2021-02-07 Ingrid Spilde
Saturated fats increase cholesterol. And high cholesterol is linked to heart disease. But why are researchers unable to show that saturated fat actually leads to heart disease?
Category: Science
Most surgeries are ineffective
2021-01-21 Paras Chopra
surgery is different than medicine. All new pharmaceutical molecules are subjected to rigorous clinical trials where they’re tested against placebo or doing nothing. In many countries, there’s no such procedure for surgical treatments. If there is a procedure for new surgical procedures, nobody is testing old ones that have been getting performed every day without evidence.
Things You Should Never Do, Part I
2000-04-06 Joel Spolsky
Netscape … [made] the single worst strategic mistake that any software company can make:
They decided to rewrite the code from scratch.The reason that they think the old code is a mess is because of a cardinal, fundamental law of programming:
It’s harder to read code than to write it.
https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2000/04/06/things-you-should-never-do-part-i/
The Most Famous Paradox in Physics Nears Its End
2020-10-29 George Musser
In a series of breakthrough papers, theoretical physicists have come tantalizingly close to resolving the black hole information paradox that has entranced and bedeviled them for nearly 50 years. Information, they now say with confidence, does escape a black hole. If you jump into one, you will not be gone for good. Particle by particle, the information needed to reconstitute your body will reemerge.
https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-black-hole-information-paradox-comes-to-an-end-20201029/
Strong humming for one hour daily to terminate chronic rhinosinusitis in four days: a case report and hypothesis for action by stimulation of endogenous nasal nitric oxide production
2006-01-10
Rhinosinusitis is an inflammation or infection of the nose and air pockets (sinuses) above, below and between the eyes which connect with the back of the nose through tiny openings (ostia). Rhinosinusitis can be caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi (molds) and possibly by allergies. Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is an immune disorder caused by fungi. The immune response produced by eosinophils causes the fungi to be attacked, which leads to damage of the sinus membranes, resulting in full-blown rhinosinusitis symptoms. Gaseous nitric oxide (NO) is naturally released in the human respiratory tract. The major part of NO found in exhaled air originates in the nasal airways, although significant production of NO also takes place in the paranasal sinuses. Proper ventilation is essential for maintenance of sinus integrity, and blockage of the ostium is a central event in pathogenesis of sinusitis. Concentrations of NO in the healthy sinuses are high. Nasal NO is known to be increased 15- to 20-fold by humming compared with quiet exhalation. NO is known to be broadly antifungal, antiviral and antibacterial. This case report shows that a subject hummed strongly at a low pitch ( approximately 130 Hz) for 1h (18 hums per minute) at bedtime the first night, and hummed 60-120 times 4 times a day for the following 4 days as treatment for severe CRS. The humming technique was described as being one that maximally increased intranasal vibrations, but less than that required to produce dizziness. The morning after the first 1-h humming session, the subject awoke with a clear nose and found himself breathing easily through his nose for the first time in over 1 month. During the following 4 days, CRS symptoms slightly reoccurred, but with much less intensity each day. By humming 60-120 times four times per day (with a session at bedtime), CRS symptoms were essentially eliminated in 4 days. Coincidentally, the subject’s cardiac arrhythmias (PACs) were greatly lessened. It is hypothesized that strong, prolonged humming increased endogenous nasal NO production, thus eliminating CRS by antifungal means.
Behind the dead-water phenomenon
2020-07-06 CNRS
What makes ships mysteriously slow down or even stop as they travel, even though their engines are working properly?
…In 1904, the Swedish physicist and oceanographer Vagn Walfrid Ekman showed in a laboratory that waves formed under the surface at the interface between the salt water and freshwater layers that form the upper portion of this area of the Arctic Ocean interact with the ship, generating drag.
This phenomenon, called dead water, is seen in all seas and oceans where waters of different densities (because of salinity or temperature) mix. It denotes two drag phenomena observed by scientists. The first, Nansen wave-making drag, causes a constant, abnormally low speed. The second, Ekman wave-making drag, is characterized by speed oscillations in the trapped boat. The cause of this was unknown.
Hidden Neutrino Particles May Be a Link to the Dark Sector
2020-07-01 William Charles Louis and Richard G. Van de Water
The most likely solution was a new neutrino—a “sterile” neutrino, so called because it would not interact with other matter in any way except through gravity.
Is Dark Mode Such A Good Idea?
2020-02-02 Raluca Budiu
Results showed that light mode won across all dimensions: irrespective of age [of the individual], the positive contrast polarity [light mode] was better for both visual-acuity tasks and for proofreading tasks.
Fractal flaming hydrogen wiggles through tiny gaps
2020-06-08 Chris Lee
Hydrogen, in low concentrations in a confined space, burns with a branching network instead of with a wide flame.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/06/fractal-flaming-hydrogen-wiggles-through-tiny-gaps/
Sleeping Brain Waves Draw a Healthy Bath for Neurons
2019-12-16 Elena Renken
Scientists are beginning to understand one of the ways in which sleep may benefit the health of the brain: by organizing the flow of fluids that can wash away harmful build-ups of proteins and wastes around neurons.
https://www.quantamagazine.org/sleeping-brain-waves-draw-a-healthy-bath-for-neurons-20191216/