this week in I Am Very Smart: having enough money to go to the opera, museums and concerts correlates with having enough money for food, shelter and basic health needs
They controlled for socioeconomic factors though! The people who conducted this study knew that people with lots of money to attend the opera were also more likely to be able to afford basic necessities, so they controlled for it in their analysis. The fun thing about statistics is that you can control for different confounding factors so you can look at the effects of one independent variable (opera or whatever) on the dependent variable (mortality). Part of being critical of potential biases is actually reading the article and knowing what to look for.
In addition to that very good point about controlling for socioeconomic factors, the article says a single museum or concert per year makes a difference. Most cities have free community concerts (some even have free opera performances!) and museums that are either free, pay-what-you-want, or at least have specific days/times during which they are free or at a significantly reduced cost. Many libraries (which are free) provide free museum passes to card holders. In fact, the article quotes a museum worker who works at a free art museum in Baltimore.
If you actually read the article you would also read that educators are excited about this study because it provides evidence that the arts should be made more accessible financially – by restoring arts programs in the public schools, for example.
Well this is a morbid subject but
HEY it’s almost Halloween baby!! I was super curious about what toxins actually
do on a molecular level after reading about cone snails. Obviously toxins can kill you, but how?? I wanted to know the grisly details. This is not an exhaustive list, just some types of poison, venom, and other toxic substances I was curious about, so let’s get to it.
Deadly
Nightshade
Where is it found?Atropa belladonna grows in Europe, North Africa
and Western Asia.
How it works: slows your heart waaaaaay down. deadly nightshade contains
tropane alkaloids atropine, hyoscine (scopolamine), and hyoscyaminewhich
disrupt the nervous system’s ability to regulate activities such as heart rate,
breathing and sweating.It can cause narcosis, paralysisand
heart failure as a result.Yikes.But an antidote exists that can
reverse these affects if administered in time.
Toxicity: the entire plant is toxic, with roots having the highest
toxicity but berries posing the greatest threat to humans because of their
appearance. 10-20 berries can kill an adult, and 2-4 can kill a child. Symptoms
of mild poisoning include dilated pupils, sensitivity to light, loss of
balance, confusion, hallucinations (wild) and convulsions. Doesn’t sound like a good time.
Do not eat the shiny attractive
berries!!! (cows and rabbits and other animals
can eat it but humans, dogs and cats…NOT SO MUCH)
Totally fun and not morbid fact: during the Renaissance, belladonna was used by women in small quantities to dilate pupils and give a seductive appearance, and this is how it gets its name belladonna, or beautiful woman. Atropa comes from the Greek Fate Atropos who cuts the threads of mortal lives with her shears. Snip snip!
Hemlock
Where is it found?Conium maculatum grows naturally in Europe and
North Africa, and has spread to North and South America, Australia and
Western Asia.
How it works: stops your breathing. the flowers contain an alkaloid called
coniine, which directly affects the nervous system and causes paralysis of
respiratory muscles, leading to death from oxygen deprivation. Hemlock
poisoning is treated by artificial ventilation for 48-72 hours until the effects wear off.
Toxicity: about 100 milligrams of coniine is fatal to an adult.
That’s about 6-8 hemlock leaves, or a smaller dose of the seeds or root. Animals can also be poisoned and
killed by hemlock, but luckily dangerous substances cannot be passed into the
human food chain from milk or fowl.
Basically you’re only gonna get
poisoned by this if someone puts it in your tea, because I assume you’re not
gonna just go around just like…chomping on pretty flowers. Right? Right?? ok good.
Arsenic
Where is it found?
arsenic is a metalloid that occurs often with sulfurs
and metals. It can be present in volcanic ash and groundwater, and as a result
can be found in low (acceptable) levels in plants and seafood. Good news: it is rare to find arsenic occurring at dangerous levels in nature.
How it works: in high levels, arsenic disrupts ATP production and causes
organ failure due to necrotic cell death. This process can last between
2 hours to multiple days. It can also be fatal in lower doses administered over
a period of time, and as such, was a popular murder weapon when it was readily
available during the 1800s in England.Symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea don’t
immediately alert someone that there has been an attempted murder unless maybe
you’re Sherlock Holmes.
Toxicity: google probably thinks I’m a murderer and won’t tell me just
how much arsenic will kill a person. COME ON, google!!!it’s for
SCIENCE!
Arsenic is no longer readily available
for people to just get in large quantities, so that’s a RELIEF.
Cyanide
Where is it found?
cyanide is a chemical compound produced by certain
algae, bacteria and fungi. It is also found in plants such as peaches, apples,
apricots and bitter almonds. A type of bamboo that grows in Madagascar is so
rich in cyanide that it would kill humans, but not the golden bamboo lemur for
whom this bamboo is a primary source of food!!! You go girl, eat that cyanide
bamboo.
How it works: in non-bamboo-lemurs, cyanide disrupts ATP production, affects
the central nervous system and heart, and causes histotoxic hypoxia: the
inability of cells to take up oxygen from the bloodstream.Antidotes can
work if administered in timefor lower doses of cyanide.
Toxicity: 200 milligrams of solid cyanide or a cyanide solution, or exposure
to airborne cyanide of 270 parts per million is sufficient to cause death
within minutes. Um, YIKES. Really, cyanide was already scary
enough as a solid before nature went and made it into a gas that kills upon inhalation. DEEPLY uncool.
Murder mystery writers: slip belladona or arsenic into your literary victim’s tea. Belladonna is sweat, arsenic is tasteless, but cyanide has an acrid and bitter taste.
Fun (well, not fun) fact: if you eat
200 apple seeds (about 40 apple cores) you will receive a fatal dose of
cyanide. So like, don’t do that. An apple a day keeps the doctor away and is
completely safe, but 40 apples apple cores a day WILL KILL YOU
Vampire
Bat Saliva
Where is it found?
Vampire bats are found in the Americas.
How it works: a toxic substance called Draculin (I’m serious) in the
saliva of vampire bats acts as an anticoagulant by inhibiting an enzyme
involved in the coagulation pathway.
Toxicity: vampire bats are indeed venomous and toxic, but they are not at all
lethal. It just sorta sucks if you’re being bitten by a vampire bat,
but you’ll live. Unless that bat has rabies. Vampire bat saliva also
contains an analgesic, meaning the bites are almost completely painless. SO
THAT’S SOMETHING
Cobra
Venom
“hello do you have a moment to hear
about cell death?”
Where is it found? Many species of cobra are found throughout
Africa, Southwest and Southeast Asia.
How it works: most cobra venom includes neurotoxins that cause paralysis
as well as cytotoxins that cause necrosis and blood coagulation. blood coagulation can happen in minutes.
Toxicity: many types of cobra venom are treatable, but may leave
disfigurement from necrosis. If this isn’t scary enough for you, just know that
spitting cobras can reach 2.7 m (8.9 ft) in length and like to aim for the
eyes.
But you’d still rather be bitten by
a cobra than THIS deadly mofo:
Venom
of the Inland Taipan
Where is it found?
the inland taipan is the most venomous
snake in the world and lives, YOU GUESSED IT, in Australia, ie the place
where everything is designed to kill you. Evolution decided it can reach 1.8
meters (5.9 feet) with a maximum length of 2.5 meters (8.2 feet), which I think
everyone can agree is a dick move on evolution’s part. Take it back, TAKE IT
BACK!!!!!
How it works: the venom contains neurotoxins, hemotoxins, and myotoxins
AND an enzyme to increase absorption of the venom. Basically it causes
paralysis, blood coagulation and muscle damage, because one of these things
wasn’t enough apparently. Antivenoms against Australian venomous snakes
exist but are least effective against the venom of the inland taipan.
Toxicity: the inland taipan’s venom has a murine LD50 value
of 0.025m/kg. This means there is a 50% chance that .025 milligrams per kilogram of weight
will cause death. It’s bite contains enough venom to kill at least 100 adult humans. But GOOD NEWS! the inland taipan lives
in such remote places that it rarely comes in contact with people. Other
slightly less venomous snakes are therefore responsible for more deaths.
….So that’s…still terrifying. just don’t go into the woods in
Australia FOR THE LOVE OF GOD
What’s deadlier than the deadliest
snake in the world, you ask?
Tetrodotoxin
Where is it found?
tetrodotoxin is found in several animals such as
pufferfish, moon snails and the small but deadly Australian blue ringed octopus (DAMMIT
Australia)
How it works: blocks sodium channels. This prevents normal transmission of
signals between the body and brain, causing loss of sensation, paralysis and
inability to breathe. Fun!!!Don’t pick up the frickin evil little octopus
Toxicity: more powerful than cyanide, that’s for sure, about a thousand
times more powerful in fact. the oral median lethal dose (LD50) for mice
as 334 micrograms
per kilogram. Fatal pufferfish poisoning result in death in about 17 minutes.
The blue-ringed octopus, however, carries enough venom to kill 26 adult humans
within just a few minutes. There is no anti-venom.
What’s worse than that, you ask? Ah,
you shouldn’t have asked.
Conotoxin
Where is it found? Cone snails are found in the Indo-Pacific, the
Cape of South Africa, the Mediterranean, and even southern California. Smaller
species are not that dangerous. Larger species, however…
How it works: paralysis within minutes.cone snails have
multiple harpoons to administer venom to prey (or unsuspecting humans). the
harpoons deliver a venom that has HUNDREDS of different types of toxins, each
targeting different nerve channels or receptors. Some cone snail venom even
includes pain-reducing toxins. These pain reducing toxins can be 100 to 1,000
times more powerful than morphine. How THOUGHTFUL.
Toxicity: vastly more potent than tetrodotoxin. the oral median lethal
dose (LD50) for mice is is 10 to 100 micrograms/kilogram. So like, GOOD LUCK WITH THAT LOL
Ricin
Where is it found?
Ricin
is obtained from the beans of the castor oil plant.
How it works: inhibits protein production and results in organ failure, respiratory failure and circulatory shock.
Toxicity:
The median lethal dose (LD50) of ricin is around 22 micrograms per kilogram of body weight. If that sounds bad just wait till you hear about poison dart frogs 😭
VX
Where is it found? Nowhere in nature. VX is synthetic. It is an oily amber colored liquid in
its natural form, was first developed as a pesticide and later for chemical
warfare. It is considered a weapon of mass destruction and is banned under the
Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993.
How it works: causes stimulation and fatigue of muscarinic and nicotinic
ACh receptors, resulting in violent contractions followed by paralysis and
death by asphyxiation.
Toxicity: 7 micrograms/kilogram. this is one of the most toxic synthetic substances on earth. Humans have got nothing on mother nature though…
Batrachotoxin
(This guy is called phyllobates
TERRIBILIS. but is his cute little face terrible? noooo.)
Where is it found?in certain types of beetles, birds and poison dart
frogs found in Colombia.
How it works: similar to conotoxin, batrachotoxin interrupts sodium
channels. The resulting migration of Na+ ions causes heart failureand
paralysis.
Toxicity: The LD50 is around 2 micrograms per kilogram, meaning
that an amount the size of two grains of table salt will kill you, and that
this is even worse than a cone snail, Ricin, or VX. Batrachotoxin is one of the
deadliest alkaloids known. No antidote exists.
Fun frog fact: this was the poison
commonly used by the Embera-Wounaan for poison darts, and that’s where poison
dart frogs get their name! How…cute.
Botulinum,
most toxic substance in the world
Where is it found?
made by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum and
related species.
How it works: causes Botulism, which if untreated can result in paralysis
and respiratory failure by preventing the release of the neurotransmitter
acetylcholine. Botulinum is used in very very very VEEEEEEERY small amounts in
Botox, in case you ever needed reasons NOT to do Botox lol.
Toxicity: the lethal dose of 1.3–2.1 nanograms per kilogram in humans. of any
toxin natural or synthetic, this is the deadliest known.However!! Actual
good news this time: treatments involving antitoxin therapy and intubation
are very successful and mortality from Botulismis extremely low.Yay!
More good news: toxins have been instrumental in medicinal breakthroughs throughout history and continue to be vital to modern medicine. A drug for diabetes was recently synthesized from Gila monster venom: it increases the production of insulin when blood sugar levels are high. A painkiller has been developed for chronic pain patients that is derived from a component of the venom of our friend, you guessed it, the cone snail! These are just two examples of toxins being used in medicine, and a lot of research is still being done because face it: we still don’t know a lot about how our bodies work. Paralyzing agents are extremely important to our understanding of the body and the development of non-opiate non-addictive painkillers because of how they disrupt signals between nerves and the brain.
Long story short: don’t eat nightshade and stay OFF AUSTRALIAN BEACHES and you should be just fine.
The Mythbusters tested what would happen if a ball was shot at 60 mph off the back of a truck travelling at 60 mph to see what would happen.
It became a perfect example of the relative nature of physics – showing that velocity can vectorially add together. 60 mph in one direction cancels the 60 mph in the other, meaning a net velocity of zero.
thanks, you discovered vectors. Fuck me sideways this is dumb
Yup, everyone has the same level of knowledge as you. There’s no one to learn anything from this.
Just to add, before the Mythbusters did this it was purely a thought experiment and had never been empirically tested at that point. So you are seeing in those two gifs the first actually test of that hypothesis since it had been proposed back in Newtons time.
The fact that you cannot find any journals to back up your viewpoint MAY suggest you need to reassess your viewpoint…
Okay, but for real—I’m a librarian and I get shit like this all the fucking time and I have to be so polite about it, like “Well, actually, that theory has been largely been debunked and is not supported by the scientific community, so perhaps it might be easier in terms of fulfilling the parameters of the assignment if you were to take the opposite stance for your paper?” when really I just want to scream for twenty minutes like Jake Peralta with a guitar.
Do…
Do people not understand that the research is supposed to come before you formulate your opinion?
It’s not ‘how can I cherry-pick my data to support my opinion’
It’s ‘Huh I wonder if this is a thing’ and the universe goes ‘Decidedly Not’ and then you can be like ‘Oh! Alright then! Let’s try a new line of inquiry!’
the flat earth society bought a $20,000 super accurate laser gyroscope to prove the earth doesn’t rotate 15 degrees per hour and they kept getting results that proved it does so they kept altering the test to try and make it not drift 15 degrees but it didn’t work so they just said “well we still don’t believe it and we have other stuff that proves it so whatever”
ifesbob 
