Recent content by Laroxe

Its worth remembering that the main requirement for plant growth is sunlight and CO2 and once a liquid is exposed to air other things get in there. Mechanical filters simply concentrate any solids in the water, so become good growth media. So storing previously boiled water in the dark with a...

It's worth remembering that the presence of moles is the norm, they are rare at birth, but a survey in Australia suggested that by the age of 15 most children will have around 50 moles. They frequently appear for the first time during childhood and following periods of significant hormonal...

I was wondering about the conclusion, I think its true that humans are motivated to explain what they see in the natural world. Accurate (and sometimes inaccurate) allow us to predict future events and their possible outcomes, it reduces the fear of facing a future full of unknown threats...

Well, it appears you are in good company, particularly when in comes to long covid. I will say I started writing a reply about this which was getting long, but for some unexplained reason it disappeared into the ether. It does seem to be an issue among researchers that the long term effects of...

The answer, like most things in genetics, is rather more complicated and issues like dominance may not be very helpful though the genes for dark hair are far more common across the globe. I am not convinced that continuing to teach the Mendelian single gene approach to genetics is useful, its...

Apparently it does have a function but in some types of atrial fibrillation it appears to be the source of clots, which form emboli. There appears to be a continuing debate as to whether the benefits outweigh the potential risks. In the UK it is only recommended for people who can't tolerate...

I'm not trying to defend the use of PFAS but it is a complex issue. Our environment is awash with potential toxins and our own body as a by product of metabolism produces some of the more dangerous. We need to remember that most of the organisms we use as food sources are not happy about this...

Well no, I was talking about both, but pointing out some of the difficulties. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-01697-4

Well, the qualifying statements first; the first issue is in the number of PFAS along with the number of different plastics and processes involved in producing them. These often have very different properties, and it's very unlikely that any one process will effectively remove them all. Having...

The problem with PFAS and plastics generally are really associated with the huge number of different compounds and the lack of clear data around adverse health effects. As yet, the public are unconvinced that this issue represents a significant risk. I actually do think that the fearmongering of...

It's difficult to make much sense out of the information in the media, while there is a lot of info around increased risk for all sorts of post covid or even post vaccination problems, the whole debate still lacks context. The issue continues to be about risk and the fact remains that simply...

I would tend to think about how humans meet their basic biological needs this would include things like survival, getting food, finding a mate, child care, development of skills. Perhaps the most important feature of humans is that they are intensely social and they need to be, identification...

My personal favourite would be in the effects of our changed understanding of genetics, idea around how genes work were not only wrong, they had become fossilised. The breakthroughs in molecular genetics are what has lead to an explosion of new therapies in medicine which has been described as a...

Well, we know it happens, but I doubt we will ever know how often. Really the only virus we know much about are those that cause diseases in humans and their food sources. The chances of a virus becoming extinct is heavily dependent on its hosts, and its effects on the hosts. A virus with a wide...

I agree that John Campbells youtube video's seem to have become focussed on the issue of excess deaths, which he thinks are being ignored. That's not my impression at all, there is certainly an issue in the possible longer term harm associated with Covid and the its effects on healthcare...