this post was submitted on 11 Feb 2025
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Asklemmy

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 hours ago

I dunno whether it counts: but that science has effectively cured AIDS.

In 2004, 2.1m people died from it. Twenty years later that figure was a little over a quarter at 630k. The goal for 2025 is 250k. I think that's absolutely remarkable.

As a child in the 80s I was terrified of AIDS. It made me low-key scared of gay men because the news made it sound like I could I could get it from any one of them. And here we now are, able to provide a medication that can almost completely ensure that you will never be infected by HIV.

Astonishing, really.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago)

Retinal photosynthesis, also known as the Purple Earth Theory. Colours are weird. Earth plants absorb red and blue light, they look green to us because that’s the wavelength of light that cannot be used by the chloroplasts.

It’s hypothesized that this was advantageous on Earth because blue light goes further into water than the other wavelengths, facilitating the development of photosynthetic algae

Retinal photosynthesis is another viable chemical chain reaction that could be used to create ATP (usable biological energy) from light.

It’s another molecule similar to chlorophyll, but it absorbs green light instead of red/blue - alien planets might be purple!

There’s a viable parallel evolutionary pathway that leads to plants with magenta leaves

[–] [email protected] 15 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago)

When the moon is at its farthest orbit from earth, all of the planets in the solar system can fit in between earth and the moon.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 20 hours ago (4 children)

That time passes differently in galaxies with different gravities. One of these galaxies is Mormon heaven.

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 day ago (2 children)

the implication of einsteins mass-energy equivalence formula is mind-blowing to me. one gram of mass, if perfectly converted to energy, makes 25 GWh. that means half the powerplants in my country could be replaced with this theoretical "mass converter" going through a gram of fuel an hour. that's under 10 kilograms of fuel a year.

a coal plant goes through tons of fuel a day.

energy researchers, get on it

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 hours ago

If mass can convert into energy that easily then we’re all in a lot of trouble…

[–] [email protected] 11 points 22 hours ago (10 children)

What do you think fusion research is?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago) (1 children)

Studies into how to make a more efficient kettle.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 hours ago

I mean, you're not wrong.. XD

[–] ICastFist 9 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

Just a fancier way to spin turbines with steam

[–] [email protected] 1 points 17 hours ago

Fancier or more efficient?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 19 hours ago

15 years away from a useful result

[–] [email protected] 2 points 17 hours ago

a fun fact: for the most efficient mass energy conversion, you need a huge spin black hole (preferably naked). Then you can get about 42% conversion. (there was a minute physics video about it i think)

[–] [email protected] 3 points 21 hours ago

Existing nuclear energy, too.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 16 hours ago

The label 'homo sapiens' for our species.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 21 hours ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 7 points 20 hours ago

For the sake of discussion, let's say on the one hand a magic man intelligently designed life and all that. And on the other hand we have it arise and evolve over the course of billions of years of random atomic interactions and genetic mutations. I honestly find the second one far more amazing, wondrous, amazing, and mind blowing.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 day ago (3 children)

The fact that there is no discernable difference between an alive body or a dead body when it comes to chemical makeup.

All the pieces are there. All the atoms and molecules are still in the same places. Yet despite this the body is still dead.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 15 hours ago

yes, the same atoms are still there, but all the chemical processes in our body have stopped.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 23 hours ago

When you say "All the atoms and molecules are still in the same places", I can't say I agree. It is the change of chemical composition that renders our body dead. Or should I say, death is defined to be such a chemical composition.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 14 hours ago

To be fair, a perfectly fine but dead body is impossible to observe since the process of dying is usually the result or accumulation of injuries or disfunctions. For this experiment you either have to kill somebody without altering their body in the slightest or instantly conjure a perfectly intact body without any life in it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 17 hours ago

Infinity and Black Hole

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