Recent content by DeuteriumDude

Hi all, Over the summer, I am going to be doing some research with EEG. My professor suggested I could do some signal processing of the data using markov chains. I'm not familiar with markov chains, but I think the prof intends to teach me himself. I'd still like to get some background...

Maybe not impossible in principle, but it would be extremely difficult in practice to turn the gene off once it has already been taken up by the cone cells in your retina. Your best bet would be to have it done in only one eye first and see how that goes ... Anyway, I fully agree with you that...

What do you mean exactly? The aesthetics of everyday life could be completely thrown off. Humans face might be a totally new color. There'd be no going back.

Yes, there is a way. Create a gene for a opsin protein sensitive to electromagnetic radiation outside the visible spectrum. Inject the gene into the retina with a viral vector. After a few months, you might perceive entirely new colors. This is totally possible with current technology...

This morning, I was lying on my bed, looking at the bright morning light coming in through the window. The blinds (which are white) were at least half shut, so much of the light was filtered through them. I then stared up at the ceiling, and saw a nebulous patch of green. I shut my eyes, and...

Thanks everyone. Hope I haven't started an argument. I know now that there isn't much empirical evidence that cellphones can cause cancer. But I guess when I first posted this, I was thinking someone might happen to know how to calculate the radiation in rad or rem and be able to show that...

Since the process of abiogenesis happened once, I don't see why it shouldn't still be going on. Whatever process formed the first organism billions of years ago could assemble new organisms, completely unrelated to the first organism's "family," right? I don't know much about abiogenesis, so I...

Thanks! So is it just not enough rems to do significant damage? I believe you, I'd just like to be able to explain to people why it's not dangerous.

My mother has suggested that I quit carrying my cellphone in my pocket, because having it sit there all day by my leg could lead to a tumor. I can't say how plausible this is, so what better place to ask than PF? Again, my question is whether merely carrying your phone in your pocket could...

Unfortunately, if and when I do this experiment, I imagine I'll have to use all college students as subjects ... unless I can yank over a bunch of elementary school kids and senior citizens. I will look at sex as a variable, though, since color-vision is a sex-linked trait. Tetrachromacy is...

Hahaha, I'd pay for flights if it weren't for the all the colored light filters I'll have to buy and all the test subject I'll have to pay! But if you live within driving distance of Williamsburg, VA, feel free to drive down! Anyway, I tried something similar with my mom and dad, though maybe...

Sometimes it makes sense: naloxone and morphine look very similar to me. But LSD is supposed to be a serotonin agonist, and its molecular structure looks very different from that of serotonin. Interesting stuff. I'm really hoping to take neurochem at some point.

A measly hydroxyl group, if you can believe it. Stick a hydroxyl group on one of dopamine's carbon atoms, and you get norepinephrine, a stress hormone. Isn't it amazing ... just add an oxygen and a hydrogen atom, and you get a totally different sensation. I'm amazed sometimes that synthetics...

I like this question; I think it should be moved to the philosophy section, though. CosmicVoyager, you have stumbled upon what philosophers call the "hard problem of consciousness." The "easy problem" is figuring out what is happening physically, which neurotransmitters do what, how neural...

So I'll strap some lasers to a super rocket and ask my test subjects to look at it ... these answers are getting creative :biggrin:. Have you guys seen those bumper stickers that say, "If this bumper sticker looks blue, you're driving too fast?" :smile: