Awesome, I finally remembered my username for this.
Here are today's articles:
http://www.thejournal.ie/science-conference-de-extinction-840062-Mar2013/
http://beaker.sanfordburnham.org/2013/03/molecular-roots-down-syndrome/
So it seems my earlier look at de-extincting Neanderthals is making a return, but this time with 24 recently extinct species. I'm sure I speak for us all when I say I'm disappointed that dinosaurs didn't make the list. Jurassic Park is going to have to wait, but I can still listen to that rad sound track. It also looks like that they will eventually be re-releasing these species into the wild whenever the appropriate time comes around, but I really wonder how they are going to protect them from poachers, or even normal predators. Where are they going to put the Dodo bird? It didn't have any predators in the first place, that's why it went extinct. Maybe there might be a few exceptions. For instance, I really wouldn't want to see this thing in the wild when its renaissance comes around. I'm sure even people who don't want to hurt them still will find away, perhaps feeding them or something. I can only imagine the headline of the newspaper detailing the first recorded death of a human to a woolly mammoth. But, as with all things, you must take the bad that comes with the good. And I believe a lot of good can come of this.
The second article details an amazingly effective treatment of down syndrome in mice. I'm not sure how much I have to talk about this, it basically speaks for itself. I'm excited to see whether or not this can be translated into humans, but either way its just another of several medical breakthroughs that have been happening quite recently. It's pretty amazing how fast science and medicine have evolved in the last 50-100 years. Count yourself lucky that you aren't living in the 1850s where people didn't have a clue about germ theory and most doctors kept very liberal views on amputation.
ANYWAY, ABOUT SPACE:
I've been playing a game called The Kerbal Space Program lately. It's in the simulation genre, of which I'm a huge sucker for. This game quite literally simulates a space program. I am at the moment designing a space station to be launched into a medium 100km orbit around Kerbin (the Kerbals' home planet). Testing the rocket that brings it into orbit has been rough, but I'm close to a breakthrough, I can feel it. Anyway if you have any interest in space or something to play on your laptop to kill during Latin class, just talk to me about it. Seriously, I could go on about it forever, I could really bore you with the details. But that's about it for my spiel. Now, if you will excuse me, I have T- 3 minutes for a prograde burn.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Leaves and Youtube
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120509123900.htm
Look at that please. I won't start without you, I promise.
You're done? Good, I can begin. I think the idea of an artificial leaf is pretty interesting. I suppose you just drop it in a jar of water in the sun (Note: A jar of water in sunlight, not inside of the star. That would be insane. And you would be dead before you reached it anyway.). After that, it bubbles hydrogen and you can harvest that with other machines. Sounds a bit complicated to me, but that's science for you. I also would like to make the point that every time I re-read this, the less it sounds like a leaf and the more it sounds like a sort of metal seaweed. But for today (I should say tonight) I thought I would talk about the aesthetic uses of this technology besides the practical uses. I think it would be cool to see this in some sort of eco-friendly/modern business office lobby. You could walk in, and see a bunch of (robot?) fish swimming around a shimmering metal seaweed bed. Or you could see the same thing but with a tree and birds, although this would be odd considering it would be underwater. Also, if the birds weren't robots, they wouldn't add much to the scene. Maybe you could have ivy vines on the outside too, but I'm thinking this would be hard to implement. Anyway I would enjoy seeing your ideas on this topic as much as mine, and please don't limit them to artificial leaves! Now that I think of it, I'd rather like a solar umbrella...
YOUTUBE- I made a youtube video. It's rather boring and is only on dwarf fortress, but I'll do one on happy wheels later. Check it out- my channel name is NerdOctopus. It has its moments, so be gentle. Comment below if you want me to send out a shout-out for you!
Look at that please. I won't start without you, I promise.
You're done? Good, I can begin. I think the idea of an artificial leaf is pretty interesting. I suppose you just drop it in a jar of water in the sun (Note: A jar of water in sunlight, not inside of the star. That would be insane. And you would be dead before you reached it anyway.). After that, it bubbles hydrogen and you can harvest that with other machines. Sounds a bit complicated to me, but that's science for you. I also would like to make the point that every time I re-read this, the less it sounds like a leaf and the more it sounds like a sort of metal seaweed. But for today (I should say tonight) I thought I would talk about the aesthetic uses of this technology besides the practical uses. I think it would be cool to see this in some sort of eco-friendly/modern business office lobby. You could walk in, and see a bunch of (robot?) fish swimming around a shimmering metal seaweed bed. Or you could see the same thing but with a tree and birds, although this would be odd considering it would be underwater. Also, if the birds weren't robots, they wouldn't add much to the scene. Maybe you could have ivy vines on the outside too, but I'm thinking this would be hard to implement. Anyway I would enjoy seeing your ideas on this topic as much as mine, and please don't limit them to artificial leaves! Now that I think of it, I'd rather like a solar umbrella...
YOUTUBE- I made a youtube video. It's rather boring and is only on dwarf fortress, but I'll do one on happy wheels later. Check it out- my channel name is NerdOctopus. It has its moments, so be gentle. Comment below if you want me to send out a shout-out for you!
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Dungeons and Dragons and Ice-cells and Naruto
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/348007/description/Life_found_deep_below_Antarctic_ice
^ make some sweet copy pasta and read dat link. Or don't. I'm not a cop.
Basically, this article talks about some microbes that have been isolated from the rest of the world for one hundred thousand years. I know what you may be saying, 'But how is that possible? Couldn't the microbes have gotten elsewhere or been contaminated with foreign microbes?'. Well, if you are saying such things, then you didn't read the article. That's fine, don't beat yourself up, I'll explain. But if you read the article already you can skip to the next paragraph, where I type more stuff about my opinion and such. I know, it's a wonder how this blog stays so fresh. Anyway, the microbes are isolated this way because they're trapped in a lake. But this, as you could have guessed, is no ordinary lake. It's a lake that sits 800 meters below the ground. BUT this isn't ordinary ground either. It's solid ice. WAIT- this ice isn't normal either. It's some of the ice that makes up Antarctica. So its a pretty special lake. Which make the microbes pretty special too, considering they have evolved completely separate from the rest of the world. Let this idea mull around in your head for a while, then continue to the next paragraph when you are done having your mind blown. Or not. I'm not sure how fascinating you find microbes anyway.
Onto my opinion and important science stuff we could do with this. Obviously, this doesn't sound too exciting on the exterior. I apologize. I mean, it could be worse, you could be looking at John Nownes' blog right now. Here's a link to one of his absolutely riveting articles: http://johnnownes.blogspot.com/2013/01/nbc-new-york-recently-published-story.html
If the page tries to redirect you while its loading, reload, wait till the page pops up then quickly click the 'stop loading' button. I don't know why it's so messed up for me, I guess it's just blogger giving me a second chance before reading John's blog. By the way, if you don't know who John is, you are very lucky. But I digress. In fact, I do it a lot, maybe because I enjoy the fanciness of that phrase and typing it out. Anyway, yes this sounds boring. But I think it could have very unique and important scientific opportunities for us, especially in a medicinal view. But unfortunately, I think of some of the more unfortunate possibilities in the form of biological warfare. If these microbes haven't been jamming with the rest of earth for 100,000 years at the least, then we could be in trouble. If any of them prove to be parasitic or infectious, we could face forced pandemics of the greatest scale. Humans would have absolutely no immunities to them, we would be sitting ducks. Actual ducks would be at risk too, I assume. But hopefully the new knowledge we gain from these tiny shut-ins will be used for good. What do you think about the possibility of scientific breakthroughs with these organisms, or the development of a weapon? Post your comments and don't forget to subscribe!
FUN STUFF:
So, you managed to make it all the way to the bottom of the bottomless blog, eh? You've got guts. Unless, of course, you just skipped to here. Which is respectable too. But try reading the first half of paragraph number 2, I ripped on John Nownes a lot, it was pretty funny. In fact, I feel really good about this blog. Anyway, I have been looking into Dungeons and Dragons a lot more but I think I'll need more dedicated players. If you have any kind of interest in D&D, I strongly recommend taking a look at it, but be warned: it does require the purchase of quite a few materials. Or you could just play with me and I could supply you. In any case, talk to me if you become curious and want to know more about the game. I have also started watching this show you probably have heard of, Naruto. It's a TV adaptation of one of Japan's most popular mangas, which is just a Japanese word for a kind of comic book. I wanted to get into it when it first came out, but I only got bits and pieces of it and then I started viewing it as 'uncool' for some reason. I was so young then. But now I'm getting into it and its pretty rad. If you want to watch some episodes free, there is an English subtitled version on narutoget.com. Talk to me if you start watching it. Or if you don't.
I'm pretty lonely.
^ make some sweet copy pasta and read dat link. Or don't. I'm not a cop.
Basically, this article talks about some microbes that have been isolated from the rest of the world for one hundred thousand years. I know what you may be saying, 'But how is that possible? Couldn't the microbes have gotten elsewhere or been contaminated with foreign microbes?'. Well, if you are saying such things, then you didn't read the article. That's fine, don't beat yourself up, I'll explain. But if you read the article already you can skip to the next paragraph, where I type more stuff about my opinion and such. I know, it's a wonder how this blog stays so fresh. Anyway, the microbes are isolated this way because they're trapped in a lake. But this, as you could have guessed, is no ordinary lake. It's a lake that sits 800 meters below the ground. BUT this isn't ordinary ground either. It's solid ice. WAIT- this ice isn't normal either. It's some of the ice that makes up Antarctica. So its a pretty special lake. Which make the microbes pretty special too, considering they have evolved completely separate from the rest of the world. Let this idea mull around in your head for a while, then continue to the next paragraph when you are done having your mind blown. Or not. I'm not sure how fascinating you find microbes anyway.
Onto my opinion and important science stuff we could do with this. Obviously, this doesn't sound too exciting on the exterior. I apologize. I mean, it could be worse, you could be looking at John Nownes' blog right now. Here's a link to one of his absolutely riveting articles: http://johnnownes.blogspot.com/2013/01/nbc-new-york-recently-published-story.html
If the page tries to redirect you while its loading, reload, wait till the page pops up then quickly click the 'stop loading' button. I don't know why it's so messed up for me, I guess it's just blogger giving me a second chance before reading John's blog. By the way, if you don't know who John is, you are very lucky. But I digress. In fact, I do it a lot, maybe because I enjoy the fanciness of that phrase and typing it out. Anyway, yes this sounds boring. But I think it could have very unique and important scientific opportunities for us, especially in a medicinal view. But unfortunately, I think of some of the more unfortunate possibilities in the form of biological warfare. If these microbes haven't been jamming with the rest of earth for 100,000 years at the least, then we could be in trouble. If any of them prove to be parasitic or infectious, we could face forced pandemics of the greatest scale. Humans would have absolutely no immunities to them, we would be sitting ducks. Actual ducks would be at risk too, I assume. But hopefully the new knowledge we gain from these tiny shut-ins will be used for good. What do you think about the possibility of scientific breakthroughs with these organisms, or the development of a weapon? Post your comments and don't forget to subscribe!
FUN STUFF:
So, you managed to make it all the way to the bottom of the bottomless blog, eh? You've got guts. Unless, of course, you just skipped to here. Which is respectable too. But try reading the first half of paragraph number 2, I ripped on John Nownes a lot, it was pretty funny. In fact, I feel really good about this blog. Anyway, I have been looking into Dungeons and Dragons a lot more but I think I'll need more dedicated players. If you have any kind of interest in D&D, I strongly recommend taking a look at it, but be warned: it does require the purchase of quite a few materials. Or you could just play with me and I could supply you. In any case, talk to me if you become curious and want to know more about the game. I have also started watching this show you probably have heard of, Naruto. It's a TV adaptation of one of Japan's most popular mangas, which is just a Japanese word for a kind of comic book. I wanted to get into it when it first came out, but I only got bits and pieces of it and then I started viewing it as 'uncool' for some reason. I was so young then. But now I'm getting into it and its pretty rad. If you want to watch some episodes free, there is an English subtitled version on narutoget.com. Talk to me if you start watching it. Or if you don't.
I'm pretty lonely.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Insane People and Minecraft
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-leadership/why-extroverts-fail-introverts-flounder-and-you-probably-succeed/2013/01/28/bc4949b0-695d-11e2-95b3-272d604a10a3_story.html?hpid=z2
^ That's an article. You should skim over it, because it's what this post is about. Or you could look at the below and I'll give a summary.
INSANE PEOPLE - The gist of this article is stating that ambiverts (Vocabulary - ambivert is the middle of the spectrum of introverts and extroverts. But you're so smart you probably already knew that.) are better than introverts AND extroverts at sales, disproving the what used to be canon statement that extroverts are the best at sales. In fact, extroverts were barely even better than introverts in the study. The proof behind these statements is in the tests that the social scientists performed- they took some people, asked them to rate themselves on a scale of one to seven on whether they were introverted and extroverted. Then they had the people perform sales jobs. Wouldn't you know it, the closer you were to 4 on the scale- that is, the exact middle- the more you earned. What does this have to do with insanity? Nothing, but I think it has something to tell us about how we think about what we should look like and how we should act. See, not every female out there is looking for an olympic weight lifter, and not every guy is looking for some busty blonde out of some magazine (I know I'm not, but then again I'm sort of a dork and probably couldn't get a girl like that, but this is besides my point). What I'm trying to say is, just as you sometimes shouldn't be the loudest or the quietest voice in the crowd, so should you not try to be extraordinary. Don't take this the wrong way, just try to be you. Don't set astronomical goals for yourself, but don't fade into the background either. I'm not saying be average, just be different. Not too different. A little bit. I'm starting to wonder if this came out right, but if you understand, just send a comment my way, alright?
MINECRAFT- This doesn't have anything to do about the article. I've started to like Minecraft again. If you want to play online with me sometime (provided you didn't torrent the game, you evil person), the IP of the server is this: MC.Hollowed.org
^ That's an article. You should skim over it, because it's what this post is about. Or you could look at the below and I'll give a summary.
INSANE PEOPLE - The gist of this article is stating that ambiverts (Vocabulary - ambivert is the middle of the spectrum of introverts and extroverts. But you're so smart you probably already knew that.) are better than introverts AND extroverts at sales, disproving the what used to be canon statement that extroverts are the best at sales. In fact, extroverts were barely even better than introverts in the study. The proof behind these statements is in the tests that the social scientists performed- they took some people, asked them to rate themselves on a scale of one to seven on whether they were introverted and extroverted. Then they had the people perform sales jobs. Wouldn't you know it, the closer you were to 4 on the scale- that is, the exact middle- the more you earned. What does this have to do with insanity? Nothing, but I think it has something to tell us about how we think about what we should look like and how we should act. See, not every female out there is looking for an olympic weight lifter, and not every guy is looking for some busty blonde out of some magazine (I know I'm not, but then again I'm sort of a dork and probably couldn't get a girl like that, but this is besides my point). What I'm trying to say is, just as you sometimes shouldn't be the loudest or the quietest voice in the crowd, so should you not try to be extraordinary. Don't take this the wrong way, just try to be you. Don't set astronomical goals for yourself, but don't fade into the background either. I'm not saying be average, just be different. Not too different. A little bit. I'm starting to wonder if this came out right, but if you understand, just send a comment my way, alright?
MINECRAFT- This doesn't have anything to do about the article. I've started to like Minecraft again. If you want to play online with me sometime (provided you didn't torrent the game, you evil person), the IP of the server is this: MC.Hollowed.org
Monday, January 21, 2013
Neanderthals and Hell
I was looking on reddit for a science-related article and came upon this gem:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/george-church-explains-how-dna-will-be-construction-material-of-the-future-a-877634.html
Before I get into it, let me say that if you have not heard about reddit, it is basically a really cool website who's motto is 'The front page of the internet'. It's basically a big newspaper of the internet and is subdivided into 'subreddits' (such as /r/science which I found this article at) which allow you to follow different subjects you are interested in, after which it will put these articles about whatever you find relevant smack on the front page. It's pretty fantastic.
Secondly, for some background on the subject: A neanderthal is basically a split of the human race. I don't mean a race, such as the difference between African-Americans and Caucasians, for example, but an entirely different species of person that evolved from apes, like we did. They lived and made tools much like our cavemen did, but eventually died out. It's quite interesting to think of what world dynamic we would live in if they had not become extinct. Would we have eventually come to coexist with each other on earth eventually, would we eventually interbreed and combine into the same species? Or is a darker truth present: would there be a hostile attitude to our close relatives? It's not hard to believe, given our attitude to each other... but I digress.
On to the actual content of the blog: The main subject it covers is cloning a Neanderthal given the recent completion of its DNA. In short, now that scientists have its complete genetic code, we can simply put that genetic information bit by bit into a cell until its 100% Neanderthal-ified. We then put this Neanderthal embryo into a human mother and in 9(?) months, POOF! A species brought back from the dead. After the discussion on this specific application of genetic engineering, the scientist (George Church) and his interviewer delved into a much broader view of what could be done with this technology- such as, modifying humans with Neanderthal DNA or even giving rabbits wings! Church notes that while it is probably only possible to get the intact DNA of million-year old or younger fossils, it is feasible that older species (such as the dinosaurs) could be reverse engineered from birds or other relatives by simply looking at their structure and seeing what needs to be changed with specific mutations. It is fascinating to think that all this could be done in our lifetimes!
Throughout the article, both scientists discuss how the cloning of humans (Neanderthals count as such) is banned in Germany, the country the magazine article is from. I hate it when something like this gets in the way of improving our understanding of the world around us, but I suppose I understand. I would go more into this if I knew the nature and specific qualms that Germany has on genetic engineering, but I do not. My uninformed opinion is that restrictions such as these should not be put on science. Things such as 'playing God' is almost laughable to me. Did God not command us to take charge of this world, and our lives? If you disagree with me, where do you stop? Should we stop giving medicine to sick people and simply pray to God for them to be healed if it is his will? For surely prolonging someone's life by using the medicines derived from our intellects given by God is wrong? Delaying such breakthroughs in science is only delaying the inevitable.
ON TO THE FORTRESS:
I had a terrible encounter while on Dwarf Fortress. I mined into hell accidentally while trying to get the priceless adamantium hidden within the rock. Needless to say, I was immediately assaulted by a ridiculous amount of demon-spawn, their sheer number rivaled only by their power and variety of shapes and weapons. My traps proved useless, my military was almost as bad: they couldn't even finish off a snow monster! You read right: a monster made of snow, let's just ignore the fact that one could survive in the boiling heat of hell and focus on the fact that my dwarves, armed with STEEL weapons, couldn't slice through them. I feel that I don't need to tell you the entire fortress was slaughtered. Oh well, being the true wuss I am, I quit without saving, and next time I'll make sure to be ready when hell comes knocking.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/george-church-explains-how-dna-will-be-construction-material-of-the-future-a-877634.html
Before I get into it, let me say that if you have not heard about reddit, it is basically a really cool website who's motto is 'The front page of the internet'. It's basically a big newspaper of the internet and is subdivided into 'subreddits' (such as /r/science which I found this article at) which allow you to follow different subjects you are interested in, after which it will put these articles about whatever you find relevant smack on the front page. It's pretty fantastic.
Secondly, for some background on the subject: A neanderthal is basically a split of the human race. I don't mean a race, such as the difference between African-Americans and Caucasians, for example, but an entirely different species of person that evolved from apes, like we did. They lived and made tools much like our cavemen did, but eventually died out. It's quite interesting to think of what world dynamic we would live in if they had not become extinct. Would we have eventually come to coexist with each other on earth eventually, would we eventually interbreed and combine into the same species? Or is a darker truth present: would there be a hostile attitude to our close relatives? It's not hard to believe, given our attitude to each other... but I digress.
On to the actual content of the blog: The main subject it covers is cloning a Neanderthal given the recent completion of its DNA. In short, now that scientists have its complete genetic code, we can simply put that genetic information bit by bit into a cell until its 100% Neanderthal-ified. We then put this Neanderthal embryo into a human mother and in 9(?) months, POOF! A species brought back from the dead. After the discussion on this specific application of genetic engineering, the scientist (George Church) and his interviewer delved into a much broader view of what could be done with this technology- such as, modifying humans with Neanderthal DNA or even giving rabbits wings! Church notes that while it is probably only possible to get the intact DNA of million-year old or younger fossils, it is feasible that older species (such as the dinosaurs) could be reverse engineered from birds or other relatives by simply looking at their structure and seeing what needs to be changed with specific mutations. It is fascinating to think that all this could be done in our lifetimes!
Throughout the article, both scientists discuss how the cloning of humans (Neanderthals count as such) is banned in Germany, the country the magazine article is from. I hate it when something like this gets in the way of improving our understanding of the world around us, but I suppose I understand. I would go more into this if I knew the nature and specific qualms that Germany has on genetic engineering, but I do not. My uninformed opinion is that restrictions such as these should not be put on science. Things such as 'playing God' is almost laughable to me. Did God not command us to take charge of this world, and our lives? If you disagree with me, where do you stop? Should we stop giving medicine to sick people and simply pray to God for them to be healed if it is his will? For surely prolonging someone's life by using the medicines derived from our intellects given by God is wrong? Delaying such breakthroughs in science is only delaying the inevitable.
ON TO THE FORTRESS:
I had a terrible encounter while on Dwarf Fortress. I mined into hell accidentally while trying to get the priceless adamantium hidden within the rock. Needless to say, I was immediately assaulted by a ridiculous amount of demon-spawn, their sheer number rivaled only by their power and variety of shapes and weapons. My traps proved useless, my military was almost as bad: they couldn't even finish off a snow monster! You read right: a monster made of snow, let's just ignore the fact that one could survive in the boiling heat of hell and focus on the fact that my dwarves, armed with STEEL weapons, couldn't slice through them. I feel that I don't need to tell you the entire fortress was slaughtered. Oh well, being the true wuss I am, I quit without saving, and next time I'll make sure to be ready when hell comes knocking.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
The Current State
The Fortress (named DrummedRocks) has been doing well, or relatively okay in comparison to the recent zombie attacks and whatnot. After clearing the below caverns of a hundred or so zombies consisting of snapping turtles, naked mole dogs and (shudder) helmet snakes. After a couple isolated battles consisting of a few dead soldier dwarves and a small pile of zombie corpses and limbs, the fortress is safe again. All that remains now is to claim the adamantine treasures underneath! On a side note, my mayor dwarf was kicked down a chasm 30 feet by a draltha. Serves him right. Leave questions and comments below!
Welcome to the Fortress.
My name is Ryan Schmid, but you probably already knew that if you found this. I am sixteen since last September, and am hopelessly addicted to almost any form of gaming. Whether it be tabletop or rouge-like, the only limit to my experience is my budget. Right now I'm getting back into Minecraft and Dwarf Fortress, and I never seem to have enough time to do the latter. But more on that later. On Xbox I'm particular to Halo 4, which is as good as the last couple of games, but I would have liked to see more vehicles. I'm not a total dork. But I'm certainly working on it. I will be periodically updating with what I'm doing/playing, and hopefully I can get in some updates on my fortress, Armok willing. If you didn't get some of the references yet, hopefully you will. If I can get just one more person to play this game, then it's a good day for me.
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