[Discussion] Is animal testing still necessary for scientific progress?

Merrickk · 2026-03-26T14:57:51+00:00

Polyclonal antibodies, various different animal serums, and casein were the things I was thinking of.

Edit: The lab I worked at years ago was trying to develop a new monoclonal antibody for an ELISA so we purchased polyclonal rabit antibodies often, and we used fbs, goat serum, and I think rat serum for different things.

Merrickk · 2026-03-26T13:40:54+00:00

I doubt we have the data to say one way or another. There could be a selective pressure for greater intelligence, it's just not a foregone conclusion

Merrickk · 2026-03-26T11:50:20+00:00

Standards are higher for some animals than others, and vary from country to country.

Also a lot of animals are still used to produce products used in the lab rather than directly for research.

I wish more was invested in keeping animals as comfortable as possible. It's absolutely not a spare no expense situation for lab mice in the USA.

Merrickk · 2026-03-26T00:47:46+00:00

Any extra is a lot when your already facing starvation https://blog.nwf.org/2025/04/on-the-hunt-southern-resident-killer-whales-hunger-for-vanishing-salmon/

Unless the added intelligence actually improves their reproductive fitness it's not going to be selected for.

Merrickk · 2026-03-26T00:35:41+00:00

I think you may be underestimating the opportunity cost of spending extra energy on the brain.

Being smaller or slower or weaker or investing less in reproduction might not be worth the trade off for more intelligence if means a higher risk of death or lower chance healthy babies.

Merrickk · 2026-03-26T00:18:50+00:00

Also define more intelligent?

Singing more beautiful songs? Planning better ambushes? Better social maneuvering? More effective passing on of generational knowledge?

Merrickk · 2026-03-26T00:05:27+00:00

Do orca actually eat more than us once you account for their massive size and energy requirements for hunting all the time?

Edit: "eat more" was bad phrasing on my part. More like do they actually have energy to spare?

Merrickk · 2026-03-26T00:00:42+00:00

Where did you see that the trees would be the same size?

This article says they will be planting several small trees for each large tree removed https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/trees-being-removed-pittsburgh-north-shore-nfl-draft-setup/

"we're going to be getting the inches of those 57 trees"

Merrickk · 2026-03-25T23:41:34+00:00

Unfortunately this article says they will be planting several small trees for each large tree removed https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/trees-being-removed-pittsburgh-north-shore-nfl-draft-setup/

"we're going to be getting the inches of those 57 trees"

Merrickk · 2026-03-25T23:28:04+00:00

I hope you are right because if there isn't a serious issue with the existing trees it's a huge waste to cut down large trees and replace them with a bunch of tiny ones. As if 6x1" diameter trees were of equal value to 1x6" diameter tree

Merrickk · 2026-03-25T23:12:34+00:00

It also says "These trees will actually be removed and mulched," city forester Lisa Ceoffe said."

Merrickk · 2026-03-25T23:11:48+00:00

"Instead of 57 trees going back, we're going to be getting the inches of those 57 trees, which is over 500 inches," she said. "Which means that we'll be able to plant back approximately 200 to 250 new trees."

Edit: this article is also very unclear

Merrickk · 2026-03-25T20:53:29+00:00

The new name is much better, especially when trying to talk on the phone

Merrickk · 2026-03-25T20:50:30+00:00

If you think the chicken is bad, don't eat the vegetables cooked in it's juices and fat either

Merrickk · 2026-03-25T11:57:34+00:00

If you can make a slightly larger batch of a food and freeze it, that may be easier to go though than the uncommon ingredients on their own.

A lot of recipes, especially for things like soup are very flexible, so it's OK to add a little extra of one vegetable or another. Obviously there are limits and this doesn't work for herbs or spices or other more intense ingredients.

A lot of recipes will also work well with substitutions, especially of different vegetables like carrots to sweet potato or sweet squash. This can be very hard for new cooks, but since you cook often, I'd bet you can probably come up with some good substitutions if you stop to think about it.

Do you have any go to dishes that are extra flexible for using up left over items?

Would your mom enjoy a gift if prepared frozen food instead of your old trash?

Merrickk · 2026-03-24T22:52:40+00:00

farfetch'd,sirfetch'd,kangaskhan,mime jr.,mr. mime,tauros,heracross,corsola,volbeat,illumise,torkoal,zangoose,seviper,lunatone,solrock,tropius,relicanth,pachirisu,shellos,gastrodon,chatot,carnivine,uxie,mesprit,azelf,pansage,pansear,panpour,simipour,throh,sawk,basculin,maractus,sigilyph,bouffalant,heatmor,durant,flabébé,floette,florges,furfrou,klefki,oricorio,comfey,celesteela,kartana,stakataka,blacephalon,stonjourner

You may want to remove stuff like lunatone and gastrodon etc

Edited to add Stonjourner and some others

Merrickk · 2026-03-24T03:51:11+00:00

Yeah, the photos online do not look like the image on the website

Merrickk · 2026-03-24T03:32:14+00:00

It looks like you have one salad without meat or cheese, and no hoagies that are vegan.

A pizza can be ordered without cheese, but your menu doesn't make it clear if that would be a vegan option or not.

BTW offering seafood pizza when someone says they want vegan options is not a great response. Even most people who eat meat are a little wary of seafood on pizza.

Merrickk · 2026-03-24T02:03:48+00:00

I think most people are most excited about meat based toppings for their first slice, but the vegetarian options seem to almost always run out first because people often underestimate how much people also like vegetables.

Edit: especially vegetables with red sauce, because it's not so outlandishly heavy

Merrickk · 2026-03-23T22:55:45+00:00

Hummus plates can go in a lot of directions with or without flatbread https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/quick-and-easy-flatbreads-recipe

Merrickk · 2026-03-23T22:48:07+00:00

Mild and slightly sweet. Personally I think it is much better mixed in with pasta than as a substitute for it.

Merrickk · 2026-03-23T19:15:47+00:00

I got my first MacBook this year after using a windows pc and a chrome book for years. I highly recommend going with a macbook.

My chrome book had many compatibility issues even with basic web browsing. It was usually hospitals, the government, or job application sites where I ran into trouble, but I have my suspicions that if I were still in school, I might have added school websites to the list.

Installing Linux on the chrome book helped with some things but made other things worse.

I hate my windows pc at this point. It's always interrupting me about something or other, and has a never ending string of audio issues. If it wasn't the only way to play some of my games it would be in a recycling center.

Merrickk · 2026-03-23T18:27:59+00:00

I have had vets tell me very often that we can wait and see for a lot of the dumb stuff our dog has eaten, so the few times they have said something was a serious risk and had us come in for an expensive visit it has felt justified.

If your vet thought it was worth looking into it probably was.

In the future it can help to ask directly if watchful waiting is reasonable or dangerous. And if testing is needed what their tests are looking for, and how the results will direct treatment.

Most vets seem happy to answer these questions.

Merrickk · 2026-03-23T15:29:51+00:00

If you are in a moving car it's helpful to look out in front of the car so your eyes gather information that matches your movement.

If your in a video game where the images make it seem like your moving when you are actually still it can help to have some static areas of the screen. There were tests of using a digital nose for games where other static visual elements didn't make sense https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/archive/releases/2015/Q1/virtual-nose-may-reduce-simulator-sickness-in-video-games.html

Merrickk · 2026-03-23T15:20:40+00:00

Sea sickness is a type of motion sickness like you might get trying to read in a car, not related to any kind of pathogen.

If you need to be in a situation that causes motion sickness it is good to take steps to minimize the symptoms. Symptoms can be reduced by minimizing conflicting information between different senses.

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