We Can Elect a Third-Party Candidate‚ but Not the Way You Think

Cow Burps‚ Cow Farts‚ and Bulls**t

SCOTUS Rules Against Texas on Razor Wire - Lets Border Patrol Remove It

In 1997‚ a 14-year-old boy at Eagle Rock Junior High School in Idaho Falls began telling his classmates about the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide."Dihydrogen monoxide is colorless‚ odorless‚ tasteless‚ and kills uncounted thousands of people every year. Most of these deaths are caused by accidental inhalation of DHMO‚ but the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide do not end there‚" information given out to fellow students read‚ per Snopes. "Prolonged exposure to its solid form causes severe tissue damage. Symptoms of DHMO ingestion can include excessive sweating and urination‚ and possibly a bloated feeling‚ nausea‚ vomiting and body electrolyte imbalance. For those who have become dependent‚ DHMO withdrawal means certain death."The info sheet compiled by Nathan Zohner went on to explain that DHMO is a major component of acid rain‚ can cause severe burns‚ and has been found in tumors taken from cancer patients. The sheet continued to hype up the dangers of this compound."Quantities of dihydrogen monoxide have been found in almost every stream‚ lake‚ and reservoir in America today. But the pollution is global‚ and the contaminant has even been found in Antarctic ice. DHMO has caused millions of dollars of property damage in the midwest‚ and recently California."Despite this‚ Zohner explained‚ the substance was still in wide use‚ being used as everything from an additive in junk food‚ to a fire retardant."The American government has refused to ban the production‚ distribution‚ or use of this damaging chemical due to its 'importance to the economic health of this nation.' In fact‚ the navy and other military organizations are conducting experiments with DHMO‚ and designing multi-billion dollar devices to control and utilize it during warfare situations‚" Zohner's info sheet concluded. "Hundreds of military research facilities receive tons of it through a highly sophisticated underground distribution network. Many store large quantities for later use."After getting the info out there‚ Zohner then asked 50 classmates whether the substance should be banned. Forty-three out of the 50 – or 86 percent of the class – "voted to ban dihydrogen monoxide because it has caused too many deaths".This was of course concerning to Zohner‚ because dihydrogen monoxide is water. By giving it an unfamiliar name and simply listing facts about‚ Zohner was able to convince the majority of his class that water should be banned‚ even though dihydrogen monoxide (two hydrogen‚ one oxygen) merely describes the more familiar H2O. Though we don't have the data to go on‚ it's likely that the term "monoxide" was associated by some with carbon monoxide and its sometimes deadly effects.    IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.The schoolchildren were not the only ones to be taken in by the hoax‚ which spreads around from time to time. In 2007‚ New Zealand MP Jacqui Dean signed a letter calling for water to be banned. In 2011‚ two radio DJs in Lee County‚ Southwest Florida‚ were temporarily suspended after warning listeners that dihydrogen monoxide was coming out of the taps. Residents began calling the utility company‚ believing the water to be unsafe‚ simply because it contained water.

As far as rare colorations go‚ funky-looking lobsters seem to be pulled out of the ocean pretty regularly‚ and in the name of science‚ The University of New England (UNE) in Maine is building quite the collection of these beautiful beasts.While lobsters usually come in orange or red‚ they also have a peculiar tendency to appear in virtually every other color too. Fishing vessels have caught examples of bright blue‚ yellow‚ calico‚ seemingly transparent‚ and even split-color lobster variations‚ with many either being released or donated to research centers. Now‚ a team at UNE has launched a study into the genetic mechanisms behind these extraordinary variations.Research into and knowledge surrounding these color variations is currently limited‚ but with the help of UNE’s growing collection‚ that could soon change. “At this point‚ no one really knows in detail why some lobsters develop these multicolor variations‚” Markus Frederich‚ professor of marine sciences at UNE said in a statement‚ “though we do have some theories.”“We have access to all these different lobsters‚ and we have the students who are eager to do the research. We thought‚ ‘Let’s jump on this.’”Fig is one-in-a-million.Image credit: Markus Frederich/University of New EnglandUNE is currently home to (IFLScience favorite) Banana the bright yellow lobster‚ as well as Currant‚ who is a blue-brown split‚ and Fig‚ a baby purple lobster. The genetic makeup of these species will be decoded in the hope of identifying the genes responsible for the seemingly random color anomalies.In their investigation efforts‚ the team highlighted the need for developing non-invasive testing methods that won’t harm the lobsters. In addition to being able to feel pain‚ the specimens held at the university range in rarity from around one-in-30 to one-in-50 million‚ so their protection is vital to the research.Additionally‚ the team is tending to the eggs of an orange lobster‚ which are expected to hatch this spring‚ with the aim of monitoring the proportion of offspring that emerge as orange.Despite currently holding a healthy and diverse range of rare lobsters‚ when studying genetic diversity and abnormalities‚ the more the merrier. Frederich plans to establish a sustainable research partnership that allows local lobstermen to send rare specimens to UNE for study before their release back into the wild.“This is the type of project that plays to both UNE’s strengths and our goals‚” said Charles Tilburg‚ academic director of UNE’s School of Marine and Environmental Programs. “Dr. Frederich and his team are performing novel‚ interesting research while partnering with a local industry‚ providing outstanding training for our students‚ and answering important questions in the field.”

A newly discovered planet is a record-breaker in many ways‚ but the one for which it is likely to be remembered is heat so extreme that one hemisphere is lava.The HD 63433 system‚ also known as (TOI 1726)‚ interests astronomers because it is a relatively close star (73 light years away) that resembles a young Sun. At 99 percent of the Sun’s mass and with similar proportions of heavy elements‚ HD 63433 will end up being very similar. Currently‚ however‚ it is less than 10 percent of the Sun’s age‚ providing excellent insight into our home star’s early development.On the other hand‚ HD 63433’s planetary system is nothing like how our own would have looked in its early days. Four years ago‚ two planets were found with sizes similar to Neptune‚ but orbits of just 7.1 and 20.5 days. Around some of the faint red dwarves we study that might put one of them in the habitable zone‚ but with HD 63433’s Sun-like luminosity‚ both make Mercury look cold. Still‚ even with such furnace-like planetary siblings‚ the newly discovered HD 64433 d stands out. When a team analyzed data from the TESS space telescope they found additional‚ shallower‚ dips in the light coming from HD 63433 that these two planets could not be responsible for. Another planet is orbiting HD 63433 – but it’s a lot smaller than the first two discoveries‚ so when it passes between us and the star‚ it blocks out less light.After further analysis‚ the team concluded the new planet‚ HD 63433d‚ has a diameter about 7 percent larger than Earth’s‚ but it orbits in just 4.2 days. That means two things: it’s staggeringly hot‚ and one side will always face the star‚ a phenomenon known as being “tidally locked”.As a result‚ the star-facing side is even hotter than it would be if it got some relief at night. The side in question is estimated to have a temperature of 1‚257 °C‚ (2‚294 °F). That doesn’t just mean that any atmosphere long since boiled away – the rocks will have turned to lava.HD 63433d is not the hottest planet we have ever found. Kepler-10b orbits a star of similar brightness in less than an Earth day. It’s much easier for us to detect these sorts of close-in planets than those that orbit more slowly‚ so we have quite a collection.Nevertheless‚ our previous super-hot discoveries are also dissimilar to Earth in other ways‚ such as having much larger masses. If it was only further out‚ HD 63433d would be a near-perfect analog for the early Earth. Although its mass‚ and therefore density‚ are not yet known‚ it is thought to have a similar composition. HD 63433 has characteristics that mark it as a member of the Ursa Major Moving Group‚ a set of stars that formed together in a cluster about 414 million years ago and have gradually drifted apart. The announcement of HD 63433d is published along with a study of several other members of the same group.Astronomers are likely to keep paying the system plenty of attention. Since most planets in star systems orbit in roughly similar planes‚ as occurs for our own‚ the presence of several planets that transit their star from our perspective greatly raises the chances of other worlds further out that do the same. If we haven’t found them yet‚ that may just be because we haven’t been watching long enough.Even the planets we have found‚ while clearly hostile to life‚ could teach us something interesting about the scattering that goes on early in a star system’s life‚ which left its mark on Earth and the Moon.Although we have found around 5‚000 planets‚ only 50 are thought to be less than 500 million years old. Most of those are gas giants‚ orbit very faint stars‚ or both. HD 63433’s combination of Sun-like brightness and relative closeness means it’s bright enough to be seen with binoculars (magnitude 6.9)‚ making its fluctuations easy for telescopes to study. “HD 63433 is the brightest known host of young transiting exoplanets in the sky‚” the study notes.For lovers of the weird acronyms astronomers use for their projects‚ this work was done as part of the TESS Hunt for Young and Maturing Exoplanets (THYME).The study is published open access in the Astronomical Journal.

Organ transplantation is one of the most incredible breakthroughs in 20th-century medicine. However‚ the sad truth is that there simply aren’t enough organs to meet demand. In the US alone‚ more than 10‚000 patients are waiting for a liver transplant‚ and their doctors desperately search for ways to give them more time until the right organ becomes available. Now‚ a successful experiment with a pig’s liver could lead to a creative new solution.Scientists from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania just announced the successful perfusion of a pig’s liver using blood from a recently deceased human donor. It’s hoped that this idea could be developed into what they’ve called a “bridge” for critically ill patients – a kind of transplant halfway house‚ to keep them going until a human liver is found.“Any time a patient dies while waiting for a transplant‚ it is a tragedy‚ and we are always working to develop new ways to extend their lives‚” said study lead Dr Abraham Shaked in a statement. “The success of the first part of our study is significant for those facing liver failure‚ offering a glimpse into a future where innovative solutions can bring hope to patients who might otherwise be destined to die while waiting for a transplant.”For the experiment‚ which took place last December‚ the donor’s circulatory system and breathing were artificially maintained after medics had confirmed brain death. Their organs were not deemed suitable for donation to patients on the transplant waiting list‚ but their family generously agreed to allow their body to be used for this procedure.Perfusion refers to the process of circulating blood through an organ. The donor’s own liver was kept in place throughout – this is not the same as xenotransplantation‚ true animal-to-human transplants. Instead‚ the pig liver‚ which was genetically engineered to minimize the chances of rejection‚ was hooked up to the donor’s circulatory system from outside their body.The donor’s blood was circulated through the pig liver‚ bypassing their own liver. They were monitored for 72 hours‚ during which time there was no inflammation observed in the liver and no issues with the donor’s body.Waiting times for people on the liver transplant list can stretch as long as 5 years. There is currently no way to replace the function of the liver with a machine‚ such as can be done with dialysis for the kidneys‚ so patients with liver failure really have no option other than a transplant. If this perfusion approach proves safe and feasible‚ it could help keep the sickest patients alive for a vital window of time‚ maximizing their chances of getting a transplant.There’s also potential for it to be used as a temporary treatment for people healing from liver injuries‚ in a similar way to extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for the heart and lungs.“Our system combined with a genetically modified liver combines modern organ perfusion technology with the functions of a whole liver‚ which is a potentially powerful combination that could save lives‚” said Dr Peter Friend‚ chief medical officer of OrganOx‚ the company that produced the device that makes the procedure possible.These results are only the first stage of a larger study the team is working on‚ with three more deceased donors. The procedure will need to be trialed in donors whose own livers have been removed to get a true sense of whether it can provide the “bridge” to transplant that the scientists are hoping for.The team paid tribute to the kindness of the family who donated their loved one’s body for this experiment. A relative commented: “Our family is very proud to support this medical advancement and see our loved one’s legacy benefit countless others. It is a testament to our loved one’s selflessness and compassion to know this donation offers such hope for people suffering serious disease in the future.”

Researchers have announced the detection of a new fast radio burst (FRB)‚ a mysterious and very powerful astronomical event. These flashes of radio waves pack the energy released by the Sun over several days into a fraction of a second. The new one is the farthest and most powerful ever detected‚ and also comes from a completely unexpected place.A lot of FRBs have been flashes in the pan‚ happening once and then never again. Others are seen repeating. Researchers have been able to track events in both camps and most of them come from isolated galaxies. But not this one. This comes from a group of galaxies that are in the process of merging.When the Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) radio telescope picked up the signal of FRB 20220610A‚ astronomers knew they had something special on their hands. It was four times more energetic than other FRBs. Follow-up with the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope suggested it came from something really far away. But only thanks to Hubble could they see the merging group of galaxies that existed when the universe was 5 billion years old."It required Hubble's keen sharpness and sensitivity to pinpoint exactly where the FRB came from‚" lead author Alexa Gordon‚ of Northwestern University‚ said in a statement. "Without Hubble's imaging‚ it would still remain a mystery as to whether this was originating from one monolithic galaxy or from some type of interacting system. It's these types of environments – these weird ones – that are driving us toward better understanding the mystery of FRBs."Previous FRBs have been linked to magnetars‚ neutron stars with an incredible magnetic field‚ interacting with other objects. But this profile doesn’t fit all cases. There might be multiple ways for FRBs to form‚ or we might be missing a unifying characteristic. The environment where this one comes from is certainly peculiar – a galaxy interacting with at least another six."We are ultimately trying to answer the questions: What causes them? What are their progenitors and what are their origins? The Hubble observations provide a spectacular view of the surprising types of environments that give rise to these mysterious events‚" added co-investigator Wen-fai Fong‚ also of Northwestern University.FRBs have only been studied for less than two decades and they are discovered serendipitously. Radio observatories coming online in the coming years will possess much higher precision‚ which will allow more discoveries of FRBs and greater insight. Hopefully‚ enough insights to provide some answers."We just need to keep finding more of these FRBs‚ both nearby and far away‚ and in all these different types of environments‚" said Gordon.The results were presented at the 243rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society in New Orleans‚ Louisiana earlier this month.

Where can you get honey in Palworld? As you can imagine‚ honey is used to make food in Palworld. With it and several other ingredients‚ including milk‚ eggs‚ red berries‚ and flour‚ you can begin making cake after unlocking the cooking pot on the technology tree at level 17. But what’s the point of cake‚ you ask? Well‚ with cake you can begin breeding your own Pals. Wondering about Palworld breeding? Our list of every single Palworld Pal in the game will also give you an idea or three for which you want to aim for. Furthermore‚ if you want to make some cake‚ you’re going to need flour. Luckily‚ we have a little guide detailing where specifically to find wheat seeds‚ which are required to make flour‚ and another for milk. Otherwise‚ read on to learn all about honey. Continue reading Where to find Palworld honey MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Palworld pals‚ Palworld review‚ Palworld system requirements

Where can you find sulfur in Palworld? Like stone and ore‚ sulfur is a key resource that you’ll have to collect with a pickaxe; however‚ unlike stone and ore‚ it’s much more rare and much more valuable. You see‚ sulfur is used to make gunpowder‚ which in turn you need to craft pretty much every type of ammunition outside of arrows. So if you want to make the most of your assault rifle and other weapons‚ you better know where to find a lot of it. Want to know how to obtain other valuable Palworld resources like Ancient Technology Parts? In order to make your adventure either‚ we’ve put together a guide on all Palworld items and resources in the game. But maybe you’re not certain if investing hours into this Pokemon-with-guns adventure; if that’s the case‚ you should check out our early access review. Continue onward to learn all about sulfur. Continue reading Where to find Palworld sulfur MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Palworld pals‚ Palworld review‚ Palworld system requirements