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While flying home from a conference, a friend saw these weird clouds or weird cloud-adjacent arcs. What are they? Alternatively, does anyone have a Google search term I can put in to learn more? If it helps, the flight was east from Phoenix.
posted by eleanna at 4:34 PM - 9 answers

I have seen a lot of people interested in the idea of quantum consciousness making a big deal of this paper: Ultraviolet Superradiance from Mega-Networks of Tryptophan in Biological Architectures. And I am not sure if it is good science or says anything especially novel. [more inside]
posted by The Manwich Horror at 8:30 PM - 11 answers

Is there a way to find out how common a particular stress dream is? I have a recurring stress dream (started sometime between 2003 and 2010) and I am wondering what percentage of the population get it. [more inside]
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 6:38 PM - 1 answers

With governments starting to swing into action globally, it's hard not to feel like we're at the start of a familiar film. Though it's very hard to forecast risk, my partner and I are starting to discuss what, if anything, we should be doing and how to know when we should react(we're in California, have a toddler, have savings, are generally lucky to have options). We've all been through a pandemic before. If you thought you might be in November 2019 again, what would you do this time? What are you doing now? [more inside]
posted by SandCounty at 6:34 PM - 36 answers

If I draw an outline around a shape and delete the original shape, what have I achieved? I’ve been saying “embiggened” but I’m pretty sure that’s not right. [more inside]
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 5:28 AM - 11 answers

We live in an area where radon may be a problem. [more inside]
posted by ragtimepiano at 10:39 AM - 2 answers

I'm fascinated by the replication crisis in psychology. What I want is a two column summary: Experiment and did it replicate? Maybe with some commentary. I cannot find this. I can find links to hundreds of individual studies. That's too much reading for me. I can find summaries like "60% didn't replicate." That's too little info for me. I want to know which ones replicated and which didn't. Help?
posted by papergirl at 8:58 AM - 4 answers

We live in the east bay and didn't have any luck last night, but I wasn't able to drive too far out from city light pollution. More under the fold... [more inside]
posted by Molasses808 at 2:07 PM - 4 answers

I know very little about microscopy or imaging of small things, but I have a need for something greater than the stereo microscopes we use at my job. Do you know what I need? [more inside]
posted by AbelMelveny at 9:59 AM - 5 answers

How does a SodaStream & similar "make pop at home" devices dissolve CO2 into water so much faster than a soda siphon? Is it the nozzle and a regulator? [more inside]
posted by ASCII Costanza head at 10:15 AM - 8 answers

I recently attended two medieval fairs here in Germany with my 6 year old daughter and got thinking about what other fun shows or performances one could add. As I am working at a lab (life science, not chemistry) I naturally thought about playing an Alchemist. I guess an alchemy show would rely mostly on the same tricks that are done in chemistry/STEM shows, just with an old timey touch. Have you seen something done like this? Or have an idea which tricks or experiments would be a good fit? I found a discussion on a LARP forum with some nice ideas, like playing with gallium, using the stuff from a sparkler for a little fire effect, or the suddenly expanding worm reaction. Dry ice for nice smoke effect and blubbering. I would aim this at entertaining kids.
posted by SweetLiesOfBokonon at 6:42 AM - 7 answers

This question is about the current spread of H5N1 influenza ("bird flu") among cattle in the United States. Is it known whether (a) this is a result of a single bird-to-cow transmission event, after which the (presumably new) cow-infecting sub-strain of H5N1 is spreading solely cow to cow, or (b) a cow-infecting sub-strain is also circulating among birds and each herd that is getting infected is being infected by separate bird-to-cow transmission events? [more inside]
posted by heatherlogan at 8:52 PM - 7 answers

I've read that the Moon and Jupiter protect the Earth by slinging space junk away from us. But naively, for every space rock that was heading towards us that gets slung away, isn't it equally likely there was a space rock that wasn't heading for us that now gets slung at us?
posted by musofire at 9:05 AM - 10 answers

A story about a NASA engineer discovering a new force of nature which enables reactionless propulsion popped up some days ago. I was intrigued at first but this all sounds very scammy. One commenter had to say this about the math in the underlying patent: "Lol the math is so bad. He "derives" the formula mv=t*dU/dx, but U switches from the total potential energy in the first equation to something like the potential energy density in that equation. The total potential energy U is not a function of x so dU/dx is zero and his whole argument falls apart." The equations can be found in the patent on page 20. And also at the end of the article I linked to in the beginning. But I have no knowledge of physics, is this piece of math indeed obviously false?
posted by SweetLiesOfBokonon at 3:24 AM - 17 answers

My experience is that when I drop a (yet-unopened) can of carbonated beverage on a hard concrete or cement floor, the impact has a later result: namely, when I open the can, the beverage explodes out as if it has been shaken. Can time cure this? Is there going to be difference if I open the can 30 seconds later or 30 days later?
posted by PaulVario at 6:41 AM - 12 answers

Currently having trouble making sense of this paper I was sent by someone I respect. But I'm not so sure I trust the TLDR version source they heard before reading it. It's about the COVID vaccines (which I've supported) and has been retracted, but the authors are standing by what they said. Got some major ADHD/stress brain fog going on and I'm needing some guidance: [more inside]
posted by Saucy Possum at 12:37 PM - 12 answers

Has there ever been a convention for a Cartesian-style plane read right-to-left? [more inside]
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 5:37 PM - 6 answers

Just back from 2 nights at a hotel in San Diego and fearing the worst. Any alternatives as to what this bug could be? [more inside]
posted by gatorbiddy at 8:41 PM - 15 answers

I thought I'd get my free glasses at Warby Parker or the library but after going to two stores and two library branches, I think I'm too late. There are a gazillion for sale on Amazon, but I worry they're not trustworthy. Do you know places that are selling trustworthy ones in the city? Please only rec places you know has them, because I already feel I've done the wild goose chase. Thanks.
posted by swheatie at 4:32 PM - 9 answers

I've got a 16 y o kid who is interested in biology/entomology/ocean. Looking to incorporate that with anything from a day trip, weekend trip, or week long trip. While time and money are things we don't have lots of extra of, I am considering Osa Peninsula for a trip in February (there's a "bug lady" that does night tours). Wondering if there is anything in the US (bonus for New England area) that was a good experience that's a bit higher level than the typical lobster boat kind of tour. More hands on. It could be anything from a 2 hour tour with a naturalist, to all day, and maybe even week long. PS Thanks to his awesome teachers, stuff that didn't seem that interesting coming from mom seems super interesting now!
posted by beccaj at 7:16 AM - 8 answers