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Monday, November 5, 2018

AskScience AMA Series: We're professional fact-checkers and science editors at Undark magazine, here to answer questions about truth-telling in science journalism. AUA.

AskScience AMA Series: We're professional fact-checkers and science editors at Undark magazine, here to answer questions about truth-telling in science journalism. AUA.

AskScience AMA Series: We're professional fact-checkers and science editors at Undark magazine, here to answer questions about truth-telling in science journalism. AUA.

Posted: 05 Nov 2018 04:00 AM PST

Hello!

Do you like your science journalism factually correct? So do we. I'm Jane Roberts, deputy editor and resident fact-checker at Undark, a non-profit digital science magazine published under the auspices of the Knight Science Journalism program at MIT. The thought of issuing corrections keeps me up at night.

And I'm Brooke Borel, a science journalist, a senior editor at Undark, and author of the Chicago Guide to Fact-Checking. Together with a small team of researchers, I recently spearheaded one of the first industry-wide reports on how science news publications go about ensuring the trustworthiness of their reporting. What we found might surprise you: Only about a third of the publications in the study employ independent fact checkers. Another third have no formal fact-checking procedures in place at all. This doesn't mean that a third of your science news is bunk - journalists can still get a story right even if they don't work with an independent fact-checker. But formal procedures can help stop mistakes from slipping through.

We're here from noon (17 UT) until 1:30 pm EST to take questions. AUA!

submitted by /u/AskScienceModerator
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What does a whitening toothpaste contain that is responsible for whitening teeth?

Posted: 04 Nov 2018 04:47 AM PST

What happens after a needle is disposed of by a medical specialist?

Posted: 04 Nov 2018 06:13 PM PST

What happens once a needle, for instance, has been used and disposed of by a nurse/doctor in those yellow containers? Do they get recycled or do they get destroyed?

submitted by /u/DecentMarkhor
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Would a astronaut in orbit around betelgeuse experience the same time dilation as he would with a blackhole the same mass of betelgeuse?

Posted: 04 Nov 2018 10:41 PM PST

Do antidepressants cause any permanent changes in the brain that persist even after stopping them?

Posted: 04 Nov 2018 09:38 AM PST

Just curious if we know if/what changes may be permanent. Obviously there are short term changes, or changes that take place while a person is actively taking antidepressants, but is there any evidence of changes beneficial, toxic, or otherwise from long term use that persist even after you stop? Examples could be personality changes, enlargement or shrinking of brain structures, neurogenesis or neurotoxicity, whatever.

My understanding is that there are probably beneficial changes that come from relieving the physical stress on the brain caused by depression - anything else?

submitted by /u/kuuzo
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Why are Neanderthals a Different Species?

Posted: 04 Nov 2018 05:19 PM PST

I was just watching a youtube video that talked about how neanderthals and humans have mated on many occasions. As I understand it, the definition of what defines different species is if two individuals can mate and produce a fertile offspring they are the same species, whereas if they can't they are a different species. Given this, why are neanderthals a different species if they were able to mate with humans to produce fertile offspring?

submitted by /u/throwaway12345632345
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If the universe favors entropy and chaos, why does gravity exist?

Posted: 04 Nov 2018 06:03 PM PST

I only have education up to 2 semesters of inorganic chemistry and my physics classes covered kinematics and thermodynamics so i've got no education in large scale stuff like this. this is just something i had on my mind.

that being said, how does gravity, which to me seems to lead to more ordered states since things are "sticking together" in a sense, exist and contradict the universe's preference for chaos and disorder?

submitted by /u/coffeealpha
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Why is Earth the most dense planet and Saturn the least dense?

Posted: 05 Nov 2018 07:24 AM PST

Is it possible to medically determine a person's age? and by what degree of accuracy?

Posted: 04 Nov 2018 09:26 AM PST

People can falsify their age for any particular reason. Is it possible to medically determine a person's age? If so, how? Is this easier/harder as they become older?

Thanks in advance :-)

submitted by /u/amansaggu26
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Does the amount of gas you burn change depending on your elevation?

Posted: 04 Nov 2018 08:52 PM PST

For example, would someone in Orlando, Florida burn more or less gas than someone in Denver, Colorado? Does a higher elevation affect fuel efficiency?

submitted by /u/Chocobo-kisses
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Why is Oil used as coolant and heater despite having poor thermal conductivity?

Posted: 04 Nov 2018 07:11 PM PST

Oil has poor thermal conductivity. It has poor conduction property for being liquid and poor convection property for being viscous.
Then, why is oil used as coolant and heater?
I understand the advantages of oil in electrical insulation and erosion resistance. Still, do we not have alternative substances?

submitted by /u/mothwai
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Suppose we experienced a supernova from our sky brighter than the moon. Considering the time light takes to reach us, does it mean the event actually happened millions of years ago? If so, does it also mean, right now at this exact moment a star we usually see in the sky has already exploded?

Posted: 04 Nov 2018 11:58 PM PST

Why are many instruments made of brass? What about the material makes it suitable for music?

Posted: 04 Nov 2018 08:31 AM PST

How much adrenaline is released during an adrenaline rush?

Posted: 04 Nov 2018 11:23 PM PST

And, is there a scenario where someone can die from generating too much adrenaline?

submitted by /u/Dummie1138
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Why aren’t solar powered phones a thing yet? Will it happen in the future?

Posted: 04 Nov 2018 07:28 PM PST

When TIR occurs how does a transparent medium gain the property to reflect light on some internal sides when it normally doesn't?

Posted: 04 Nov 2018 11:48 PM PST

How do polymer scientists know what new polymers to create and test?

Posted: 04 Nov 2018 11:30 AM PST

There are general trends in polymer science (structure/property relationships), but I'm so curious about how scientists developing new plastics, cosmetics, textiles, consumer products, etc. know what polymers to test if they are designing completely new polymers? Is it like a guess and check iterative process? Are there tools you use? It seems like it would take years to get anything successful to market, and we may not even discover the best polymers!

​

Calling all scientists who work on plastics, cosmetics/beauty, textile materials, polymer materials in general, etc. Would love to hear any thoughts/your experience :)

submitted by /u/potentialvsSHE
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What makes people stick out their tongues when they are concentrating on something intricate with their hands?

Posted: 04 Nov 2018 05:34 AM PST

Oumuamua was spinning end on end. It is possible the acceleration observed as it rounded the sun was due to some form of boomerang effect?

Posted: 04 Nov 2018 06:41 PM PST

How do we know determine the half-life of an isotope?

Posted: 04 Nov 2018 05:27 PM PST

My question is this: How have we determined the half-life of certain isotopes to be in the billions of years if we haven't been able to observe them long enough to ever seem them decay?

submitted by /u/dummkompf
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Do DNA base pair lengths differ?

Posted: 04 Nov 2018 02:51 PM PST

My class is working with pymol, and people are measuring completely different lengths for different CG hydrogen bonds. Should all CG base pairs be the same length? Or can the length of the hydrogen bonds differ?

submitted by /u/Steakaholic
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How does hail get so big?

Posted: 04 Nov 2018 04:55 PM PST

I've experienced hail and seen videos of large hails. How does actual hail get so big?

submitted by /u/microtopian
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How do sea slugs and sea snails not perish from ocean salt?

Posted: 04 Nov 2018 05:23 AM PST

You know like snails and slugs if you put salt on them they die How Do sea snails and slugs work?

submitted by /u/dylanward101001
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can a wave be longitudinal and transverse at the same time?

Posted: 04 Nov 2018 04:19 PM PST

if so, why and how? and what would be an example of such wave?

submitted by /u/andylukkks
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Sunday, November 4, 2018

What is stopping islands from eroding away?

What is stopping islands from eroding away?

What is stopping islands from eroding away?

Posted: 03 Nov 2018 02:14 PM PDT

Why don't plumbers use aluminium pipes instead of copper?

Posted: 03 Nov 2018 11:51 AM PDT

It seems weird to me, because aluminum is much cheaper by volume and easier to handle, and is also resistant to corrosion.

submitted by /u/RadSeed
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Particle entanglement says distance between particles is irrelevant for one to affect the other instantaneously. What if the particles are a light year apart? Does that mean the speed of light really isn’t the universal speed limit?

Posted: 03 Nov 2018 09:31 AM PDT

How can lasers cool something to near absolute zero?

Posted: 03 Nov 2018 07:08 AM PDT

Are the elements distributed evenly throughout the universe, in the same relative proportions we find on earth?

Posted: 03 Nov 2018 07:34 AM PDT

Are there planets made of solid gold, of deserts of diamond 'sand'? Is there likely to be any elements that are unknown to us?

submitted by /u/Thomasina_ZEBR
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What causes meteorites to have a geometric almost crystalline pattern on their interior?

Posted: 03 Nov 2018 09:38 AM PDT

https://m.imgur.com/gallery/qZi7Ajg

I've been looking at meteorites a Christmas gift for my SO, and I noticed that some of them have geometric and sometimes crystalline patterns when you view them as cross sections. What causes them to look like this instead of simply being big, bulky chunks of metal?

submitted by /u/SalemStarburn
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Other than height, are there any observable physical differences between a human who is alive today and someone who was alive 10,000 years ago?

Posted: 03 Nov 2018 04:57 AM PDT

Would a Traumatic Brain Injury after the onset of symptoms accelerate the progression of Alzheimer's Disease?

Posted: 03 Nov 2018 01:05 PM PDT

I know that AD is strongly correlated with development of amyloid plaques in the brain, and TBI causes large increases in the prevalence of amyloids and their precursors. Thing is, most of the research I've seen focuses on the risk of developing AD at some point in the future. What about when it's already present?

If a patient with AD suffered a TBI, would you expect it to affect the progression of the disease? -Is anyone aware of any research to this effect?

submitted by /u/Flying_madman
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What is the smallest animal that can hear?

Posted: 03 Nov 2018 06:12 AM PDT

Can bugs hear? What is the smallest animal that can hear? Does hearing come with certain dangers when you're that small?

submitted by /u/Tegrng
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Invertebrate muscle physiology seems so counter-intuitive. What am I missing?

Posted: 03 Nov 2018 08:35 AM PDT

I can't seem to find enough information on the muscle physiology and biochemistry of invertebrates. I'd like to know firstly, what contractile proteins their muscle fibers use. Do they use similar proteins to the actin, myosin, troponin and tropomyosin or do they use a completely different system altogether?

Secondly, where do their muscle fibers originate and insert? They don't have a skeleton or cartilage or tendons, so how do the muscle fibers find leverage? If the exoskeleton is the answer, then still, how do their muscles gain leverage if both attachment points are to the same structure?

Based on this then, thirdly, how is invertebrate muscular strength so much higher as a proportion of body weight when compared to their vertebrate cousins? Why can an ant lift 40 times its own body weight over its head but a lion can't push a 7-tonne lorry?

Any links would be fine.

submitted by /u/Jaffaraza
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Do electric and hybrid car batteries become useless within a few years just as cell phone and laptop batteries do? Is this a common problem in their case? How expensive is the change?

Posted: 03 Nov 2018 04:14 AM PDT

I'm really interested in this and would like an informed answer.

submitted by /u/fuelefficienthelp
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If magma is a viscous, then shouldn't the plates resting on top of the mantle be shifting more violently?

Posted: 03 Nov 2018 08:39 AM PDT

For sake of analogy, if I were to put a pizza crust on top of a plate of applesauce ,it would be very unstable and would move around constantly with even the slightest touch.

submitted by /u/rkrause
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Why is electricity dangerous?

Posted: 03 Nov 2018 06:44 AM PDT

What's This Structural Grid In the Eye Of Africa? (Richat Structure, Mauritania)

Posted: 03 Nov 2018 05:14 AM PDT

There's a group of nearly perfectly spaced circular depressions typically ranging from 280-320 ft apart, spanning from 21.207151, -11.419889 to 21.212295, -11.432566, and there are over 60 of them altogether.

I don't see this occurring anywhere else in the region, and I don't think it's a satellite imagery bug due to several of the sites not lining up with the grid formation or distances, but I'm no Geospatial Analyst.

Some people claim that the Richat Structure is what used to be Atlantis before the volcanic activity, but I have my reservations on that notion.

Any ideas on what those structures might be?

submitted by /u/f__ckyourhappiness
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Is bit-rot (magnetic decay/reversal) in conventional HDDs real? Does data "fade" after a long period of unuse?

Posted: 03 Nov 2018 09:57 AM PDT

Few years back I was reading something and someone mentioned the theory of "bit rot", that over time, the magnetic domains on a platter would randomly flip. This lead me on a research hunt, which unfortunately didn't really turn up anything solid in terms of fact. There is plenty of scientific basis for the theory, namely superparamagnetism, but nothing definitive on the subject of hard drives. The most in detail discussion I've seen is from this subreddit, this post. Top comment claims that average time for a bit to flip is 10 years. I find this hard to believe, as recently I powered up an old hard drive that, I think, hadn't been powered on for ~10 years. Maybe it had been powered on in this time, or maybe I was extremely lucky? I ran a full surface scan and it was all green.

Like I said, I can find lots of information on superparamagnetism, but nothing in the context of hard drives. There's not been any studies done, which makes sense as hard drives are frequently cycled and aren't considered long term in that sense. So I'm wondering if anyone here has any knowledge / experience on the topic. I'm not talking about physical damage to the platters, I'm specifically talking "magnetic decay" or whatever it is/isn't!

submitted by /u/JackOfAllDrives
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If there were two moons, would nights be noticeably brighter?

Posted: 03 Nov 2018 05:28 AM PDT

Would we be able to see easier at night with two moons?

submitted by /u/Zei33
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How and why do we wake up?

Posted: 03 Nov 2018 05:41 AM PDT

Certain animals have abilities, how are these abilities transferred to a new generation?

Posted: 03 Nov 2018 07:34 AM PDT

Example: humans can outrun any (land)animal because they can regain energy whilst running, or a type of jellyfish that can return to a younger stadium not every animal can do that, but why can these animals? Is it coded into their DNA? It has to be for DNA is mostly responsible for different animals being different right? But isn't DNA responsible just for making proteïns? (I don't that's the right translation, stupid google translate)

submitted by /u/BurningDemon
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How do localized allergies occur?

Posted: 03 Nov 2018 07:10 AM PDT

Just like the the title says, apparently things like celery allergies in central Europe and peanut allergies in America are isolated conditions. My question is how do these allergies develop in a population, and is it a cultural or geographical phenomenon?

submitted by /u/KonigDerFinsternis
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Do alergic babies in the womb have a reaction to food their mother eats?

Posted: 03 Nov 2018 05:17 AM PDT

Can a baby have food allergies in the womb?And if so can the mother eating these foods cause a reaction in the baby?

submitted by /u/JarvisVonTrapp
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Saturday, November 3, 2018

If you jump into a volcano filled with flaming hot magma would you splash or splat?

If you jump into a volcano filled with flaming hot magma would you splash or splat?

If you jump into a volcano filled with flaming hot magma would you splash or splat?

Posted: 03 Nov 2018 12:37 AM PDT

What do the "real" versions of other gauge bosons do?

Posted: 03 Nov 2018 03:24 AM PDT

I have no real education in particle physics, I'm just an interested layman. I've asked this question around in the past but I've never received a direct answer.

So, real photons are emitted by charged particles and travel space until they're absorbed by something else, right? I can turn a light bulb on and real photons will travel from the filament into my eye and I can see that.

Virtual photons aren't really photons at all. They're just something that comes out of the maths when you're dealing with electrical fields. They're related to charged particles in a similar way to real photons, but they're something different.

But when I read about gluons and W and Z bosons, I only every see them discussed in terms of virtual particles. My question is, are there such things as "real" gluons, W bosons and Z bosons? If so, how do they get produced? Can nucleons emit real gluons to lose energy where do they go? Is there such thing as a Z-Boson Bulb, that I can turn on to emit real Z-Bosons? Can these real bosons be used for any practical purpose? Sorry if this is a stupid question, it's just something that's been perplexing me for a while.

As a bonus question, what does science say about the differences between real and virtual gravitons?

Thanks for your answers.

submitted by /u/tastyfurrypig
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What is the difference between Total Heavy Metal testing and Extractable Heavy Metal testing?

Posted: 03 Nov 2018 06:24 AM PDT

I'm received some textile results back and I need to explain the results to my team. Any help is appreciated! Thank!

submitted by /u/mfishing
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If I have never taken antibiotics in my life, does antibiotic resistance not affect me?

Posted: 03 Nov 2018 02:30 AM PDT

Does antibiotic resistance apply to my body or to the whole world?

If I take courses of antibiotics, will the bacteria in my body "remember" it? E.g., is there a limited amount of antibiotic courses I can take in my life as an individual, each time weakening my body? Or is it simply, bacteria in the whole world is becoming resistant to antibiotics, and therefore I shouldn't take it if I don't need to.

submitted by /u/nikke1234
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Can we explicitly see what Atomic and Subatomic particles exactly look like, Such as Atoms, Electrons, Protons, Neutrons, Quarks, etc, And if so, Are there any images of them?

Posted: 02 Nov 2018 12:21 PM PDT

So, I am just a high schooler with little to no advanced scientific knowledge of topics such as this. However, I am incredibly fascinated with them, and I know we do have advanced telescopes which can actually look at atoms and other particles, But do we have any actual clear images of what they look like? I have seen an image of an atom before (I think?), and I have seen that really cool video of a moving electron riding a light wave, but is there any more than that? Like videos or images of quarks and other particles?

(Sorry if this is a really simple question, but I am incredibly fascinated with this and have little to no experience in this subject. Thanks, AskScience!)

submitted by /u/BurntShooter
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Why does tickeling make us laugh?

Posted: 02 Nov 2018 01:00 PM PDT

What happens on an atomic or molecular scale to create viscosity in liquid?

Posted: 02 Nov 2018 09:40 AM PDT

Also, what is the most viscous liquid known?

submitted by /u/unixeth
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From an EE perspective, is an LED at all similar to an antenna?

Posted: 02 Nov 2018 05:15 PM PDT

I was just pondering how antennas, whether they be directional, omni-directional, or semi-directional are just like flashlights throwing EM waves at certain frequencies, usually radio or microwave, into space.

And then it occurred to me to wonder - isn't an LED doing the same thing, just within the range of frequencies of visible light?

So it occurs to me to ask, what similarities are there, if any, in terms of electrical design and mechanism of operation, between a light-emitting diode and a radio or microwave antenna?

I don't think this comparison applies to incandescent lights, because I believe they work via black-body radiation, but maybe I'm wrong and they are also comparable? Is the current applied to an antenna simply heating it to the appropriate temperature to create the desired frequency of black-body radiation?

Basically I'm just brainstorming as to what are the common threads between all of these physical concepts that function as EM sources.

submitted by /u/ZippyDan
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An electron entering a magnetic field perpendicularly will undergo circular motion. This would mean it experiences centripetal acceleration, and this emit radiation. Does this mean its radius is not fixed?

Posted: 02 Nov 2018 08:25 AM PDT

I encountered a physics textbook deriving an equation to find the radius of curvature for a charged particle entering a perpendicular magnetic field. It equated centripetal force (mv2 / r) with magnetic force (qvB) and rearranged to arrive at r = mv/qB. I thought that an accelerating charge emits EMR, meaning it loses energy, thus it's radius increases. How would this formula hold?

EDIT: syntax

submitted by /u/Vilegun
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How was francium discovered?

Posted: 02 Nov 2018 10:17 PM PDT

How are precision measuring instruments calibrated?

Posted: 02 Nov 2018 08:49 AM PDT

How does the Earth's rotation and orbit of the sun affect gravity (if at all)?

Posted: 02 Nov 2018 07:13 AM PDT

I've been arguing with some flat earthers recently (because it's how I relax), and one thing they commonly bring up is "how is gravity weak enough for a bird to beat but strong enough to hold everything down as we're spinning around the sun - shouldn't centripetal force pull it away?"

​

I think I've got some ideas, but I am 100% not a scientist, I'm just a musician, and so figured I'd ask the fine people of r/askscience instead.

submitted by /u/DemosthenesKey
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[medicine/chemistry] Drug names... how do they work?

Posted: 01 Nov 2018 11:32 PM PDT

Now I understand that there are the chemical names e.g.: N-methyl-3-phenyl-3-[4-(trifluoromethyl) phenoxy]propan-1-amine. And the generic names e.g. Fluoxetine. And lastly the brand names e.g. prozac.

But I want to know 3 things:

How is the generic name chosen?

How is a very complicated name like N-methyl-3-phenyl-3-[4-(trifluoromethyl) phenoxy]propan-1-amine formed from a somewhat simple molecule of C17H18F3NO?
And lastly how are you supposed to pronounce/read a name like that? (chemical name)

submitted by /u/Ashencloud
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Does scar tissue out perform its replaces tissue in anyway?

Posted: 01 Nov 2018 11:05 PM PDT

I've been intrigued with biology recently and one thing I've found rather interesting was scar tissue seems to be objectively worse in every way, but if that's the case then why would our bodies use it? Is it just simply easier to produce and replicate?

submitted by /u/ZeCoziii
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Why is there no life thriving in high altitudes?

Posted: 02 Nov 2018 02:26 AM PDT

We have animals on the ground, below water at extreme depths, but why is there no life high up where planes usually cruise?

submitted by /u/ApatShe
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What’s the science behind a stuffed nose? What is its purpose and how does it occur?

Posted: 01 Nov 2018 07:16 PM PDT

What is the difference between the Phenomenological MSSM (pMSSM) and the Constrained MSSM (cMSSM)?

Posted: 02 Nov 2018 07:37 AM PDT

MSSM meaning minimal supersymmetric standard model of course.

submitted by /u/Franzvst
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Do wild animals get bored? This excludes pets

Posted: 01 Nov 2018 08:05 PM PDT

So i saw a similar post where the general consensus was un-stimulate pets can get bored, but i'm wondering about those fish that sit on the bottom of the ocean for hours waiting to strike

submitted by /u/Rowdyyrockstar
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