While “having fur and producing milk” may have been the original description of mammals, biology no longer classifies things that way.
Today, all of the classification is based on Clades, which can be established by doing DNA investigation (similarity matching). So, “mammals” are defined as a clade. And whether somebody falls into it or not depends on their DNA similarity. And coconut clearly do not belong into there.
Scientists have warned that a court decision to block the growing of the genetically modified (GM) crop Golden Rice in the Philippines could have catastrophic consequences. Tens of thousands of children could die in the wake of the ruling, they argue....
Basically, the issue is that this Golden Rice is a foreign species in Philippines. That comes with a lot of complications.
Most importantly, local farmers don’t have the knowledge how to deal with this new type of rice. They are worried that their native species are being replaced and could go extinct, which would be difficult to revert. It would lead to yet another platform lock-in.
Rice is a well-understood plant with well-understood properties. One of these properties is that it just doesn’t have many vitamins. If you want vitamins, you have to get another plant as a side-dish.
What these mad scientists propose is to change the very nature of rice to make it something that it is not, to solve a problem (Vitamin A deficiency) that could be approached with much less severe measures (like, growing carrots as a side-dish).
Agriculture is like medicine: You should always attempt to use the approach that is least invasive and has the smallest possible impact, while still solving the problem. This way, you minimize complications and reduce risks.
Exactly. And those who suffer in the end is always the people, never the big corps. Never trust big corps to do the right thing in agriculture. They’ll fuck you over and leave the environment destroyed. Build local species.
One method is epigenome engineering and would target genes advantageous for space. Another method is to combine the DNA of other species (i.e. tardigrades) with human cells to make humans better fit for space....
there’s no construction material in outer space. Therefore, no or few spare parts. Everything that’s lost (think leaks) can only be replenished after 6 months.
artificial gravity?
has to be self-sustaining and able to develop and grow.
The abrasive properties of sand would apply to all machinery (including oil pumps) but today, we seem to have no problem installing tons of oil pumps in the middle of the desert.
Then, abrasive effects are strongest on moving parts (such as wind mills and oil pumps) but not so strong on solid state devices (such as computer chips or solar panels). Therefore, I don’t expect that to be much of a problem.
Occasional shade from sand storms are maybe ~5% losses per year, which is not much. In exchange, the rest of the time, the sky is cloudless.
Water is a living space. It harbors all kinds of life. It’s not good that we try to industrialize rivers. Not good at all. We should use only wind and solar as renewable energy sources. And batteries for storage.
I think the best aspect about these dams is that they are already there. We don’t need to do massive investments in our infrastructure to built giant batteries, since water power is already there and can be easily modified to act as storage additionally.
Energy usage is going to increase (quite a lot, if you ask me) in the future due to low-cost solar power. But also, I have to say, that’s a good thing. Solar power has almost no environmental impact at all, and if you can’t cherish that, but still doom into depression, then I would recommend reconsidering your lifestyle and maybe talk to a therapist.
Solar panels consist mostly of Silicon, which is the most abundant material in earth’s crust. There’s really no “mineral” whose mining causes fewer problems. And i put “mineral” in quotes because it’s not your typical mineral that you have to dig up to use.
Also, solar panels are entirely non-toxic, making their safe disposal a non-problem.
Yes, but the probabilities (for the lightning) are not independent. So, while everyday there is a 50% chance to be hit be lightning, it’s the same outcome every day. If you didn’t get hit by lightning yesterday, you probably won’t today either.
How do you recover from seeing something awful on the Internet?
new preference war just dropped (i.redd.it)
geteilt von: lemmit.online/post/3018791...
Mammals (beehaw.org)
‘A catastrophe’: Greenpeace blocks planting of ‘lifesaving’ Golden Rice (www.theguardian.com)
Scientists have warned that a court decision to block the growing of the genetically modified (GM) crop Golden Rice in the Philippines could have catastrophic consequences. Tens of thousands of children could die in the wake of the ruling, they argue....
TIL of research into genetically engineering humans for space and living on other planets. (www.space.com)
One method is epigenome engineering and would target genes advantageous for space. Another method is to combine the DNA of other species (i.e. tardigrades) with human cells to make humans better fit for space....
Even in Saudi Arabia, Renewable Power Is Cheaper Than Fossil Fuels (www.bloomberg.com)
Archive link
The surge in hydroelectric dams is driving massive biodiversity loss (theconversation.com)
Non-binary (lemmy.world)
Texas doctor who said nine-year-olds can safely give birth appointed to maternal mortality committee (www.theguardian.com)
Drink up (sh.itjust.works)
Biden Is Trying to Buy EVs Time With New Tariffs on China. It Might Not Work (www.wired.com)