1

COVID-19 / Re: What is "long covid" and what different types are there?

« on: Today at 17:15:49 »

Chickenpox and EBV(which causes mononucleosis aka glandular fever) are both members of the dna herpesviruses and initial infection leads to lifelong persistence. In the case of post EBV infection an ongoing active viral replication may be the cause of prolonged symptoms but it has not been proven, to date. In the case of other viruses that are normally cleared the possibility of a persistent infection is even more speculative. PS I made a rant about EBV and it's possible role in a multitude of chronic illnesses but nobody replied!

2

Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Re: Quantum Entanglement and Interstellar Communication.

« on: Yesterday at 15:48:51 »

Hi Origin, I understand the concept of superposition but was curious how one could demonstrate such a scenario without incurring the measurement that would "break" the superposition. I rarely if ever look at videos and prefer a document I can read. Thank you anyway.

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Question of the Week / Re: QotW - 23.12.01 What are the physiological benefits of a runny nose?

« on: Yesterday at 15:42:48 »

Alan, I agree with what you are saying but I was under the impression that the op was querying the effect of cold temperatures rather than the viral cold.

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COVID-19 / Re: What is "long covid" and what different types are there?

« on: Yesterday at 09:27:23 »

If I could answer some of the questions about postviral syndromes I could become quite wealthy-very little is understood. It is diagnosed based on a patient's symptoms, there is no test to do this. Look into the history of chronic fatigue syndrome. There are as many theories concerning the cause as there is in the case of ball lightning. It appears to involve subtle changes in the immune system, possibly t1/t2 lymphocyte dominance but as I said it does remain a mystery despite extensive research. It can range from relatively mild symptoms to incapacitating ones and again why this is so remains unexplained. Some patients improve over time and others do not.

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Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology / Re: Quantum Entanglement and Interstellar Communication.

« on: 27/11/2023 21:48:38 »

That's interesting, Halc. How would one go about demonstrating that such a particle is in a state of superposition?

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Question of the Week / Re: QotW - 23.12.01 What are the physiological benefits of a runny nose?

« on: 27/11/2023 19:50:05 »

I suspect there is no advantage and it is just a normal physiological reaction just like cold air creates goosebumps(piloerection to be scientifically correct). When the air temp drops there is less evaporation occurring in the nasal mucosa and the excess drips out. I was once doing a commissioning in a freezing cold mv switch room when my test equipment started to malfunction with the backlight of the display failing. This required me to lean over the gear to read the display and then my nose started streaming and worse, I had no tissues! I was surrounded by a coterie of suited consultants and it was so embarrassing, every time I leaned over I had to use my hand to wipe away streams of mucus.

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COVID-19 / Re: What is "long covid" and what different types are there?

« on: 27/11/2023 13:32:47 »

It is a postviral syndrome that occurs long after the initial infection has been cleared. Many viral and bacterial infections can cause similar problems, not just covid.

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New Theories / Re: What is the difference between neutrino to geoneutrino?

« on: 26/11/2023 09:48:50 »

It should also be noted that neutrinos are very difficult to detect as they hardly react with matter at all(low cross section is the correct term, I believe). Given that the sun emits vastly more neutrinos than the earth it is going to be next to impossible to detect neutrinos from the earth.

9

Chemistry / Re: A machine that smells as well as a dog

« on: 25/11/2023 15:05:10 »

I made a home made oscilloscope from a design in "practical wireless" using the cheap 3bp1. Despite it's low bandwidth it worked ok but for one problem: the magnetic field from the mains transformer caused a ripple in the display and no amount of shielding would eliminate it. A foot long for 2kv seems a lot but then again in those days solid state rectifiers were primitive and mercury vapour jobs would be used if the power requirements were anyway significant.

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Chemistry / Re: A machine that smells as well as a dog

« on: 25/11/2023 13:57:06 »

A foot long? what were they obtained from, an xray machine? Selenium is an essential element for human health where it exists as selenomethionine and selenocysteine which are components of some enzymes(can't remember which) but is highly toxic if a certain level is exceeded, normal nutritional requirements in the microgram range, ~250μ.

11

Chemistry / Re: A machine that smells as well as a dog

« on: 25/11/2023 13:08:28 »

Not wishing to derail this topic but I have to reply to Alan. I am, unfortunately, of an age to remember selenium rectifier stacks and even copper oxide rectifiers and have often heard of the stench when a selenium rectifier fails but it is something I have never experienced. This is strange since I have been experimenting with various bits of electrical equipment since I was a kid ~8years old. I have heard that tv repair men would often be told "the dog is sick" as an explanation for the stink when such a rectifier had failed in the set needing repair.

12

Physiology & Medicine / Re: What is point, inflamatiom

« on: 25/11/2023 08:57:22 »

I buy diesel oil, lubricating oil and cooking oil at various times but I avoid the snake oil . I think a food may be pro-inflammatory only if one has an allergy to it. Cortisol is not pro-inflammatory, it actually reduces inflammation by damping down the immune response to whatever tissue insult initiated the process. Inflammation is triggered by chemotaxis, drawing leucocytes and macrophages to a site where injury or infection has occurred and these are then followed by b and t lymphocytes. These processes are necessary to protect us and if they fail the consequences are dire. On the other hand inflammation can get out of control and do more damage than good, an example is the "cytokine storm" associated with covid.

13

Physiology & Medicine / Re: Does Your Brain Remember Everything?

« on: 24/11/2023 12:14:38 »

I remember doing Caesar's gallic wars in my latin classes.

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General Science / Re: What happens when a superconductor is utilised in a circuit?

« on: 24/11/2023 12:09:16 »

I was offered music too but being of an ever curious mentality I declined as I wanted to listen to the workings of the machine, not expecting to be deafened.

15

Physiology & Medicine / Re: Does Your Brain Remember Everything?

« on: 23/11/2023 21:26:55 »

I believe you are quite correct on this, Alan. I also think when an old memory is revisited on several occasions it is reinterpreted each time it is accessed.

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Question of the Week / Re: QotW - 23.11.24 What can seeds to for our health?

« on: 23/11/2023 21:21:12 »

A lot of prunus species also contain cyanogenic glycosides.

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General Science / Re: What happens when a superconductor is utilised in a circuit?

« on: 23/11/2023 19:23:30 »

Alan, I am only reporting what I was told, he could well have been in error. Would not surprise me as he did not seem knowledgeable. The whole machine was not very big and if made of solid steel would not have weighed more than ~40-50 tons.A tube job, not one of the later fancy designs

18

General Science / Re: What happens when a superconductor is utilised in a circuit?

« on: 23/11/2023 18:53:22 »

Well Alan, some further information may allow you to confirm your suspicions. The company providing the service is Affidea, located in the old meath hospital building. I asked the operator several questions about his toy but all he could tell me was the magnetic field strength and the fact that it was not superconducting. I wanted to know what frequency was used- I suppose I could work it out, assuming it is only proton resonance(no gadolinium injection).

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Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution / Re: Can Animals Appreciate Beauty ?

« on: 23/11/2023 17:06:14 »

All these comments are well and good but nobody is addressing the REAL question, do sheep appreciate beauty?

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Physiology & Medicine / Re: If two people with full blown AIDS have sex, is there a risk? Can it get worse?

« on: 23/11/2023 16:40:47 »

Well yes, if one is male and the other female then conception could lead to congenital aids in the offspring. Other than that, no. People suffering from full blown aids have a very poor quality of life and I would doubt they have the energy for such shenanigans.