Are there any resources that Earth has already run out of? | AskScience Blog

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Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Are there any resources that Earth has already run out of?

Are there any resources that Earth has already run out of?


Are there any resources that Earth has already run out of?

Posted: 26 Mar 2018 10:26 PM PDT

We're always hearing that certain resources are going to be used up someday (oil, helium, lithium...) But is there anything that the Earth has already run out of?

submitted by /u/faux-tographer
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Why are some charging cables faster than others even when using the same power supply?

Posted: 26 Mar 2018 03:18 PM PDT

Why is it so difficult to manufacture graphene in industrial quantities?

Posted: 26 Mar 2018 11:37 PM PDT

Graphene seems to be such an incredible material with so many cutting edge applications.

Why is it that we can't manufacture it in any decent quantities? Does it just need a gigafactory style investment to obtain economies of scale or is there something that is lacking in our understanding of the physics that is preventing us from an efficient means of production?

submitted by /u/n8ores
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How long did recombination (photon decoupling) actually take?

Posted: 26 Mar 2018 06:43 PM PDT

Ok, so in the beginning, the universe was too hot and energetic for nuclei to hold on to electrons. Therefore photons had a very short mean free path to travel, and the whole universe was opaque. So far, so good.

Then, "378,000 years after the big bang", the universe had cooled down sufficiently for neutral atoms to form and became transparent. The one thing that I find gets glossed over in all the texts I've read is how long this process actually took. Was it fairly instantaneous across the entire universe, did it take weeks, months, thousands of years?

While the process was ongoing if you were in one of the transparent bits of the universe and looked towards a yet opaque bit, what would it look like? White? Black? Red?

submitted by /u/OnDrugsTonight
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Why do knives cut better when you slide the blade across the thing you're cutting?

Posted: 26 Mar 2018 06:27 PM PDT

You can't really push a knife through something. Most often it cuts a heck of a lot better if you SLIDE the knife (almost like sawing, but only in one direction.)

For example, cutting raw chicken. If you try to just press your knife down against it, it doesn't really work, but if pull the knife back as you're cutting, it cuts great.

Another example... You can press your finger against the sharp edge of a blade without hurting yourself, but as SOON as you slide your finger across the blade, you get a cut. Why?

Of course, this is all related to how sharp the knife is, but the question still stands.

submitted by /u/corrado33
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Can you change the wavelength of coloured light?

Posted: 26 Mar 2018 11:25 PM PDT

With magnetism or something. I know phosfloresence does it, but is there another mechanism? Does it work with non-uv light, if so is it still called that? Does it always go towards ir?

submitted by /u/sobertomato
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How do multifocal Intra-ocular lenses work?

Posted: 26 Mar 2018 05:39 PM PDT

A recent study has suggested some of TRAPPIST-1's planets may have 'too much water for life'. How does 'too much water' prevent a terrestrial planet from forming life?

Posted: 26 Mar 2018 11:48 AM PDT

If sulfuric acid has a pH 2.75 (give or take a little) and Coca-Cola has a pH of 2.53 why does drinking sulfuric acid kill you but drinking Coke does not?

Posted: 26 Mar 2018 01:14 PM PDT

What would happen to a hurricane (or tropical storm) that crosses the equator? Would the coriolis effect break it apart? Would it somehow reverse its rotation?

Posted: 26 Mar 2018 01:33 PM PDT

How do surgeons attach blood vessels to artificial hearts?

Posted: 26 Mar 2018 09:21 AM PDT

I'm specifically referring to the artificial heart that was recently in the news. see here.

I've read that blood vessels are normally attached by sewing which obviously won't work here. I've read that glue is not reliable for blood vessels. That leaves me thinking about something like the hose clamps used in engines, but surely that isn't reliable either.

So what prevents the blood vessel from slipping off the device in the short term? Does the blood vessel eventually fuse with the device? If not, what is the durability of the attachment mechanism? Wouldn't the "ends" of the blood vessel fray or deteriorate over time?

submitted by /u/scratch1234
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If I were to fill a cup with ice, and then water (all the way to the rim) to fill in the remaining space, would the water overflow once all the ice melted?

Posted: 26 Mar 2018 05:58 PM PDT

What's an anchor protein?

Posted: 27 Mar 2018 01:41 AM PDT

Someone told me that when cancer cells lose them, the cancer can become metastatic.

submitted by /u/StrangeSwordfish
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How does sound dampening work on trains?

Posted: 26 Mar 2018 11:32 AM PDT

Shouldn't trains produce very loud noise, considering their wheels are metal and are rolling on a metal rail? What measures can be (and are) taken to lessen that noise? Can a new train be used on an old track without noise and vice versa?

submitted by /u/HelloWorld002
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How do we measure gas levels of an exoplanet's atmosphere?

Posted: 26 Mar 2018 02:26 PM PDT

Methinks this would be impossible with current technology since we have to use a host star to even theorize an exoplanet's existence.

submitted by /u/Umbross13
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What exactly is going on in the brain if a patient has "the most aggressive form of brain cancer" that could make them die quickly? How does brain cancer work exactly and how differently does it work when compared to other cancers?

Posted: 26 Mar 2018 10:36 AM PDT

I watch this series on TV called "The Good Doctor" which is airing in the US and Canada, and in this season's final episode (airing this week) according to a preview airing after last weeks episode, one of the most important characters in the show (the head of the hospital where the series revolves around/in, and the father figure/mentor to the main character who has both autism and savant syndrome) gets diagnosed with "the most aggressive form of brain cancer", and everyone except the main character accepts the (possibly terminal) diagnosis. The main character still thinks he may able to save his mentor and father figure somehow (judging on the preview of this weeks episode that aired last week.)

Preview of this week's episode in case you want to take a look yourself, I found on the related subreddit, /r/GoodDoctor. In this preview, it doesn't specify which kind of brain cancer it is other than it is "the most aggressive" form out there.

So what I am wondering, as someone who has followed this show since the beginning (and having seen the main character grow up in this environment and interact with the other characters throughout all the episodes) and wanting more information on this: What exactly (scientifically) is going on in the brain of a patient that has "the most aggressive form of brain cancer" possible that could/would make them die quickly? Also, how does brain cancer work exactly and how differently does it work when compared to other cancers of the human body?

submitted by /u/urbanracer34
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How did the first cells replicate?

Posted: 26 Mar 2018 09:31 AM PDT

DNA polymerase and RNA polymerase enzymes are integral for cell replication as far as i know, but they are quite complex molecules. Were they already present at the beginning of life or were there other methods of replication of DNA?

submitted by /u/FinnishViking
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Have there been studies of chemical bioaccumulation in humans?

Posted: 26 Mar 2018 11:39 AM PDT

I'm aware of bioaccumulation studies in animals, but not in humans. This is almost a forensic medicine question. Is mercury bioaccumulation a fingerprint of people who eat lots of fish, for example? What other chemicals are humans bioaccumulating? Although humans eat more varied food sources, are there still certain food sources that leave distinct chemical fingerprints?

submitted by /u/siliconlife
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What's the difference between a car's object detection system based on computer vision compared to an AI neural network?

Posted: 26 Mar 2018 03:11 PM PDT

Asking because of this article about the Uber accident

Recent developments in artificial intelligence, like deep neural networks, have led many to believe that it is now easy to develop a highly accurate object detection system and that the decade-plus experience of incumbent computer vision experts should be discounted.

submitted by /u/smartse
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