mmm's Fun Fact of Whenever I Feel Like It!

[mmm]

"Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all - the apathy of human beings."

-Helen Keller

[mmm]

Some punk ecowarrior was yelling at me about not having plastic bags at my workplace, as he insisted they were better for the environment because "they take less energy to produce." I'm not sure if that's true, but I do know (now, after a little bit of research) that more than a million seabirds and 100,000 marine animals die every year due to entanglement with or suffocation due to plastic bags.

When I told him that we'll die long before our plastic bags eventually biodegrade, he suggested we burn them. At this point I had to move on to the next customer. Burning plastic releases toxins and carcinogens, and anything but the most advanced incinerator will merely turn the bag into ash and leave the chemicals intact. In fact, the Environmental Protection act prohibits it.

Paper has it's own faults as well, but like many things I think it's up to personal preference what packaging you prefer.

[bob-jr]

Some punk ecowarrior was yelling at me about not having plastic bags at my workplace, as he insisted they were better for the environment because "they take less energy to produce." I'm not sure if that's true, but I do know (now, after a little bit of research) that more than a million seabirds and 100,000 marine animals die every year due to entanglement with or suffocation due to plastic bags.

When I told him that we'll die long before our plastic bags eventually biodegrade, he suggested we burn them. At this point I had to move on to the next customer. Burning plastic releases toxins and carcinogens, and anything but the most advanced incinerator will merely turn the bag into ash and leave the chemicals intact. In fact, the Environmental Protection act prohibits it.

Paper has it's own faults as well, but like many things I think it's up to personal preference what packaging you prefer.

This ecowarrior guy sounds like the worst ecowarrior ever, he should support paper. I bet he didnt even have dreadlocks!

[mmm]

I may or may not have told yall about how nanotechnology has the potential to revolutionize medication. I think I haven't, so I'll give you a short reason why. So the current treatment of cancer is quite crude, when you think about it. We blast an area of the body with radiation, going through several layers of healthy tissue, hoping it will kill the cancer cells. This is both harmful to the patient and only somewhat effective. Current methods to specifically target cancer cells are lacking, and this is where nanotechnology comes in.

Nanotechnology, through "smart pills" (pills with some sort of circuitry, whether they be programs designed to identify cancer cells or ones allowing it to release medication when they detect a certain chemical that was previously injected at the site of treatment) has the potential to specifically target cancer cells and release medication on site, minimizing side effects and maximizing the effect of medication. The biggest obstacle appears to be identifying the cancer cells properly for the medication to take effect, and there are other limitations.

But that's not the point. I recently learned that microbiologists are getting in on this too. They are using intelligent, tiny treatment transports which only target specific types of cancer cells. It's a weakened version of a bacteria, that for some reason, only targets certain types of cancer cells and does not infect healthy cells. A group of scientists recently irradiated said bacteria so it's doubly effective.

I just thought that was a cool concept d:

[Zia-]

good to see you have been continuing this in my absence mmm

[mmm]

Some punk ecowarrior was yelling at me about not having plastic bags at my workplace, as he insisted they were better for the environment because "they take less energy to produce." I'm not sure if that's true, but I do know (now, after a little bit of research) that more than a million seabirds and 100,000 marine animals die every year due to entanglement with or suffocation due to plastic bags.

When I told him that we'll die long before our plastic bags eventually biodegrade, he suggested we burn them. At this point I had to move on to the next customer. Burning plastic releases toxins and carcinogens, and anything but the most advanced incinerator will merely turn the bag into ash and leave the chemicals intact. In fact, the Environmental Protection act prohibits it.

Paper has it's own faults as well, but like many things I think it's up to personal preference what packaging you prefer.

This ecowarrior guy sounds like the worst ecowarrior ever, he should support paper. I bet he didnt even have dreadlocks!

If I made it out to say paper is better, I didn't mean to. It's got it's own problems, what with being made of a nonrenewable resource and the expensive recycling process and other things some research may turn up.

Actually the guy looked nothing like an eco warrior. Tall, muscular, leather jacket. More like a biker.

[mmm]

OH MY GOD WE'RE GOING TO
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1306/rollcloud_eberl_2572.jpg
Oh wait, that's a cloud.

Kakuna!

Actually, those are the chrysali of the Metallic Mechanitis butterfly, found in Costa Rica.

And for an actual fact, Graphene is the strongest material in the world. Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms laid out in a honeycomb pattern. Just how thick? "“It would take an elephant, balanced on a pencil, to break through a sheet of graphene the thickness of Saran Wrap.”
-Dr. James Hone

And in my opinion, the coolest thing I've ever seen. You know how in chemistry you draw hexagons representing an atom of this element, or use models to construct a water molecule? Well, now there are pictures.
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/382234_603047813049567_401893351_n.jpg
Is this not absolutely freaking amazing? You actually get to SEE the chemistry happen on a molecular level!

[mmm]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Puya_chilensis_16.jpg
This is Puya chilensis. Sharp spines at the bottom of the plant trap animals like sheep and use the dead bodies as fertilizer.

[Dr Frook]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Puya_chilensis_16.jpg
This is Puya chilensis. Sharp spines at the bottom of the plant trap animals like sheep and use the dead bodies as fertilizer.

oh cool. I could use something like that to trap naughty fwgers.

[pudingeX]

These are indeed fun facts. I want more!!