Spanner Lab

Science communicator and writer. ko-fi.com/parkerdell

[spanner-lab]

Is DNA fragile?

Oh boy is it.

Every day, every cell in your body suffers DNA damage around ONE MILLION times. That’s as many as 37 quintillion individual bits of damage.

That damage can be a physical break in the DNA strand (occurring around 55,000 times a day), or occur chemically due to oxidation. This damage occurs completely naturally as part of your body’s normal way of functioning.

As a result, most of this damage gets patched up before any lasting harm is done- so no worries!

If you have any questions about genetics, DNA or anything else science-related, drop me an ask here.

[spanner-lab]

So what happens when the damage isn’t repaired?

Well, your cells have three options:

Apoptosis, otherwise known as “cell suicide”

Senescence, where the cell stops replicating permanently

Cancer

Cancer is the unchecked replication of cells. It’s life without limits. And, contrary to what you might imagine at first, life needs some limits. Specifically, the Hayflick Limit.

The Hayflick limit is the number of times a normal human cell population can divide before becoming senescent, around 40-60 times. This limit corresponds to the length of sections at the end of each chromosome known as “telomeres”. Every time the DNA replicates, the telomeres become shorter.

Cancer cells are immortal due to an enzyme called telomerase which prevents the natural shortening of the telomeres. This knowledge gives us an advantage in the potential treatment of cancer- if we can produce a telomerase inhibitor, cancer cells would be just as mortal as any other.

[glitterweave]

My patients coming up with reasons why they can't wear a mask

[zanderschubert]

[Video transcription:

I can’t breathe in this thing, because every time I put it on, I hold my breath on purpose.

It’s so difficult to put on; like, I can’t put it on because I’m using one hand to hold the camera.

How do I know that, um, this isn’t full of spiders? There is no way for me to check. I was diagnosed with a fake, uh, disease called Spider Blindness where I can only see spiders if it benefits me politically.

If I walk around, y’know, wearing a mask, someone might mistake me for a medical doctor and say “oh, now you have to pay for medical school”.

My sister is actually a scientist...’s neighbor, and she said that you can’t get the coronavirus if you don’t want to.

This is just another way to silence woman! You know, you just put this on, and you be quiet, but I will not be quiet, OK? I am a Carly Fiorina voter and my life matters.

Also, this is completely unrelated, but the thought of people coming together to achieve a common goal makes me physically ill.

What if I’m wearing this around my beautiful gorgeous husband and he says, “oh, I can’t kiss you because you clearly don’t have any lips, I don’t see any”, and then I have to get divorced.

All I’m saying is that I feel much safer with cops around. (Oh, wait, this is for a different video. Let me delete this--)

What if I eat it? What if I eat it by accident? What if, in one hand, I’m holding, like, a big yummy burger, and in the other hand I have my mask, and I mix them up because I have Burger Blindness. I was diagnosed--

I get sexual pleasure out of pretending to not understand an extremely easy thing.

end transcription]

[spanner-lab]

Can I tag in the moron who was like "no, YOU find it easy to breathe in a mask; you have to accept the risk that whiny pissbabies like me pose to your health because your ABLEIST"?

@ that twat

[noping-out-deactivated20241117]

It would be a real shame if instead of being covered by paint, which can be removed, bronze statues of racists were to come into contact with saltwater or tomatoes and be destroyed by irreversible bronze disease.

[spanner-lab]

Odent was harassed by right wing news outlets and Twitter trolls are trying to bombard the local council with petitions to have her sacked.

She's a great museum worker and should not lose her job for this. Here's an email template so that you can share your support for her: https://fairmuseumjobs.wordpress.com/2020/06/10/anti-racism-in-action-in-support-of-royston-museums-curator/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

Anti-Racism in Action: In Support of Royston Museum’s Curator

Below is an open letter in support of Royston Museum’s Curator, who has unfairly attracted the attention of racist Twitter bots and trolls,

Don't just reblog; do.

[theatsymbol-deactivated20210220]

Its such a rip off that flowers don’t taste good

[recoil-operated-deactivated2021]

Spoken like a woman who’s never used garlic blossom in a stirfry, had an elderflower fritter or used Calendula and Nasturtium in a salad.

[theatsymbol-deactivated20210220]

I have not but im going to now

Add pics of the tasty flowers plz

[recoil-operated-deactivated2021]

garlic blossoms (allium) balls of tiny flowers, may be white to deep purple. literally just the flowering head of the garlic you use in food. it tastes like garlic. but colorful.

elderflower, the blossom of the elderberry bush. can be battered and fried. excellent with elderberry syrup or honey. tastes fruity with a tiny hint of anise. also good in teas and sweets.

Calendula, also known as pot marigold. (please, verify you’re using pot marigold, not regular marigold. calendula is actually a daisy.) tastes similarish to bell pepper, sans crunch. leaves are also edible. should be grown with broadleaf plantain:

as a poultices of calendula and plantain can be used to rapidly heal small cuts and scrapes, and are also helpful for other dermatitis. don’t use it on deep wounds though, as it can and will cause the surface skin to heal before the underlying tissues. all of broadleaf plantain is also edible. if bitter.

Nasturtium ranges in color from bright yellow to deep red. it’s peppery and very slightly spicy.

[glumshoe]

Personally I love squash blossoms stuffed with ricotta and fried in a pan. Not ideal if you also want to harvest squash, though.

[3gallopingdogs]

Elderflowers also make great wine or cordial! I concur with the squash blossoms, can always just use the male ones so the female flowers can still form fruit.

[blackwoolncrown]

Finally a thread for the REAL folks: those who eat flowers

[spanner-lab]

Elderflower and hemlock are very easily mistaken from the flowers alone; don't identify plants just from these photos. But I can recommend elderflower wholeheartedly.

[spanner-lab]

https://metro.co.uk/2020/06/23/came-transgender-girls-school-12885800/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

I was stuck in a women-only space trying to navigate my own fledgling masculinity, writes Parker Dell.

[bad40kadvice]

A new edition means it's codex shredding time!

[a-40k-dad]

The codice stock market just crashed and burned.

[grinchmaker]

Actually GW stated that you can use all the current codices with 9th

[spanner-lab]

Check the blog title :)

[spanner-lab]

Hey if any of my followers play Animal Crossing I would love to see your islands! I just got the game so mine's pretty bad but I would love to connect with people even if we aren't mutuals.

[asraspeaks2]

Cats are the new bosses.

[aloetech]

Oh, to be a 1930s neon salesman

[theinkpanther]

I mean there's a good chance those thing were filled with hazardous materials.

[spanner-lab]

Nope! The tube on the left is full of neon (as you may have guessed) and the tube on the right is most likely full of argon, one of the most abundant gases in our atmosphere.

They both glow when an electric current is passed through them, and they're both completely inert- meaning they don't react chemically.

Now, Radon has the same property- but it's highly radioactive with a half-life of 3.8 days, so not only is it exactly the kind of hazardous material you're worried about but it's also completely pointless to try and seal it in a glass tube because it will decay.

This kit is thankfully harmless (and oh boy do I want it).

[spanner-lab]

Are there any mammals that don't give live births, but are still considered mammals -- AND -- are there any mammals that do give live births, but don't feed their babies from their bodies?

This is a wonderful question!

Mammals are defined by their ability to produce milk, amongst other things. If it doesn’t produce milk, it’s not a mammal. Some biologists suggest that the original purpose of producing milk was not as food, but as a way to keep eggs moist! However, all modern mammals (with the possible exception of humans who eschew feeding their young as a lifestyle/medical choice) feed their offspring milk from their bodies.

Most mammals have nipples, but some don’t- and they don’t give birth to live young either. Mammals are split into three groups: placentals, marsupials and monotremes- while the first two groups give birth to live young, monotremes lay eggs.

So what is a monotreme? The platypus is one example, and the echidna is another. They secrete milk from glands on their abdomens rather than from nipples. Baby monotremes are called puggles, which is delightful.

If you want to know more about what makes mammals mammals, more info about monotremes or literally anything else science related, do send me an ask!

[chongoblog]

Bodies are weird. You could be like “yo body we’re losing blood and we’ll die without that but don’t worry we got ourselves a tranfusion so we can stay alive” and your body could just be like “nah don’t like this flavor” and you’ll die anyway

[missmonkeymode]

Fun fact this is because a blood, b blood, and o blood cells are shapped differently and the body of a a blooded person recognizes b and o blood cells as a foreign thing and im pretty sure white blood cells attack them

[chongoblog]

Fits the analogy because I attack people who offer me beef jerky

[spanner-lab]

Hot science literacy tip: "I'm pretty sure" is the red warning coloration of someone who is Making Shit Up. Despite the use of the phrase "fun fact", there are literally zero facts in the statement that follows.

[bounemr]

i don’t think we acknowledge enough that when children want to be treated “like adults” what they really mean is “like people”

this is just my own observations of course but 90% of the time when a kid tries to get people to treat them like an adult, what they really want is the respect and acknowledgement that they associate with adulthood - because that’s what they must give the adults. they have to give that to the adults in their lives, but the adults never give that same respect back, and so they see that difference and decide that they want to be treated “like an adult”

and sometimes i see parents who are like fine you want to be treated like an adult then you can work and pay rent but that’s the exact OPPOSITE of what the kid is actually asking for. you’re just belittling them, clearly intending to punish them for daring ask for your respect, clearly intending for them to break down and beg to be “treated like a child” again because you purposefully twisted their wants. they ask for respect, and you give them abuse.

never, ever, ever, treat a child like a full grown adult. it’s our responsibility as adults NOT to, because they ARENT adults no matter how much they think they want to be, and it’s our job as adults to take care of them.

that said, ALWAYS treat children like people. because they ARE that. they’re real people with real agency acting as best as they know to with what knowledge they have

it’s not a matter of kids trying to grow up too fast, it’s a matter of kids wanting to be treated like people instead of objects or pets.

[teaboot]

I hate, hate, hate, hate, HATE it when other adults get after me for 'talking to that kid like an adult'. They say, 'it's not age appropriate'.

Let me be clear: I DO NOT discuss things that are topically inappropriate for a child's age. Ever. Sex, despair, pain, death, and trauma are Off. The. Table.

So, what is it we talk about? Easy: Science.

A 10 year old girl asked me, "Why do we have blood?" And I told her, "Well, do you know what your blood does?" She said no, so I told her, "Your blood's job is to carry air to your brain when you breathe. If your blood can't get oxygen to your head fast enough, and you can get dizzy or faint. You need blood so that the air you breathe can go where it's needed".

The other adult in the room decided I shouldn't be talking to a child 'like that'. Said it would 'just go over her head'. "Look, she's not even listening!"

"No, I'm listening," she said, but the conversation was over.

Kids aren't dumb. They WANT to be talked to with respect for their autonomy and intelligence.

Am I going to start breaking out words like Mytosis or Rhinoplasty without explanation? Of course not. But if they want to know why their nose is called a "Rhino-", I'll tell them.

I REMEMBER adults telling me I was too young or not ready to learn something I was interested in. I REMEMBER being told to grab easier books, to be at peace with addition when I WANTED to try division.

I remember for getting detention because a TA told my class to sit down and be quiet and I told him, "You're standing up and yelling at us, why don't you have to follow the rules?"

I remember telling a teacher to stop being condescending, only to get a funny look and, 'what a big word! Do you know what that means?' As if I'd just throw it out there if I didn't think I knew how.

Adults tell you what to do and say that it's for a good reason, but the reason can't possibly be that good if even THEY don't follow it all the time.

Adults tell you that not eating your veggies is rude and unhealthy, but you've never seen greens on your father's plate in your life and nobody gets after HIM. Why are you the only one who has to do things you don't like? If you're rude, why isn't he?

And when you're *really* young, that's the WORST, because everyone wants to *quiz* you on shit. "Can you say 'school' sweetheart?" Yeah, I can, lady. I was doing something, though, so can it wait? I knowsyou're just gonna keep picking words. This can't possibly be fun for you.

Ughghgggghhf. I could be mad about this all day. I don't want to be another one of the adults I had to put up with

[oh-no-oh-no-oh-nononono]

FINALLY someone put it into words. I see other adults treating minors and kids like they don’t have agency- like their emotions and wants and opinions aren’t worth their (the adults) time and consideration. It makes me so angry. -A

[omghotmemes]

When someone doesn’t wanna do the right thing, I wash my hands. Literally.

[cosmictuesdays]

“How can we distinguish what is biologically determined from what people merely try to justify through biological myths? A good rule of thumb is ‘Biology enables, culture forbids.’ Biology is willing to tolerate a very wide spectrum of possibilities. It’s culture that obliges people to realise some possibilities while forbidding others. Biology enables women to have children – some cultures oblige women to realise this possibility. Biology enables men to enjoy sex with one another – some cultures forbid them to realise this possibility. Culture tends to argue that it forbids only that which is unnatural. But from a biological perspective, nothing is unnatural. Whatever is possible is by definition also natural. A truly unnatural behaviour, one that goes against the laws of nature, simply cannot exist, so it would need no prohibition. No culture has ever bothered to forbid men to photosynthesise, women to run faster than the speed of light, or negatively charged electrons to be attracted to each other. In truth, our concepts ‘natural’ and unnatural’ are taken not from biology, but from Christian theology. The theological meaning of ‘natural’ is ‘in accordance with the intentions of the God who created nature’. Christian theologians argued that God created the human body, intending each limb and organ to serve a particular purpose. If we use our limbs and organs for the purpose envisioned by God, then it is a natural activity. To use them differently than God intends is unnatural. But evolution has no purpose. Organs have not evolved with a purpose, and the way they are used is in constant flux. There is not a single organ in the human body that only does the job its prototype did when it first appeared hundreds of millions of years ago. Organs evolve to perform a particular function, but once they exist, they can be adapted for other usages as well. Mouths, for example, appeared because the earliest multicellular organisms needed a way to take nutrients into their bodies. We still use our mouths for that purpose, but we also use them to kiss, speak and, if we are Rambo, to pull the pins out of hand grenades. Are any of these uses unnatural simply because our worm-like ancestors 600 million years ago didn’t do those things with their mouths?”

— Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (Harari, Yuval Noah)

[luisonte]

Boys will be boys

[coherently-screaming]

Only acceptable use of the phrase

[space-pics]

28 days of exposure

[kaijuno]

I used to be a grader and an occasional substitute prof for an introductory astronomy lab. That means that the majority of the people in this lab are only taking it because it’s a requirement and about half of them think it’s an astrology class.

I was grading midterms and this one girl. She was so nice and I think she was a business major. Fuck. The question on the midterm was to draw a diagram of the solar system and this poor girl. This fucking girl had drawn a Mars-centric solar system. As in every planet and the sun were orbiting Mars. I now actually have a custom Cards Againsy Humanity card I got at a con that says “A Mars-centric solar system”

I had a boy argue with me that there was liquid water on the moon (this was around when they had found liquid water on Mars in ~2015) and he wouldn’t believe me that he likely meant Mars and not the moon. After I marked his answer to the relevant lab question wrong, he took it to the department head who had promptly laughed him out of the office.

And there was another boy who, during a lab in our observatory where we would look at certain things in the sky, asked where the sun was. At 10pm in November. After some questioning it was revealed that he thought the moon and the sun were the same thing.

[shesaysdisco]

My friend, whom I love dearly, found out that the moon orbits the earth as a 20-year-old in an upper-level political science class, and was utterly and completely flabbergasted. When questioned, her defense was that she doesn’t have anything to do with the moon, so why would she have needed to know?

[toniins]

i was once talking to a friend of mine about how at that point in time you could see mars, jupiter, and venus at the same time, which was pretty cool, and she said “where’s pluto? wait, it was destroyed” and that’s how i found out that my friend, who is in her third year of a medical degree, thought that pluto stopped being a planet because it was eaten by a black hole.

[spanner-lab]

I strongly relate to the moon one, and I have a degree in Physics.

I once estimated the distance between the Earth and the Moon as twenty miles. I just thought it was hard to get there because it's Up.

My defence? I hadn't ever thought about it before.