Today I Learned

[WWGD]

Today I learned there exist plants with things called psychoactive alkaloids.

I must be careful then when making teas. I don't want my brain function to be changed.

Actually, just about anything you do changes your brain function, though not necessarily in a radical way. The changes in brain states are needed to adapt to a changing world.

 

[Sophia]

Today I learned there exist plants with things called psychoactive alkaloids.

I must be careful then when making teas. I don't want my brain function to be changed.

Is there a difference between these alkaloids and those chemicals present in traditional drugs?

 

[Psinter]

Actually, just about anything you do changes your brain function, though not necessarily in a radical way. The changes in brain states are needed to adapt to a changing world.

Thanks for that tip.

Is there a difference between these alkaloids and those chemicals present in traditional drugs?

It says the difference is that some traditional drugs use them as base. I'm guessing they are different in some drugs and the same in others.

 

[zoobyshoe]

It says the difference is that some traditional drugs use them as base.

But what is the article referring to when it says "traditional?" It's "traditional" for some Native Americans to eat peyote cacti as part of ritual ceremonies in order to induce 'mystical experiences,' in other words: hallucinations, highly altered perceptions, and extremely out-of-the-box states of mind. A person on peyote is essentially helpless and has to be watched over by a shaman. Naturally psychoactive plants (and there are a lot of them) are, consequently, extremely dangerous. They definitely produce radical mental alterations.

 

[Psinter]

But what is the article referring to when it says "traditional?"

It says here that it means this. Look:

Alkaloids - Many have found use in traditional or modern medicine, or as starting points for drug discovery.

But I bet Sophia and I meant normal drugs used by doctors.

Naturally psychoactive plants (and there are a lot of them) are, consequently, extremely dangerous. They definitely produce radical mental alterations.

Yup. Just what I was thinking! That's why I used the little face: And said I must be careful when making teas. I most definitely don't want to hallucinate.

 

[zoobyshoe]

And said I must be careful when making teas. I most definitely don't want to hallucinate.

You are not making tea from random, unknown plants are you?

 

[Hornbein]

Natural drug plants often have a complicated mixture of alkaloids while synthesized alkaloids are pure.

 

[Psinter]

You are not making tea from random, unknown plants are you?

Nope, I would never... Well... I may have... Only once... Deep in the forest a plant smelled really good and was different from everything around it. But they are probably unknown only to me. Scientists must have written something about them somewhere. I just have to look for it and educate myself.

 

[Sophia]

I've just read in the newspaper that there have been several cases where toddlers got swollen breasts after their parents gave them baby food containing meat from foreign chickens. The chickens were fed with growth hormones and large doses of antibiotics.
It is recommended that people don't buy cheap meat from central and south America that have been not properly checked. This is not commonly sold here as fresh meat, but it can be included in processed products where people don't expect it.
The case is now investigated by veterinary police.

 

[Dr. Courtney]

I've just read in the newspaper that there have been several cases where toddlers got swollen breasts after their parents gave them baby food containing meat from foreign chickens. The chickens were fed with growth hormones and large doses of antibiotics.
It is recommended that people don't buy cheap meat from central and south America that have been not properly checked. This is not commonly sold here as fresh meat, but it can be included in processed products where people don't expect it.
The case is now investigated by veterinary police.

Recommended by who? The CDC or FDA or someone authority we should listen to? Or some fringe group of alarmists peddling pseudoscience?

I don't want your arguments or reasoning. I want to know if you can show your assertions are backed by reliable sources.

 

[Sophia]

Recommended by who? The CDC or FDA or someone authority we should listen to? Or some fringe group of alarmists peddling pseudoscience?

I don't want your arguments or reasoning. I want to know if you can show your assertions are backed by reliable sources.

Official authorities in Slovakia who are responsible for checking food safety ( government veterinary office. I don't know what's the English equivalent ) .
We have had many scandals with low quality food in last years. That means products not meeting European standards.
Mostly if was cheap foreign food aimed at low income customers.

 

[OmCheeto]

I've just read in the newspaper that there have been several cases where toddlers got swollen breasts after their parents gave them baby food containing meat from foreign chickens. The chickens were fed with growth hormones and large doses of antibiotics.
It is recommended that people don't buy cheap meat from central and south America that have been not properly checked. This is not commonly sold here as fresh meat, but it can be included in processed products where people don't expect it.
The case is now investigated by veterinary police.

Interesting. When I was going through puberty, I developed lumps under each of my nipples, about an inch in diameter, and about 1/2 inch thick. I thought I was going through some hermaphroditic phase and was turning into a girl!

Fortunately, my micro-boobs eventually went away.

But today I learned that the condition has a name, gynecomastia, is very common, and other boys get freaked out about it too.

Gynecomastia in Adolescent Males [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc]
...
Pubertal gynecomastia is self-limited in 75 to 90% of adolescents and regresses over 1 to 3 years. Observation and reassurance are widely regarded as the safest and most reasonable treatment. However, because gynecomastia in adolescents occurs at a sensitive time when boys are increasingly aware of their self-image, health care providers may be questioned by the patient and/or his family about the role of pharmacological or surgical therapies.
...

The 3 or 4 articles I've skimmed through this morning regarding the condition seem to indicate that gynecomastia is a "hormonal thing". (I ain't no doctor, so that's what I'm callin' it!)

In regards to your situation, one article indicates that yours is not the first incident:

Female Infants Growing Breasts: Another Disaster From Hormones in Milk Production [Huffington Post]
10 August 2010

People are very upset about this, and for good reason. Female infants in China who have been fed formula have been growing breasts.

According to the official Chinese Daily newspaper, medical tests performed on the babies found levels of estrogens circulating in their bloodstreams that are as high as those found in most adult women. These babies are between four and 15 months old. And the evidence is overwhelming that the milk formula they have been fed is responsible.
...
In the 1980s, doctors in Puerto Rico began encountering cases of precocious puberty. There were four-year-old girls with fully developed breasts. There were three-year old girls with pubic hair and vaginal bleeding. There were one-year-old girls who had not yet begun to walk but whose breasts were growing. And it wasn't just the females. Young boys were also affected. Many had to have surgery to deal with breasts that had become grossly swollen.
...

A quick google indicates that Huffpo didn't make up the story:

An epidemic of precocious development in Puerto Rican children [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]
September 1985

Abstract
An alarming incidence of premature sexual development has been reported in Puerto Rico during the last 7 years. A significant increment of premature thelarche, premature pubarche, prepubertal breast enlargement in boys, and precocious pseudo-puberty in girls has been observed throughout the island. Several food specimens analyzed by chromatography and cytosol receptor assay revealed significant levels of estradiol equivalent in some meat samples. We suspect that the early sexual development is caused by exogenous estrogen contamination in the food ingested by the children and by their mothers.

Terms in the NIH abstract that I am not familiar with:

Thelarche: the onset of female breast development
Pubarche: the appearance of sexual hair
Chromatography: the collective term for a set of laboratory techniques for the separation of mixtures
Cytosol receptor: an intracellular receptor protein, especially one for a steroid hormone
Assay: analysis to determine the presence, absence, or quantity of one or more components
Estradiol: ... is a steroid and estrogen sex hormone, and the primary female sex hormone...
Exogenous: introduced from or produced outside the organism or system; specifically : not synthesized within the organism or system​

 

[Sophia]

Thank you OmCheeto for your research. I've not heard of those cases but it doesn't surprise me.
What's horrible is that these substances can get into baby food. Only time will show what kind of chemicals we consume every day and put on our skin in cosmetics.
When I first started reading about these things I was very concerned and tried to avoid everything. But soon I saw that everything is contaminated to some degree, even bio vegetables cannot be 100% clean so I decided to just forget about most of these dangers and live a normal life. Otherwise I would be either dead or end up in a mental hospital :-)

 

[Sophia]

Thank you for the info about gynecomastia. Never heard about it but it may be useful in case I'll have a son.

 

[Hornbein]

Thank you for the info about gynecomastia. Never heard about it but it may be useful in case I'll have a son.

According to the Mayo Clinic, gynomastia can be caused by

• Alcohol
• Amphetamines
• Marijuana
• Heroin
• Methadone

and numerous pharmaceuticals. So the rumor that marijuana can cause it is true.

 

[OmCheeto]

Thank you OmCheeto for your research.

You are welcome.

I've not heard of those cases but it doesn't surprise me.
What's horrible is that these substances can get into baby food.

Did you hear about the 2008 Chinese milk scandal?

The 2008 Chinese milk scandal was a food safety incident in China. The scandal involved milk and infant formula along with other food materials and components being adulterated with melamine.
China reported an estimated 300,000 victims in total. Six infants died from kidney stones and other kidney damage with an estimated 54,000 babies being hospitalised.
...
A number of criminal prosecutions were conducted by the Chinese government. Two people were executed...​

Here in America, I don't think business people get executed for such crimes. So that kind of made me admire the Chinese government.

Only time will show what kind of chemicals we consume every day and put on our skin in cosmetics.
When I first started reading about these things I was very concerned and tried to avoid everything. But soon I saw that everything is contaminated to some degree, even bio vegetables cannot be 100% clean so I decided to just forget about most of these dangers and live a normal life. Otherwise I would be either dead or end up in a mental hospital :-)

It's been my experience, that incidental toxic/deadly "things", in reasonable quantities, can safely be ignored.

 

[Silicon Waffle]

I am allergic to my dog saliva. I've applied it to different skin areas on my body and found I get itchy most around my thighs once it gets soaked or contracted into my skin. Other areas on my wrists, hands, or feet etc shows no specific symptoms. My dog is not let run free outside of my house. I don't know how to discover what bacteria there are in its saliva that might cause the itching and I don't think it is capnocytophaga animorsus though because I have my dog injected once in every 2-3 months.

 

[gjonesy]

Today I learn that if you can put up a compelling argument if it contradicts someone's preconceived notions and beliefs if they have power they will abuse that power no matter how factual your information is.

 

[wolram]

Today i learned a unquadragintilliard is 10^250, that is a lot. try saying it when you have had a few,

 

[Hornbein]

Today I learn that if you can put up a compelling argument if it contradicts someone's preconceived notions and beliefs if they have power they will abuse that power no matter how factual your information is.

Me: "Thusly I have conclusively proved that 1+1=2."

Them: "Oh yeah?" <Repeatedly taps palm with baseball bat.>

Me: "Oh dear, I seem to have overlooked a vital factor..."

 

[gjonesy]

Me: "Thusly I have conclusively proved that 1+1=2."

Them: "Oh yeah?" <Repeatedly taps palm with baseball bat.>

Me: "Oh dear, I seem to have overlooked a vital factor..."

Now that's funny

 

[gjonesy]

It's been my experience, that incidental toxic/deadly "things", in reasonable quantities, can safely be ignored.

Every time you drink tap water or use tap water in cooking my friend. But who doesn't enjoy a little nuclear waste by product with their morning coffee...

http://fluoridealert.org/news/asheboro-notifies-residents-of-over-fluoridation-of-water/

 

[Hornbein]

Today I learned the human race uses 20 trillion watts of energy for heating, transportation, etc.

That's about 3 kilowatts per person, 24/7. 80% is from the burning of fossil fuels.

 

[Jonathan Scott]

Today I learn that if you can put up a compelling argument if it contradicts someone's preconceived notions and beliefs if they have power they will abuse that power no matter how factual your information is.

Today, as on just about every previous day, I have failed to learn that rational argument only wins the day when the other side is rational too. I can't help believing that somehow it OUGHT to win anyway.

 

[mfb]

Every time you drink tap water or use tap water in cooking my friend. But who doesn't enjoy a little nuclear waste by product with their morning coffee...

http://fluoridealert.org/news/asheboro-notifies-residents-of-over-fluoridation-of-water/

No need to restrict it to tap water. Literally everything macroscopic is a bit radioactive and (at least for everyday things) contains at least half the periodic table. Everything you eat, drink or breath contains uranium, radon, arsenic, mercury, gold, ... usually in tiny amounts.

 

[Rx7man]

I learned there are SOME things you can break in half and get 2 whole pieces from...

Have you every heard of half a crumb?

 

[mfb]

After the first line I thought of Banach-Tarski.

A pile of [whatever] is another example.

 

[Rx7man]

I don't have the education in set theory etc to make heads or tails of that.. but it sure sounds intriguing!

 

[mfb]

You can split a ball into five (or more) pieces, move those pieces (but do not change their size or shape), and you get two full balls of the same size as the original one.

Doesn't work with real objects made out of atoms, unfortunatly.

 

[Rx7man]

I gathered that much, but the 'why' behind it is beyond my comprehension... and I really doubt I'm learning THAT today... I think it would require a semester or two.

 

[mfb]

Why not?

You cannot assign a volume to those pieces, this is an important part.

 

[Rx7man]

That's one point that baffles me, how you can't assign a volume to something which sounds like it's in 3D space... I just can't visualize how this could work, and part of that may be because I'm thinking in terms of physical things made of atoms.

 

[mfb]

Yeah, that is the point. The parts are some weird "point-cloud" - so complex that it is impossible to assign a volume to them.
Impossible to realize with things made out of atoms.

 

[Rx7man]

Here's a bit of a mind-bender... click to view full image if gif animation doesn't work
https://www.physicsforums.com/attachments/95294

 

[Psinter]

Today I learned that in some contexts shipping means:

support or have a particular interest in a romantic pairing between two characters in a fictional series, often when this relationship is one portrayed by fans rather than depicted in the series itself.

Example:
People, stop shipping the main character with her! He has a wife!
Or
I ship it.