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Interesting life expectancy study on the news today. Singapore, Australia, Japan, Switzerland on top. Unaffected and actually improved our life expectancy.
Note, this study measures excess deaths (higher than normal). Excess deaths are deaths above the long term average.

So for instance Japan had -20,000 excess deaths over the period. An amazing result, Australia had 1,000 deaths during that same period and was negative in the first year, UK had excess deaths of 137,000 deaths, not so good.
USA, one of the worst had well over a 1,000,000 excess deaths, quite astounding and life expectancy for men was only 74 years.

How Australia bucked a global COVID-19 life expectancy trend

There was an "unprecedented increase" in the number of deaths during the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic, new analysis shows.
www.sbs.com.au
 
Last edited:
US Doctors have transplanted a genetically modified pigs kidney into a live human being.
From ABC News
Doctors in Boston have transplanted a pig kidney into a 62-year-old patient, the latest experiment in the quest to use animal organs in humans.

Massachusetts General Hospital said on Thursday that it was the first time a genetically modified pig kidney had been transplanted into a living person.

Previously, pig kidneys had been temporarily transplanted into brain-dead donors.

Also, two men received heart transplants from pigs, although both died within months.

The patient, Richard "Rick" Slayman of Weymouth, Massachusetts, is recovering well from the surgery last Saturday and is expected to be discharged soon, doctors said on Thursday.

Transplant surgeon Tatsuo Kawai said the team believed the pig kidney would work for at least two years.

If it fails, Mr Slayman could go back on dialysis, said kidney specialist Winfred Williams.

He noted that, unlike the pig heart recipients who were very sick, Mr Slayman is "actually quite robust".

Mr Slayman had a kidney transplant at the hospital in 2018, but had to go back on dialysis last year when it showed signs of failure.

When dialysis complications arose requiring frequent procedures, his doctors suggested a pig kidney transplant, he said in a statement released by the hospital.

"I saw it not only as a way to help me, but a way to provide hope for the thousands of people who need a transplant to survive," said Mr Slayman, a systems manager for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
Click to expand...
Raises some interesting ethical questions.
1. What will Peta and other Animal Welfare activists have to say about harvesting animal parts.
2.Pigs are unclean animals for Religions including Judaism, Muslims and some subsets of Hindus.
It would be difficult to say the least to acceptance among those adherents.
Mick
 
Early days and as it stands only one patients evolving results but; but what results. These Neuralink implants are a new chapter.... godspeed to all involved in this work.
 
Given the quality of building cnstruction in these modern times, it has always puzzled me as to how it is that some of the ancient monuments last for thousands of years, but some of the later ones can't last ten.
Now some research into ancient concrete making methods may provide some answers.
From Evil Murdoch Press

A theory that the Romans used a type of ” concrete that is superior to modern building material and helped keep their monuments standing for 2000 years has been backed up by a discovery at Pompeii.

Experts at the buried Roman city say excavated builders’ tools and materials help explain why buildings such as the second-century AD Pantheon in Rome, which has the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome, is still in good shape.

“The concrete they used was the great invention of Rome and is the secret behind their building,” said Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the director of Pompeii.

Researchers at MIT in Massachusetts discovered last year that the Romans used quicklime – a key ingredient in concrete – in a manner different from that previously believed. Instead of mixing it with water before adding it to other materials like ash and stone, the lime was mixed with the materials first. Only then was water added.

The process, known as “hot mixing”, generated heat so the first benefit was that Roman concrete was warm when applied, making it dry faster.
The second, crucial, benefit was the formation of a by-product, so-called lime clasts, which are small but visible white particles.

Archeologists thought the particles were impurities caused by careless concrete manufacturing but the MIT team realised they were key to its durability.

They discovered that when cracks form in the concrete and water enters, the lime clasts dissolve and reform, filling the cracks and strengthening the concrete.

The researchers, who announced plans to commercialise the Roman concrete, have now had a chance to confirm their findings at a real Roman building site, thanks to the excavation at Pompeii of a house that was being rebuilt at the time ash and pumice buried the town during the 79AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

“We have found material which was in a wooden box and likely undergoing hot mixing at the time of the eruption,” said Zuchtriegel.

“Until now, archaeologists did not think to preserve building sites they found at Pompeii. We had photos of materials used but they were not kept, or placed in store.

“But this is a moment frozen in time which confirms the technique was being used at Pompeii and helps explain the bigger picture about ancient Rome.”
Click to expand...
Mick
 
mullokintyre said:
Given the quality of building cnstruction in these modern times, it has always puzzled me as to how it is that some of the ancient monuments last for thousands of years, but some of the later ones can't last ten.
Now some research into ancient concrete making methods may provide some answers.
From Evil Murdoch Press


Mick
Click to expand...
Probably "uneconomic" in modern times. :rolleyes:
 
mullokintyre said:
Who knew you cannot take mercury onto a plane.

Aluminum and Mercury

https://youtu.be/IrdYueB9pY4 When mercury is added to aluminum, it forms an amalgam (a mercury alloy). Aluminum is normally protected by a thick oxide layer, b
stao.ca

Mick
Click to expand...
Mercury is actual pretty amazing ****.

If I chucked one of my anvils in a pool of Mercury, it would float... And there are several other amazing things about it
 
mullokintyre said:
Given the quality of building cnstruction in these modern times, it has always puzzled me as to how it is that some of the ancient monuments last for thousands of years, but some of the later ones can't last ten.
Now some research into ancient concrete making methods may provide some answers.
From Evil Murdoch Press


Mick
Click to expand...

This is a really big deal. :xyxthumbs For centuries builders have been aware that Roman concrete was exceptional in it;s capacity to last and selkf heal. But no one understood how this happened,

To be able to replicate this process would be a major advance in building construction. I think if it becomes well proven it should become mandatory for many constructions.
 
We know that mass can be turned into energy . But can we turn energy into mass? The maths says one can. Now this has been demonstrated.

Scientists Generate Matter Directly From Light – Physics Phenomena Predicted More Than 80 Years Ago

Collisions of Light Produce Matter and Antimatter From Pure Energy Study demonstrates a long-predicted process for generating matter directly from light — plus evidence that magnetism can bend polarized photons along different paths in a vacuum. Scientists studying particle collisions at the Rel
scitechdaily.com
 
basilio said:
This is a really big deal. :xyxthumbs For centuries builders have been aware that Roman concrete was exceptional in it;s capacity to last and selkf heal. But no one understood how this happened,

To be able to replicate this process would be a major advance in building construction. I think if it becomes well proven it should become mandatory for many constructions.
Click to expand...

Thought they had mix the ingredients dry let the exothermic heat rise then add water.
 
Teaching Goannas not to eat Cane Toads ( because they will DIE)

Cane Toads are on the march across Australia. Where ever the go the local ecology is distorted beyond belief. One of the critical issues is that goannas which eat a juicy cane toad promptly keel over and die. When goannas which are the apex predator in an ecological system disappear there are instant effects on all the creatures below them which are kept in check.

So how does one educate goannas not to commit hari kari on a juicy cane toad ? A goanna literacy course perhaps ? A special school to teach goannas about dangerous eating habits ?

'Teacher Toads' can save native animals from toxic cane toads​

Large multi-year study shows that juvenile 'taster toads' taught goannas to avoid eating poisonous cane toads, preventing population collapse​


'Teacher Toads' can save native animals from toxic cane toads

Scientists from Macquarie University have come up with an innovative way to stop cane toads killing native wildlife by training goannas to avoid eating the deadly amphibians.
www.sciencedaily.com
 
This is science discovery that could have huge ramifications in industry and technology. The creation of Goldrene - a one atom later of pure gold.


There’s a graphene called ‘goldene’ and it could enable gold semiconductors to make green hydrogen​



12 hours ago | Gregor Stronach

Researchers in Sweden have cracked the code to making goldene, which is just like graphene, except it’s made from gold – and it has the potential to be a genuine gamechanger in many, many ways.

With an announcement that’s kinda flown under the radar this week, science people at Sweden’s Linköping University are reporting that they have finally cracked a golden puzzle that’s been stymying the lab coats for ages – and, in the process, turned humble old golf into a potential semiconductor. (Meant to say gold I think)
(Ed: ‘Golf’?)

And all it took was the application of a centuries-old technique, perfected by Japanese blade makers to create their most eye-catching deadly weapons.

The importance of this breakthrough is hard to understate, as it has the potential to open up an entirely new use case for gold in applications such as hydrogen production, carbon dioxide scrubbing, communication and much more.

There's a graphene called 'goldene' and it could enable gold semiconductors to make green hydrogen - Stockhead

Has there ever been so many clickbait keywords in a single scientific breakthrough? Researchers in Swedish researcher have cracked the goldene code.
stockhead.com.au
 


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