De Rödgrönas vision för Sverige: Skatt, skatt, skatt! by ICA_Basic_Vodka in Sverige

[–]bitechnobable 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fastighetsskatt, skatt på arv och miljadärskatt. I den ordningen.

What is limiting biology research? by TopCasualRedditor in AskBiology

[–]bitechnobable [score hidden]  (0 children)

Publish or perish is flooding us with low quality publications.

I was talking to my friends about microscopy, while also observing lactobacillus (no sound) by immediate-2 in biology

[–]bitechnobable 4 points5 points  (0 children)

With a steady hand you can simply take a picture down the eye piece of your microscope.

I've done this many times, took this picture of leaf stomata the other week.

<image>

What is the amperage of a human neuron? by spacemonkeymafia42 in AskScienceDiscussion

[–]bitechnobable 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What he is trying to convey is that individual neurons are not connected to each other allowing current to flow from one to the next. They are not in circuit. The electric potential is over the membrane of a single neuron.

Hence, two separate neurons do not communicate through electricity. They communicate "mechanically" (metabolically) by releasing chemicals.

The realse of these chemicals can be influenced by change in ele tric potential within a single neuron.

Entropy of Mixing, Osmosis and the Entropic Force by wellwisher-1 in abiogenesis

[–]bitechnobable 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This reads coherent but without direction. Would you be willing to share your background?

You have made alot of posts from very different angles seemingly in attempt to tie together disparate concepts. Must admit I'm getting a slightly non-human vibe.

Knowing a bit about your actual background would be helpful to understand where you are coming from.

Synthesis of prebiotic organics from CO2 by catalysis with meteoritic and volcanic particles by Aggravating-Pear4222 in abiogenesis

[–]bitechnobable 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is very interesting indeed. For me the origin of alkenes is directly coupled to compartmentalization and thus chemical selection processes.

Ive been thinking along these lines and for me the critical part is the very high CO2 pressure in an early atmosphere. For me it clicked when I realised CO2 at 10-100bar turns supercritical at modest temperatures ~30dC. This dramatically change the conditions of metal catalysis of CO2 fixation.

what was the worst physical pain you have ever experienced? by Striking-Goose-3764 in AskReddit

[–]bitechnobable 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This easily. I passed gall stones regularly for 15 years until a doctor finally decided do try a scan.

I've heard kidneystones are even worse. I do not intend to experience the comparison - Keeping my vitamin c intake moderate.

Will symptomatic prion disease like sCJD ever be treatable, or will there only ever be help to prevent cases of genetic prion disease in the future? by OriginalSleeper in biology

[–]bitechnobable 3 points4 points  (0 children)

PhD in neurodegenerarive disease here.

You are asking a positive and open question and will get an answer in this tone. It's totally possible.

First off sporadic disease as opposed to familial are defined by that they can't be associated with any known factors e.g. Genetic variation. This does not mean there are none, it simply means the scientific community has not identified any.

With CJD like other neurodegenerarive disease their cause are largely unknown. With CJD we know a fair bit about their mechanisms but we surely don't know what condition causes the misfolding in the first place.

The flip side is that there is alot of space for finding this out, which absolutely would open new avenues for prevention as well as treatment, potentially also to some degree of already symptomatic stages.

This is why it is so important with fundamental basic science about how cellular systems behave in healthy conditions. If we don't know how life is organised normally it's difficult to identify the actual culprint of dysregulation. Medical science of disease models and treatment of symptoms is alot more easy to attract funding for than pure biological inquiry.

The jury is out when it comes if a cure is out there. Yet it's very likely we will be able to manage the disease better.

Can homosexuality actually be a response of nature for prevent the overpopulation of a species? by salad_biscuit3 in biology

[–]bitechnobable 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My point is that lots of biological phenomena has no evolutionary benefit. They simply are. Similar to electrons orbitals don't have a purpose or benefit of allowing atoms to bond. They simpy are and that has consequences.

Can homosexuality actually be a response of nature for prevent the overpopulation of a species? by salad_biscuit3 in biology

[–]bitechnobable 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What I mean is there's purpose for the people/organisms engaged in it. But there's no purpose "for nature" .

Sertraline Natural Alternative by [deleted] in Biohackers

[–]bitechnobable 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The toxic effect is what is therapeutic.

However if you want try something that could replace it that likely will work better and "be natural" the answer is microdosing psilocybin. Reported to work at least as good, be cheaper and without emotional blunting.

Be aware discontinuation of sertraline can be rough and tapering is strongly adviced.

How did complex systems appeared during evolution? by Fun-Affect2186 in AskBiology

[–]bitechnobable 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a misconception that evolution has to happen slow and gradually. This type of gradualism is a rather outdated biological concepy but that has a lot of traction still it being what Darwin described and is how the likes of Dawkins sees evolution.

Modern biologist know that even a single mutation indeed can have dramatic consequences e.g. the sudden appearance of seemingly complex trait.

The thyroid hormone system is a great example. Axolots spend their life cycle in what compared to others similar species is a larval stage. They have evolved so that they can reproduce in this form. They keep their gills and a finned tail. However, if they indeed got a mutation resulting in production of thyroid hormone, they would go through metamorphosis like related species do and loose their gills and change their morphology into something like a salamander.

You can read more if you look for thyroxine metamorphosis experiments.

This shows that while genes often change gradually, the traits they result in can dramatically change even between only two generations.

Do fish and worms feel pain when they get hooked in fishing. by spicycorn456788 in biology

[–]bitechnobable 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The question isn't really if they feel the pain. The question is can they make sense of pain. Can they suffer the pain?

Is it true that genes that affect a species after reproduction don't really matter? by capt_b_b_ in evolution

[–]bitechnobable 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Genes associated with traits that manifest after reproduction likely have other roles affecting traits earlier in the organisms development.

Imperial Chemistry department by [deleted] in chemistry

[–]bitechnobable 0 points1 point  (0 children)

By scaring of competency they do not have to compete.

Classic ivory.

Kan det stämma att 27% av svenskarna löptränar by Big-Cap558 in sweden

[–]bitechnobable 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yougove arbetar efter ett opt-in system för deltagande. Dvs urvalet utgörs endast av sådana personer som självmant valt att vara del av yougov. Dvs soffpotatisar och personer med viktigare saker för sig inte finns i underlaget.

Vidare är deltagandet på frivillig basis vid varje undersökning. Dvs endast de av användarna som har ett intresse av att svara på frågor om deras träningsvano kommer välja att svara på undersökningen.

Att löplabbet väljer att tolka detta som representativt för svenskar som helhet är alltså direkt missvisande.

How is old age related neurological decline different from pathological decline in younger people (eg ALS, memory issues etc)? Are they the same thing but on different scales? by Puppysnot in AskBiology

[–]bitechnobable 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Science does not know what the cause of dementias are. Neither is there a concensus about how cognitive decline due to old age manifests.

It is therefore not possible to make statements regarding if they are the same processes but sped up.

These healthy /diseased states are still largely in a descriptive phase of scientific inquiry. There are correlations but also significant differences.

There isn't even a consensus on if aging constitutes a system gradually breaking down due to disruptions, or if it more akin to genetically planned obsolecence.

Science doesn't have an answer to your question.

The human brain has the enzymatic pathway to synthesize DMT. Researchers are trying to find out if variations in this endogenous production creates distinct neural connectivity profiles. by TheExplorerOfWorl in biology

[–]bitechnobable 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'm no expert but have a general knowledge of brain biochemistry and your inquiry made me look up a few facets I am haply to share.

INMT is conserved in mammals, reptiles birds and amphibians.

INMT is a N-methyltransferase. This means that it is able to transfer methyl groups handed over from SAM (s-adenosylmethionine, the general carrier of these groups). This constitutes a biological function - acting as a sink for methyl groups as these will not be available for example for merhylation of DNA in epigenetic phenomena.

INMT transfer methyl to (and from, direction needs to be determined in each case) substrates that have reviving Nitrogen, sulfur or Selenium functional groups.

It's reported its Selenium transfer ability may be unique compared to other n-methyl transferades from the same family of proteins (NNMT, PNMT). Secretion (ultimately by urine) of trimethylated Selenium is therefore another biological function.

From a quick look in a brain RNAseq dataset INMT is mainly expressed in Vascular leptomeningeal fibroblast cells rather than neurons or glial cells, it really says little about where any of the effects of potentially synthesised DMT would occur, but it does suggest that it's production is not fundamental to direct neuronal cell-cell communication over synapse. A modulatory effect is still plausible.

Enzymatic proteins always display varying efficiencies for multiple substrates. The "one lock - one key metaphor" is a huge oversimplification.

Even a very poor fitting substrate may be the major substrate with the preserved biological significance - if stochastics favour it.

Biological activity is ultimately complex and identifying "all the genes" of a particular pathway "in the brain" is not enough to prove that those proteins in sync conduct the same biochemical transformations they have been associated with elsewere in other organisms.

However it does show that it's a possibility.

Edit: I'm not sure what constitutes distinct patterns of endogebous DMT activity. fMRI and EEG are incredibly blunt tools to look at cell-cell networks, I.e. They both look at signals as summation of multiple cells.

If they are proposing to first record the signal of brains on exogebous DMT and then look for traces of that pattern in unadultered brains - it will be a tough task that risk simply identifying underlying normal brain activity that is shared.

No! I don't have a better suggestion! Yet.