Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Wednesday, April 09, 2014

drag2share: Is It a Good Idea to Vaporize and Inhale Alcohol?

Source: http://gizmodo.com/is-it-a-good-idea-to-vaporize-and-inhale-alcohol-1561227862

Is It a Good Idea to Vaporize and Inhale Alcohol?

Vaporizing, and then inhaling alcohol has gained a lot of attention lately. In the 1950s it was introduced as a treatment for excessive fluid in your lungs, called pulmonary edema. It's now gained popularity as a way to quickly become intoxicated. Proponents of this process-to-become-plastered, tout several benefits compared to drinking it. Many claim you get drunk without any calorie intake. Some state, because you bypass the liver, you can eliminate the alcohol quickly and avoid the dreaded alcohol hangover.

drag2share: Nanoparticles in Consumer Products Could Be Damaging Your DNA

Source: http://gizmodo.com/how-nanoparticles-in-consumer-products-could-be-damagin-1561236280

Nanoparticles in Consumer Products Could Be Damaging Your DNA

Masses of products—from cosmetics to clothing—now contain nanoparticles, to kill microbes, lengthen shelf life or provide other wonderful properties. But new research from MIT and Harvard suggests they could also be damaging your DNA.

drag2share: Bitcoin Mining May Be Hitting A Wall

source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/businessinsider/~3/lSOsiHrRpcU/bitcoin-mining-may-be-hitting-a-wall-2014-4

"We're reaching the limits where we have Intel, the largest chip manufacturer with the deepest pockets — they're now having to delay their [14 nm] Broadwell chip," he told BI at the InsideBitcoins conference Tuesday. "If they're not able to do 14 nanometers, I'm not sure if an ASIC [Bitcoin mining] machine can beat Intel. So I think we're going to hit a plateau of 28 or 20 [nanometers]."

It will take some time for the computing rate on the Bitcoin network itself to start flattening out, since it's determined by an additional set of cost inputs that reflect the absolute number of miners in the system. So things like lower chips production costs, higher bitcoin prices, and greater investment could cause the line in the following chart to keep rising.

bitcoin difficulty

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drag2share: Here's How Fast Food And Exercise Habits Vary Around America

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/diet-and-exercise-habits-around-america-2014-4

Fast Food And Exercise

People in the South and Midwest consume fast food more frequently than people anywhere else in the country — with Oklahomans opting for Big Macs, Whoppers, and the like more times per week than residents of any other state.

Meanwhile, Hawaiians exercise more frequently than residents of any other U.S. state. Nice weather might help explain that, but Alaskans come in second — eliminating the cold as an excuse for skipping workouts. (Thanks, Alaska.)

The data for these maps come from the DNA analysis service 23andMe. The genetic information provider examined more than 1500 different characteristics, ranging from fast food consumption to pet ownership, to help illustrate the way that personality, health, and behavior differ across the United States.

Their information was all tied to geographic locations, so 23andMe researcher and statistics blogger Emma Pierson created a series of visualizations that illustrate some of the differences around the country. As you can see above, the places where people exercise more frequently tend to be places that consume less fast food.

Pierson also created interactive visualizations that allow for more detailed state-by-state comparisons of how frequently people eat fast food or exercise.

You can check out some more of the results they found on 23andMe's blog.

Join the conversation about this story »

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drag2share: Scientists discover the secret behind zombie plants

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/09/zombie-plants/

If the fungal spore outbreak in The Last of Us scared the hell out of you, you'll be doubly terrified to know that there are actual parasites in nature that can turn animals and plants into zombies. In fact, a group of scientists from the John Innes Centre in the UK just figured out how certain parasitic bacteria called phytoplasma turn their plant host into the living dead. You see, when these nefarious bacteria take over, they transform a plant's flowers into leafy shoots, turning petals green and preventing the flowers from producing offspring. Apparently, that's because the parasite has a protein called SAP54, which interacts with the plant so that flowers self-destruct from the inside.

John Innes plant pathologist Saskia Hogenhout says:

The plant appears alive, but it's only there for the good of the pathogen. In an evolutionary sense, the plant is dead and will not produce offspring.

That's not all the bacteria can do, though. In addition to changing a flower's structure and rendering it sterile, the bacteria can also attract sap-sucking insects. Instead of dispersing pollen, these insects carry the parasite to more victims, turning more plants into green, leafy puppets.