Today I Learned

[Stavros Kiri]

Today I learned ... Oh Gee! I just realized I haven't learned anything new recently.
[But I will, I promise! ...]

There we go: I just learned that some of the larger and greedier sea creatures die of starvation nowdays, not because they have no food ... but because their belly is full of plastic! (thanks to us! ...)

 

[gleem]

Plastic bags or often mistaken for jellyfish by turtles.

 

[OmCheeto]

...
ps. Just sent a tweet to Sarah McAnulty, asking her about this. She's a squid biologist, and may not know the answer off the top of her head, but she has many smart friends.

Good grief!
6 minutes!

Christopher Mah; "Sea urchins and other echinoderms don't have blood. They use sea water filtered through their various internal pipes and tubes. As I understand it this is essentially sea water save for various amoebocytes and other organic elements."​

Note to self: After the first hour of googling, and finding conflicting answers, send a tweet to Sarah.

ps. This "Christopher" guy seems to be a legitimate source, to say the least.
pps. But now I have to look up what "amoebocytes" are. Good grief!

 

[Stavros Kiri]

Good grief!
6 minutes! ...

Please start off with "Today I learned". Keep commentary to a minimum and just LIKE posts. I'll start!

 

[OmCheeto]

[Hey!]

I was going to say the exact same thing, and start a new thread, but I figured I had put the nail in the coffin with that last post.

ps.

An amebocyte or amoebocyte (/əˈmiː.bə.saɪt/) is a mobile cell (moving like an amoeba) in the body of invertebrates including echinoderms, molluscs, tunicates, sponges and some chelicerates. They move by pseudopodia. Similarly to some of the white blood cells of vertebrates, in many species amebocytes are found in the blood or body fluid and play a role in the defense of the organism against pathogens. Depending on the species, an amebocyte may also digest and distribute food, dispose of wastes, form skeletal fibers, fight infections, and change into other cell types.

 

[jim hardy]

Are lampreys a vertebrate ?

Abstract of that article, Greek to me too.

Abstract
Go to:
Background emphasis mine - jh
Recent genomic information has revealed that neuroglobin and cytoglobin are the two principal lineages of vertebrate hemoglobins, with the latter encompassing the familiar myoglobin and α-globin/β-globin tetramer hemoglobin, and several minor groups. In contrast, very little is known about hemoglobins in echinoderms, a phylum of exclusively marine organisms closely related to vertebrates, beyond the presence of coelomic hemoglobins in sea cucumbers and brittle stars. We identified about 50 hemoglobins in sea urchin, starfish and sea cucumber genomes and transcriptomes, and used Bayesian inference to carry out a molecular phylogenetic analysis of their relationship to vertebrate sequences, specifically, to assess the hypothesis that the neuroglobin and cytoglobin lineages are also present in echinoderms.

so i have to start with vocabulary.

echi·no·derm
əˈkīnəˌdərm/
noun
ZOOLOGY
a marine invertebrate of the phylum Echinodermata, such as a starfish, sea urchin, or sea cucumber

Cytoglobin (CYGB), a new member of the globin family, was discovered in 2001 as a protein associated with stellate cell activation
(stel·late
ˈstelət,ˈsteˌlāt/
adjective
technical
arranged in a radiating pattern like that of a star.)

Neuroglobin is a member of the vertebrate globin family involved in cellular oxygen homeostasis. It is an intracellular hemoproteinexpressed in the central and peripheral nervous system, cerebrospinal fluid, retina and endocrine tissues.

Cytoglobin is a globin molecule ubiquitously expressed in all tissues and most notably utilized in marine mammals. It was discovered in 2001[6] and named cytoglobin in 2002.[7] It is thought to protect against hypoxia. The predicted function of cytoglobin is the transfer of oxygen from arterial blood to the brain.[8]

I'm getting the feeling prefix "Hemo" means it's a molecule with iron atoms designed to transport oxygen.
Webster:

Definition of heme
: the deep red iron-containing prosthetic group C34H32N4O4Fe of hemoglobin and myoglobin

and "Globin" means it's a protein
Webster again

Definition of globin
: a colorless protein obtained by removal of heme from a conjugated protein and especially hemoglobin

You're right - they learned a lot since 1957.
https://pdb101.rcsb.org/motm/206

Molecular biologists often look at evolutionary variation is terms of “conservation.” Regions of the protein with essential functions are very similar when we look at different organisms, whereas regions that are playing a supporting role are often quite different. Hemoglobin is shown here (PDB entry 2hhb), with one beta-chain colored by conservation, calculated using the online ConSurf Server and based on sequences from several hundred organisms. As you can see, regions involved in subunit contacts and lining the heme pocket are highly conserved (colored bright blue), but the exterior portions of the protein are not (colored white). To explore this structure in more detail, click on the image for an interactive JSmol.

As old as sea urchins are i'd guess they have a simpler EDIT iron oxygen transport molecule than modern mammals.
If it's red it's probably iron based.
But i really don't know. Never dissected a sea urchin.

Anyhow - TIL a smidge about globins. Some critters use copper instead of iron so have green blood.

old jim

 

[jim hardy]

Are lampreys a vertebrate ?

Yep. Apparently an evolution-wise primitive one.

Wiki

The unique morphological characteristics of lampreys, such as their cartilaginous skeleton, suggest they are the sister taxon (see cladistics) of all living jawed vertebrates (gnathostomes), and are usually considered the most basal group of the Vertebrata.

 

[OmCheeto]

Are lampreys a vertebrate ?

Abstract of that article, Greek to me too.

so i have to start with vocabulary.

I'm getting the feeling prefix "Hemo" means it's a molecule with iron atoms designed to transport oxygen.
Webster:

and "Globin" means it's a protein
Webster again

You're right - they learned a lot since 1957.
https://pdb101.rcsb.org/motm/206

As old as sea urchins are i'd guess they have a simpler iron transport molecule than modern mammals.
If it's red it's probably iron based.
But i really don't know. Never dissected a sea urchin.

Anyhow - TIL a smidge about globins. Some critters use copper instead of iron so have green blood.

old jim

Ah! Hahahahahaha!
Those look just like the notes I took this morning.

It's that wormhole/onionskins of knowledge, people have warned us about, diving into.

 

[DrGreg]

Today I learned that when a Microsoft installer says "We'll be done in just a moment" it means that it will take just another 4½ hours beyond the ½ hour already taken.

 

[jtbell]

Today I learned the real reason why everyone wants to go to MIT. If you complete courses in archery, fencing, shooting and sailing, you can be certified as a pirate! Arrrrgh!

 

[Borg]

I wonder if the certificate is awarded on Sept 19th?

 

[jim hardy]

I wonder if the certificate is awarded on Sept 19th?

or Wallace Beery's birthday, April 1 ?

 

[OmCheeto]

Today I learned the real reason why everyone wants to go to MIT. If you complete courses in archery, fencing, shooting and sailing, you can be certified as a pirate! Arrrrgh!

What a waste of time!

"The MIT Pirate certificate is for entertainment purposes only and does not give the recipient license to engage in piracy or any pirate activities".

Might as well get a liberal arts degree...

 

[jtbell]

Might as well get a liberal arts degree...

https://etd.ohiolink.edu/rws_etd/document/get/toledo1310064266/inline (M.A. History, University of Toledo)

Piracy's Influence in the Atlantic World (M.A. History, University of Florida)

Piracy in the Ancient World: from Minos to Mohammed (Ph.D. History, University College, London)

 

[YoungPhysicist]

Today I learn that skinks don’t like to eat crickets

 

[fresh_42]

TIL the origins of the word valley. I solved a crossword puzzle and had to find "over hill and dale". ´We say "over stick and stone". I looked up "dale" and found "valley" or "vale". Then I asked myself, what these words have in common. The German word for "valley" is "Tal", which makes the common origin of it and "dale" obvious. I have found that all these words originate from proto-Germanic "dalaz". Apparently one line became "dale" and "Tal" and another one "valley" with "vale" in the middle. I'd never expected a common origin. Unfortunately I didn't come very far with my next question: Did it also result in "Dallas"? Seems quite obvious, but who knows. I found that Dallas was named after "George M. Dallas", an American politician of old Scottish heritage. Now although the Scottish are Celts, I assume a major Scandinavian influence, which means there is a chance that this old Scottish name indeed originated in "dalaz" as well. And Celtic and Germanic languages share 61% of basic vocabulary, so chance are, that "Dallas" means "Valley" - even if there is none.

I find etymology exciting.

 

[CWatters]

Today I learned that...

http://citywire.co.uk/wealth-manage.../a1157273?ref=wealth_manager_all_stories_list

In short... shares in the well respected Woodford Capital Fund have risen following a revaluation of their holding in a company called Industrial Heat...who invest mainly in labs doing research into LENR.

 

[jtbell]

Today I learned that the female equivalent of a "man cave" is a "she shed".

https://www.today.com/home/she-shed-what-it-how-you-can-make-one-t20601

That article is three years old... I am sooo out of touch.

 

[Borg]

Don't feel bad, I had to learn about it from a commercial.

 

[jtbell]

Ha, that's the very same commercial I saw this morning, that prompted me to post!

 

[Ibix]

Today I learned that the pope was a bouncer before he took holy orders. Apparently someone suggested his biography should be titled "Heaven can wait - and so can you".

 

[davenn]

Today I learned the craft of Japanese sword making …..

this is very cool !

 

[fresh_42]

Today I learned the craft of Japanese sword making …..

this is very cool !

They used manifolds thousands of years before us

 

[BillTre]

TIL that it is National Sarcastic Awareness Month!
Here is a link to some pointers about how you can better appreciate the sarcasm around you.

 

[fresh_42]

TIL that it is National Sarcastic Awareness Month!
Here is a link to some pointers about how you can better appreciate the sarcasm around you.

Definitely what the world needed!

 

[berkeman]

Today I learned why some deck screws have reverse threads on the top part of the shank near the head. It's to cinch down the deck plank onto the joist. Pretty neat!

https://www.decksdirect.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/1800x/040ec09b1e35df139433887a97daa66f/G/R/xGRK_RT_screw02.jpg.pagespeed.ic.sKowZG8jlC.jpg

 

[dlgoff]

... some deck screws have reverse threads on the top part of the shank near the head.

Those threads are called "cutting nibs".

These DeckMate screws feature a Torx drive head, an auger tip, cut points on the treads to reduce resistance, and cutting nibs under the head that act like a countersink bit.

bold by me

 

[berkeman]

Those threads are called "cutting nibs".

I think the cutting nibs part are right on the head, to help to countersink the head. That's different from the reverse threads part. (Boy, there are a lot of improvements on wood screws in the last 20 years!).

https://screw-products.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/goldfeat.jpg

 

[dlgoff]

I think the cutting nibs part are right on the head, to help to countersink the head. That's different from the reverse threads part. (Boy, there are a lot of improvements on wood screws in the last 20 years!).

https://screw-products.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/goldfeat.jpg

View attachment 232363

Dang. The science of screws; who'd of thought?

 

[jim hardy]

Dang. The science of screws; who'd of thought?

Reckon our great grandchildren will date our home handyman projects by the fasteners ?

https://www.realorrepro.com/article/Nails-as-clues-to-age

 

[dlgoff]

https://www.realorrepro.com/article/Nails-as-clues-to-age

View attachment 232408

I have a few really old nails but I'm not going to start another "beauty" collection. Can't get anything done as it is.

 

[BillTre]

Today in a somewhat contrarian article in the abilities of AI (here), I read:

As the A.I. researcher Pedro Domingos noted in his book “The Master Algorithm,” “People worry that computers will get too smart and take over the world, but the real problem is that they’re too stupid and they’ve already taken over the world.”

 

[fresh_42]

Today in a somewhat contrarian article in the abilities of AI (here), I read:

As the A.I. researcher Pedro Domingos noted in his book “The Master Algorithm,” “People worry that computers will get too smart and take over the world, but the real problem is that they’re too stupid and they’ve already taken over the world.”

Only until the next major geoeffective CMS, as in 1859 e.g. And Wiki says, there has been another one 12,800 BC with 3 Sv for 3 days!

 

[Jonathan Scott]

Only until the next major geoeffective CMS, as in 1859 e.g. And Wiki says, there has been another one 12,800 BC with 3 Sv for 3 days!

I think you probably mean CME not CMS and 12,800 BP not BC. In what Wiki did you find that fascinating information?

 

[fresh_42]

I think you probably mean CME not CMS and 12,800 BP not BC. In what Wiki did you find that fascinating information?

Yes, CME. That was a typo - lost in translation. And yes, Before Present as well.
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koronaler_Massenauswurf
I'm used to switch languages on Wiki, as they are not translations of another. Usually on mathematical pages, to see whether one of them has the better formula. English is often more general, German more detailed w.r.t. formulas. I even had found better results - dependent on the question - on French or Spanish versions.