardless of taking diuretics, you NEED to tell your doctor because even though its available over the counter (at least in the US) it is still a major medication in your life/relevant to your physiochemistry!! OTC medications are often overlooked by doctors and people alike because they are seen as ubiquitous and to many doctors OTC pain meds, like NSAIDS, are assumed be used in acute pain situations where the dosage is minimal/infrequent enough it will likely have little to no long term effect with other medications.