Tag Archives: chemistry

Aluminum is Wealth and Knowledge is Better than Gold

This post is also available in video form: https://youtu.be/pXXad5FmkiU

Aluminum is wealth. That sounds strange – it’s cheap, and it’s a recent invention. But the fact that we can all get use (goods and services) because of things made of aluminum is a kind of wealth. And it’s an example of a bigger principle. When someone tells you something is rare or scarce and equates that to value, remember this. Value comes from enabling more people to enjoy something, not from preserving its exclusivity.

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A Deeper Look at Systems Biology and Aging

Why do we need Systems Biology to help science slow or stop aging? That would be the most profound medical breakthrough since antibiotics. I think systems biology is the key and I spent the last month learning about how it relates to aging research, and I’ve tried to summarize my thoughts here and in a YouTube video (which you can check out at this link). So: what even is Systems biology?

Imagine we have a little miniature world, like a terrarium.

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Senolytic targeting a membrane marker by Poblocka et al.

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You can also view this post in Video Format!

If we can kill off the senescent cells in our body, we will grow younger. This paper by Poblacka and associates describes a way to accomplish that… in cells in a dish. But it’s an important step and I’ll explain why. I want to go through a peer-reviewed paper I found really interesting. It’s about a new technique to kill senescent cells and it’s a step toward managing, slowing, or even stopping the aging process.

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Sad Gap and Coffee Comic

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I made a vlog today about how I address the Sad Gap. If you’re not a part of the nerdfighteria youtube sphere, I will explain. The Vlogbrothers have both talked about it recently (see Hank’s video or John’s video). The sad gap is the place between finding out about a problem and being in a position to do something – anything – about it. It’s possible to fall right into the sad gap and end up not actually doing anything at all.

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My phone is eating my brain, also new video is up!

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I posted a video about chromatography, but first I want to talk about focus and cell phones. The comic is almost a verbatim conversation I had with my wife. It’s hard to escape my phone even for the time it takes to use the restroom. That can’t be good for my psyche.

I was thinking about doing a deeper dive on that, but it just doesn’t fit the theme of the blog/vlog any more. It fits better over at my other site, Student Pro Tips, but I have not updated that for a long time. Then I thought, maybe I SHOULD update that site and maybe add a video, too! Because I need more projects. I have not done that yet… we will see. [EDIT: I posted the video and blog post about this whole thing]

Research summary on the subject:

There have been several meta-analyses and reviews on smartphone addiction and smartphone effects on cognition and learning.
There’s a thing called Nomophobia now: “The term NOMOPHOBIA or NO MObile PHone PhoBIA is used to describe a psychological condition when people have a fear of being detached from mobile phone connectivity.”

All that from a comic.

Ok, about chromatography. Here’s the video.

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