This week, we're focusing on a research that deals with hazardous chemical
pollutants and, just for kicks, another study that deals with additional
hazardous chemical contaminants. However, NASA created a fascinating
time-lapse movie with the trusty Hubble space telescope, and a team of
Italian demographers has a lot to say on the effects of lying on the
populace.
Unbiased conclusion
Did enormous volcanic explosions cause the extinction of the dinosaurs? or
the force of a massive asteroid strike? After decades of scientific dispute,
a group of Dartmouth academics tired of the back-and-forth chose to let an
impartial panel of computers make an objective, Spock-like determination
about which of these cataclysmic scenarios was more plausible.
Using a massive corpus of geological and climatic data studied in reverse
chronological order, the researchers used a Bayesian inversion modeling
technique to determine the most likely cause of the Cretaceous-Paleogene
extinction event. The system's processors independently compared and
recalculated results using Markov Chain Monte Carlo machine learning to
produce a scenario that matched the fossil record.
The outcome? The model concluded that an eruption of gases from the massive
Deccan Traps shield volcano over a period of 300,000 years was sufficient to
initiate the extinction catastrophe, even in the absence of the skewing
impact of human bias.
Unexpected consequences
The chemical substance bisphenol A, which is linked to perfectly
crystalline plastic water bottles and various endocrine disruption effects,
is utilized in the production of polycarbonates, epoxy resins, thermal
paper, and PVC. My only other recall from that year is that I was surrounded
by a lot of folks wearing boot-cut jeans without boots. That was in 2007,
when I first learned about BPA.
A new study has found that children with autism spectrum disorder and
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder tend to have a reduced ability to
clear BPA from their systems; there has been an increase in diagnoses for
both conditions over the decades, though it is unlikely to be attributable
to a single cause. Since then, there has been a lot of BPA-contaminated
water under the bridge.
Noisy decontamination
Speaking of harmful "forever chemicals," Ohio State University researchers
have developed a novel method that may be used to remove PFAS poisons from
polluted groundwater. These strong, long-lasting substances gave rise to
industrial foams, stain-resistant carpet, nonstick cookware, and decreased
vaccination responses in the 20th century, among other things. They also
increased the risk of testicular, bladder, and kidney cancer, as well as
birth abnormalities.
And the Paul Rudds of chemical pollution linger in the environment without
ever really decomposing. In order to weaken the chemical bonds in chemicals
known as fluortelomer sulfonates, which are frequently used in firefighting
foams, the researchers employed ultrasonic degradation over the course of
three hours. They point out that the same method may potentially break down
medications in wastewater and municipal taps.
Explosion persisting
NASA last week unveiled time-lapse video showing the explosion of a star
20,000 years ago sending its debris flying into space. The Hubble Space
Telescope was utilized by astronomers to see a piece of the leading edge of
the supernova bubble's expansion by focusing on a small section of the
Cygnus Loop nebula.
They created a time lapse of the ongoing explosion by taking consecutive
photos of this little location over a 19-year period, from 2001 to 2020.
This revealed that the star's remnants are rushing into space at a speed of
half a million miles per hour.
corrupt in Liartown
An emerging phenomena known as "honesty drain," which occurs when honest
individuals choose to move away from places where dishonesty is common, has
been documented by social science experts. As a result, there is a sort of
duplicity doom loop whereby regions that are severely affected by honesty
drain also have worse-quality political classes, lower rates of income
growth, and lower labor productivity.
False birth registrations are used by demographers as an indicator of
regional honesty; for example, in Italy, a large number of parents of
December-born infants fabricate birth certificates, which leads to a rise in
January birth registrations. The likelihood of having a fake birth
certificate is significantly lower for those who move from a high-cheating
region to a low-cheating area.
