Category: The Other Things
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Gu: The Venomous Vortex of Ancient Chinese Sorcery
Here is another that may make your skin crawl and your blood run cold! Welcome to the world of Gu, the sinister sorcery that turns creepy crawlies into catastrophic curses! Picture, if you dare, a jar teeming with nature’s most venomous vermin – centipedes, snakes, and scorpions, oh my! But this is no petting zoo,…
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Freeze branding aka CryoBranding and the resulting brands, trichoglyphs, is a technique involving a cryogenic coolant instead of heat to produce permanent marks on a variety of animals
The coolant is used to lower the temperature of a branding iron such that its application to shaved skin will permanently alter hair follicles. The intense cold destroys the pigmentation apparatus in the animal’s hair follicles, leaving all subsequent hair growth without color. This creates a high-contrast, permanent mark in the shape of the branding iron’s head. A longer application of the cold iron can also…
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nature’s first Green Fuel Is gold: A Car That Runs On Urine?
The concept of cars running on urine has been explored by several researchers, but it hasn’t yet resulted in a commercially viable vehicle. Here’s what happened with some of the key developments: Ohio University Research (2009): Professor Gerardine Botte developed a catalyst that could extract hydrogen from urine more efficiently than from water. This technology…
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Kynureninase or L-Kynurenine hydrolase (KYNU) is part of the pathway for the catabolism of Trp and the biosynthesis of NAD cofactors from tryptophan (Trp).
Kynureninase or L-Kynurenine hydrolase (KYNU) (EC 3.7.1.3) is a PLP dependent enzyme that catalyses the cleavage of kynurenine (Kyn) into anthranilic acid (Ant). It can also act on 3-hydroxykynurenine (to produce 3-hydroxyanthranilate) and some other (3-arylcarbonyl)-alanines. Note: 3-Hydroxykynurenine is a metabolite of tryptophan, which filters UV light in the human lens. It is one of two pigments identified as responsible for the goldenrod crab spider‘s (Misumena vatia) yellow coloration. 3-Hydroxyanthranilic acid is an intermediate in the metabolism of tryptophan. It…
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Glucuronic acid is a uronic acid that was first isolated from urine
Glucuronic acid (from Greek γλεῦκος “wine, must” and οὖρον “urine“) is a uronic acid that was first isolated from urine (hence the name”uronic acid”). It is found in many gums such as gum arabic (approx. 18%), xanthan, and kombucha tea and is important for the metabolism of microorganisms, plants and animals. Not to be confused with Gluconic acid (Gluconic acid occurs naturally in fruit, honey, and wine. As a food additive E574, it is now known as an acidity regulator.…
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Amygdalin and Laetrile
Amygdalin (from Ancient Greek: ἀμυγδαλή amygdalē “almond”) is a naturally occurring chemical compound found in many plants, most notably in the seeds (kernels) of apricots, bitter almonds, apples, peaches, cherries and plums, and in the roots of manioc. Amygdalin is classified as a cyanogenic glycoside, because each amygdalin molecule includes a nitrile group, which can be released as the toxic cyanide anion by the action of a beta-glucosidase. Eating amygdalin will cause it to release cyanide…
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UNITED STATES v. RUTHERFORD, 442 U.S. 544 (1979)
The question presented in this case is whether the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act precludes terminally ill cancer patients from obtaining Laetrile, a drug not recognized as “safe and effective” within the meaning of § 201(p)(1) of the Act, 52 Stat. 1041, as amended, 21 U.S.C. § 321 (p)(1). Terminally ill cancer patients and their…
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A glucuronide, aka glucuronoside, is any substance produced by linking glucuronic acid to another substance via a glycosidic bond.
A glucuronide, also known as glucuronoside, is any substance produced by linking glucuronic acid to another substance via a glycosidic bond.[1] The glucuronides belong to the glycosides. Glucuronidation, the conversion of chemical compounds to glucuronides, is a method that animals use to assist in the excretion of toxic substances, drugs or other substances that cannot be used as an energy source. Glucuronic acid is…
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Enkephalins
An enkephalin is a pentapeptide involved in regulating nociception (pain sensation) in the body. The enkephalins are termed endogenous ligands, as they are internally derived and bind to the body’s opioid receptors. Discovered in 1975, two forms of enkephalin have been found, one containing leucine (“leu”), and the other containing methionine (“met”). Both are products of the proenkephalin gene. Endogenous opioid peptides There are three well-characterized families of opioid…
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Olfactory tubercle (OT) aka tuberculum olfactorium
The olfactory tubercle (OT), also known as the tuberculum olfactorium, is a multi-sensory processing center that is contained within the olfactory cortex and ventral striatum and plays a role in reward cognition. The OT has also been shown to play a role in locomotor and attentional behaviors, particularly in relation to social and sensory responsiveness, and it may be necessary for behavioral flexibility. The OT is interconnected with numerous brain regions,…
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“Ye therefore, who seek in science a means to satisfy your passions, pause in this fatal way: you will find nothing but madness or death.”
This is the meaning of the vulgar tradition that the devil ends sooner or later by strangling sorcerers. Eliphas Levi, Transcendental Magic Also… “We have said that impassioned ecstasy may produce the same results as absolute superiority, and this is true as to the issue but not as to the direction of magical operations. Passion…
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Cells in the APUD system may include melanocytes
Melanocytes are melanin-producing neural crest-derived cells located in the bottom layer (the stratum basale) of the skin’s epidermis, the middle layer of the eye (the uvea), the inner ear, vaginal epithelium, meninges, bones, and heart. Melanin is a dark pigment primarily responsible for skin color. Once synthesized, melanin is contained in special organelles called melanosomes which can be transported to nearby keratinocytes to induce pigmentation. Thus darker skin tones have more melanosomes present than lighter skin tones. Functionally, melanin serves as protection…
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Pistacia terebinthus aka the terebinth and the turpentine tree
Pistacia terebinthus also called the terebinth and the turpentine tree, is a deciduous tree species of the genus Pistacia, native to the Mediterranean region from the western regions of Morocco and Portugal to Greece and western and southeastern Turkey. At one time terebinths growing on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea (in Syria, Lebanon and Israel) were regarded as a separate species, Pistacia palaestina, but these are now considered to be a synonym of P. terebinthus. Description The terebinth is a deciduous flowering…
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Sound-induced convulsions in the hamster associated with magnesium deficiency (1947)
Exposure of 16 hamsters maintained on an Mg deficient diet, 10 animals placed on a control diet immediately after a first convulsive attack, 10 Mg-deficient animals given Mg supplements after each induced convulsion, and 12 control animals maintained on adequate purified diet, to sound tests, indicated results similar to those reported for the rat. Spontaneous…
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Studies on the nutritional basis of abnormal behavior in albino rats; the effect of pyridoxine deficiency upon sound-induced magnesium tetany (1945)
After a magnesium deficient diet for 5 to 8 days, young rats showed vasodilatation, hyperirritability, and latent tetany. Brief exposures to the sound of a resonated buzzer elicited severe tonic-clonic convulsions. When such a diet was continued for 10 to 23 days, sensitivity increased with death resulting from spontaneous or induced seizures. In a similar…
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Sonification
Sonification is the use of non-speech audio to convey information or perceptualize data. Auditory perception has advantages in temporal, spatial, amplitude, and frequency resolution that open possibilities as an alternative or complement to visualization techniques. For example, the rate of clicking of a Geiger counter conveys the level of radiation in the immediate vicinity of the device. Though many experiments with data sonification have been explored in forums…
