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User: The+Real+Dr+John

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Comments · 594

  1. Re:Just y'know... reconnect them spinal nerves on Surgeon: First Human Head Transplant May Be Just Two Years Away · · Score: 1

    Agreed, the spinal nerves get where they are during fetal development, and slicing through them pretty thoroughly kills off the distal parts of the axons (Wallerian degeneration). If this could be done now, then there wouldn't be any paraplegic or quadriplegic people. And then what are they going to do about tissue rejection, when the tissue being rejected is the entire head?

  2. Very silly excuse for going to the moon on Could Fossils of Ancient Life From Earth Reside On the Moon? · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This is a very silly idea. There are countless fossils still to be uncovered on Earth, including microfossils from billions of years ago in rock that has not been altered by too much heat and pressure. On the moon there are probably very, very few, if any fossils. Why would anyone waste time and money going to the moon to look for fossils rather than just spending more time carefully looking and digging on Earth? This is the silliest excuse for sending something or someone to the moon I can think of. If you want to explore the moon, go to the moon. If you want to look for fossils, dig right here on planet Earth where you actually have a good chance of finding something very interesting, and very old.

  3. Re:Can't eat what you don't grow on Free-As-In-Beer Electricity In Greece? · · Score: 3, Insightful

    How many failed capitalist experiments are we going to be subjected to before corporations are no longer people, and the fruits of labor are distributed much more equitably here in the US? What is so much better about CEOs making 500 times as much as their office workers, than having some kind of rational basis for compensating workers, when it is the workers who are doing all the work? I am very tired of the failed, trickle-down capitalist experiments in the US and Europe, and will be very interested to see how much better Greece does when they don't tow the austerity line (austerity for the workers, or course, not the wealthy).

  4. Re:Stupid title, stupid article. on UK's Most Secretive Court Rules GCHQ Mass Internet Surveillance Was Unlawful · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Legal vs. Illegal is not really the point. This is more like something I would expect from the Stasi in a police state rather than something that is going on in a supposed Democracy with supposed constitutional protections. Yes Slashdot, there is something to see here, don't move along.

  5. Re:Tissue samples. not live brain on Scientists Discover Compound In Baby Diapers Can Enlarge Brain Cells · · Score: 1

    exactly, it is only being used to swell up a block of tissue that is going to be used for confocal microscopy. So they are just using the properties of sodium polyacrylate to swell the tissue block and hopefully retain the micro-architecture in order to see smaller details.

  6. Re:Why put 'e' in front of it on New Implant Lets Paralyzed Rats Walk Again · · Score: 4, Informative

    if you read the abstract, you would have seen that the e stands for electronic, as in electronic dura.

  7. Just cancel one or two unneeded weapon systems on Space Policy Guru John Logsdon Has Good News and Bad News On NASA Funding · · Score: 3, Informative

    and you would be able to double the NASA budget and have plenty of money left over. The F35 comes to mind, but many other unneeded and excessively costly weapons systems could be cut back in order to boost NASA funding.

  8. Re:America... fuck yeah on WSJ Refused To Publish Lawrence Krauss' Response To "Science Proves Religion" · · Score: 1

    No, what was not printed by the WSJ was Lawrence Krauss' response to the WSJ piece, wherein Dr. Krauss refuted the claims made by Mr. Metaxas.

  9. Re:Useless TITLE. on "Disco Clam" Lights Up To Scare Predators Away · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Title at Science Magazine where the video is posted: "'Disco clam' lights up to scare predators away". From the article "The clams, which live off Indonesia, flash twice as much when they spot predators". Somehow, the title does not seem inconsistent with the findings. Maybe folks should read the content before commenting on it.

  10. No mention of Peace on Earth POE, OPE...

  11. Re:Antipodal eruptions on Massive Volcanic Eruptions Accompanied Dinosaur Extinction · · Score: 1

    I've never been convinced by the Chicxulub-killed-the-dinosaurs theory, and have always preferred the more gradual theory that seems better in line with the evidence as you remind us. Many dinosaur lineages had been dying out in various locations for millions of years, and the climate was changing. There was a relatively short-lived finale, but that seems more in sync with the Deccan traps in terms of the timing, and began well before Chicxulub.

  12. Great show on Behind the Scenes With the Star Trek Fan Reboot · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I chipped in for their funding campaign, and I am glad I did. So far the first 3 episodes are great. Mignogna and crew have really done a wonderful job on Star Trek Continues.

  13. Re:Antipodal eruptions on Massive Volcanic Eruptions Accompanied Dinosaur Extinction · · Score: 1

    The Deccan traps have long been suspect, and the antipodal theory has been around for some time too. From the article: "The researchers suggest that the Deccan Traps eruptions and the meteorite impact near present-day Chicxulub, Mexico, need to be considered together when studying and modeling the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event."

  14. Re:And the scientific evidence for this conclusion on The Dominant Life Form In the Cosmos Is Probably Superintelligent Robots · · Score: 2

    That is not a rebuttal to what I said. How about offering something more pertinent? Are you suggesting there are no significant differences between living organisms and robots? Can you explain what makes a living organism different from a robot? I can describe huge numbers of differences, but I can't say why one is alive and the other isn't. But the differences have been apparent to humans since before we started writing stuff down. If we found the universe populated with machines, that would be the dominant technology in the universe, not the dominant life form.

  15. Re:And the scientific evidence for this conclusion on The Dominant Life Form In the Cosmos Is Probably Superintelligent Robots · · Score: 1

    "In what way is a self replicating robot distinct from life?" Answer: It is not alive.

  16. And the scientific evidence for this conclusion is on The Dominant Life Form In the Cosmos Is Probably Superintelligent Robots · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Let me guess, science fiction movies? Boy are they going to be shocked when they find out that the dominant form of life in the Universe turns out to be microorganisms. Did anyone mention to these folks that robots are not life forms?

  17. Not really news on Scientists Discover That Exercise Changes Your DNA · · Score: 3, Informative

    Almost everything you do has an effect on DNA histone methylation, acetylation and other histone modifications. In order for the transcriptional complexes required for gene activation and transcription to gain access to DNA segments for copying (making messenger RNA) the histone complexes that protect DNA from damage must be opened up. So exercise, hormones, fasting, and even drinking alcohol will result in epigenetic DNA histone modifications associated with gene transcription. This has been known for many years now. It is not even slightly surprising that exercise would result in gene transcription, which requires histone modification. This is not "changing your DNA", it is modifying the proteins that protect DNA from damage (histones).

  18. Enforcing pot laws is big business on Colorado Sued By Neighboring States Over Legal Pot · · Score: 5, Insightful

    in many states, and they don't want to lose that revenue. It is not about right or wrong, legal or illegal, it is really about money. But as the various other states see revenue flow into states like Colorado in the form of pot taxes, they may change their minds, just like all states changed their minds about gambling and lotteries.

  19. use your smartwatch to store your on Ask Slashdot: What Can I Really Do With a Smart Watch? · · Score: 1

    secret codes for your decoder ring

  20. Re:Despicable Greenpeace on Peru Indignant After Greenpeace Damages Ancient Nazca Site · · Score: 2

    Why is that? Please edify me as to how I am a sucker because I think Greenpeace is more responsible in their actions than BP? I notice that you had to make an ad hominem comment, rather than actually saying what was inaccurate about my comment? Also, whoever moderated my comment down, why not join the discussion and tell us what I said that was so offensive to you?

  21. Re:Despicable Greenpeace on Peru Indignant After Greenpeace Damages Ancient Nazca Site · · Score: 0, Troll

    Like I said, a very reasonable assessment. BP = mistake, Greepeace = evil egomaniacs. Of course the profit motive for BP was much less evil than the trying to save the earth from the likes of BP, which is the motive that drives Greenpeace. Very reasonable indeed.

  22. Re:Despicable Greenpeace on Peru Indignant After Greenpeace Damages Ancient Nazca Site · · Score: 0, Troll

    So they are as despicable as BP, who trashed the Gulf of Mexico, because they made a mistake? That sounds like a very reasonable assessment.

  23. I thought drunks on Facebook Offers Solution To End Drunken Posts · · Score: 1

    were the only people still posting on Facebook

  24. If you read the article in Science on Rosetta Results: Comets "Did Not Bring Water To Earth" · · Score: 3, Insightful

    you'll see they have pretty solid evidence that this particular type of comet (Jupiter family) had a deuterium/hydrogen ratio in water that is very different from earth, whereas many asteroids (chondrites) have about the same D/H ratio. All they were saying was that this type of comet was not responsible for delivering most of earth's water, which seems reasonable based on their evidence (see figure 3 from the article).

  25. Re:why is it always comets and asteroids? on Asteroid Impacts May Have Formed Life's Building Blocks · · Score: 1

    agreed. I really think that it has been shown many times that simple organic molecules plus energy equals more complex organic molecules. That still doesn't help very much with the biogenesis part.