barefootstache @barefootstache@qoto.org

Scientist have found a bacteria that can produce protein-rich fishmeal by feasting on methane captured from landfills, oil and gas facilities, or wastewater treatment plants.

This could be one way to reduce global warming while producing a profit, since currently fishmeal needs either water, land, and/or fertilizer to be produced.

Methane is 80 time more potent at warming than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. Plus the primary contributor to the formation of ground-level ozone, which is a hazardous air pollutant that causes 1 million premature deaths yearly.

In the end, one is reducing surface area usage, removing a toxic gas, and making a profit.

Source: bit.ly/3rIrT2t

#globalwarming #methane #fish #money #bacteria #science #news

Are software engineers real engineers?

There are a couple of issues with this question:
- first off, in software development we interchange the words "programmer", "software developer", and "software engineering"
- second, there is the issue of prestige due to societal norms, that engineers are better than developers similar to doctors vs nurses

Thus a better purposed term would be a "software craftsman", because

> software is not a kind of engineering, being much more free-form creative and flexible. We’re not line workers but artisans, artists, people who take pride in the craft we do and the flexibility of our states.

---

@hackernews@die-partei.social - Are We Really Engineers? - https://www.hillelwayne.com/post/are-we-really-engineers/​

Another win for open source analytics...

hackernews@die-partei.social - Google Analytics Illegal in Austria; Other EU Member States Expected to Follow - https://matomo.org/blog/2022/01/google-analytics-gdpr-violation/​

You probably have heard that blue light can keep you longer awake, which most devices emit. Though did you know that blue light is the cause for age related vision loss.

Now one would think, that devices have only been around for a couple of decades, so where is this damage coming from. The answer is the sun. Though the sunlight provides a whole spectrum of light, which include infrared light, which counteracts most of the negative effects of blue light. And in comparison sunlight is about 10 times stronger than the blue light from devices. So sunglasses could help reduces the amount of damaging blue light can reach your eyes.

Another option are dried goji berries, which one can imagine as sunscreen for one's eyes.

Source: bit.ly/3GOfQXX

#science #news #health #vision #gojiberry

The phone is missing...

**Do carbs make you fat?**

When searching the web you will see both sides of the story. Some articles say yes, others say no, claiming that it is a myth.

The truth of the matter is that eating an excess of any caloric food will make you gain weight.

Let's define "excess" based off of this study:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7598063/

If you eat an excess of 50% compared to your baseline, you will burn most of those calories off, independent of the source of the calories. Though carbs burn better than fats.

If you increase the excess to 75%, then most of those calories will be stored and not burnt off.

More interesting studies:

https://legionathletics.com/sugar-facts/

#science #diet #food #health

Addiction to drama:

https://www.uk-rehab.com/addiction/addiction-to-drama-symptoms-and-cure/

"People who are sharing fake news aren’t easily deterred by fact-checkers,” Lawson said. “In our data, we found prompting people that the stories they were sharing or thinking about sharing were false had little impact on their desire to share them. This is pretty concerning, as the gold-standard for fake news interventions (as we’ve seen with disputed messages on Facebook) has relied on the efficacy of such prompts.”

https://www.psypost.org/2021/11/study-finds-conservatives-with-a-need-for-chaos-are-more-likely-to-share-fake-news-62160

#science #psychology #politics

A shortcut doesn't always have to be the fastest.

Imagine implementing an early warning system to pre-empt future pandemics named SENTINEL.

> This was the inspiration for Sentinel: a multi-pronged pandemic preemption system that will use cutting-edge diagnostics and sequencing technologies, data analysis and visualization tools, and consumer-centered mobile applications to respond to emerging pathogens in real-time.

> From these experiences, we understood that the system you would put in place for pandemic preemption is the same that you would integrate for response and recovery. In understanding our current pandemic, we must build tools that can directly curb the next pandemic.

---

The main issue I see with such a program is that it is only put into place in the medical field such as clinics or hospitals. Assuming that this would cover most sick people, it wouldn't cover those who think the symptoms are nothing to worry about.

Thus I suggest to take it one step further and take home monitoring also into account. Whereas sewage waste pathogen tracking is a known method just as well as big data via Google search, they lack the ability to be specific. We would have to create a technology that is not invasive, promotes our health, and gives back to the community.

Probably best would be a nose swab or spit analyser, though both of these methods are fairly invasive. That's why I suggest to monitor toothbrushes. (The science would still have to be done if the data measured from such a device is enough to be an acceptable data point.)

The device would be fairly simple. All you would have to do is place your toothbrush into the device. It would analyse the pathogens on the bristles, send the data to the collection center, and then disinfect the bristles with ultraviolet light.

We know that it is advisable to replace your toothbrush after each illness you have tackled. Thus this suggests that some of the pathogens still could be found on the hairs.

Remarks:

- The data that is being sent has to anonymized otherwise scientific bias will creep up fairly quickly.
- Anonymized data should not take effect on location data other than making it less specific. Like instead of being 2m exact being 100m exact. Maybe even more depending on the human movement flow charts of the area.
- This tech could also be installed into other facilities like hotels to see if anyone brought a new pathogen to the region. It can be questioned if it then makes sense to bind the device to the guest to prevent the guest of becoming a super spreader.
- The device partially infringes on the right to be forgotten, though if implemented correctly initially, this should not be an issue.

References:

https://www.springernature.com/gp/researchers/the-source/blog/blogposts-communicating-research/research-in-the-time-of-a-pandemic-sentinel-pandemics-preemption/18201894

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-78704-5

https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2458-10-31

https://www.educationnext.org/google-search-data-reveals-about-learning-pandemic/

https://sfamjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jam.14112

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/4399776/

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1601-5037.2009.00384.x

#science #technology #futuretech #pandemic #thoughtexperiment

It seems like conspiracy theorists have hijacked The BMJ to push articles that follow their agenda, since in the scientific realm The BMJ is a well recognized source.

This just points out that a prestigious brand name is enough to put trust in what they offer without double checking if it is a fake.

https://respectfulinsolence.com/2021/11/15/wtf-happened-to-the-bmj/

Someone want to do a similar case study of their significant other?

https://jabde.com/2021/05/23/girlfriends-mood-time-series-analysis/