ImAScientistToo

ImAScientistToo t1_j68b9k1 wrote

When I was an EMT we got a call for a house that smelled really bad. This was in the country so the houses were far apart and the neighbors called it in. When we arrived in the ambulance we could smell it inside the ambulance as soon as we turned into the driveway. I remember because we had just picked up lunch and I was eating fried chicken. The smell was so bad I couldn’t eat fried chicken for years without thinking about it. The man lived alone and had no family and no one to check on him. He died watching TV and was still sitting in his recliner. He’s body had decomposed enough that his head sank down into his chest cavity. It was the most awful thing I ever smelled. The coroner later told us he had died around 6 months ago. In all my years I’ve never seen a naturally mummified body. The humidity in southern Louisiana is too high to allow it to happen naturally.

1

ImAScientistToo t1_ixuvcvz wrote

Keto or ketosis is the metabolic state your body is in when you are turning fat into ketones to fuel your body. Your body can handle this and clear all the waste products associated with it. Ketoacidosis is ketosis in overdrive to the point that your body can’t handle the waste products associated with it and is a medical emergency that requires medical intervention. It’s usually seen in uncontrolled diabetes. Acidosis has to do with your body’s natural pH level which usually rung from 7.35-7.45. Acidosis starts when your body’s pH is less than 7.35 and can be metabolic acidosis or respiratory acidosis depending on the cause. Metabolic acidosis is caused by the kidney not producing enough sodium bicarbonate (NaCHO3). It’s a metabolic process. I’m this case the lungs will compensate and blow off more CO2. When it brings your pH back to normal range it’s called compensated metabolic acidosis.

I’ll update this more in a little bit. I have a patient to go see.

Respiratory acidosis happens when the lungs don’t blow off enough CO2. This happens during respiratory failure and has many causes ranging from infection to chemical exposure. As CO2 builds up in the blood the ph lowers. The kidneys will compensate be making more sodium bicarbonate (NaCHO3). When the ph returns to a normal level we call it compensated respiratory acidosis.

16

ImAScientistToo t1_iu4si4r wrote

Another thing to realize is that when something increases your risk of getting cancer by let’s say 2% that’s not 2% of the general population. That’s a 2% more of the cancer population. The risk of cancer varies by age. If your under 20 years old the risk is about 25 out if 100,000. Or 0.025% chance. If your above 60 it’s about 1,000 in 100,000 or 1% chance. A 2% increase in the 60+ group is only 1.02 % chance of cancer in the general population.

2

ImAScientistToo t1_iu22h2c wrote

It mostly depends on if your growth plates have fused yet. If not then you will grow taller. Easily 7+ feet. If they have already fused you will develop a condition called acromegaly. Most people with excess growth hormone will develop acromegaly after their growth plates fuse. Last I checked they haven’t figured out how to treat is medically yet. Sometimes surgical procedures can be done to the pituitary gland to prevent further progression.

167

ImAScientistToo t1_itbtejh wrote

Creatures evolve randomly in some aspects and in other aspects they don’t. This is a random evolution. It may have started with the color change and then they were easily seen and easily eaten until one evolved to be poisonous or it may have started with the poison and then the color change which is more likely in my opinion. If caterpillar bob evolved to be bright red randomly then all the caterpillar bobs would just be a buffet for the birds until another random evolution occurred and caterpillar bob now has poison in his system. Eventually the birds associate caterpillar bob with pain or sickness and stop eating him.

More likely caterpillar bob already had poison and then evolved the bright red color. I’d be already had the poison then being easily spotted by the bird isn’t a big problem because the bird won’t consider him food.

Milk snakes evolved to look like coral snakes. They aren’t venomous like the coral snake but they benefited by looking similar to an animal no other animal wants to play with. It was a random evolution with a big up side for the snake.

An example of non-random is the giraffe. Newer evolutionary theories say that the giraffe stretching its neck up to reach the higher leaves in the taller trees contributed to its neck growing longer.

0

ImAScientistToo t1_irvjc7x wrote

Mercury toxicity usually comes from inhalation of the vapors but in some cases can be absorbed in the skin or ingested. One of the properties of mercy is that it interacts with other many elements many of which are needed for normal body functions and many of these functions are in the brain. When mercury binds with these elements they it changes the way they function so our body no longer functions like it should. Symptoms include vision changes, pins and needles feelings, decreased coordination, and sometimes death. The symptoms can range in severity from very mild to death depending on the amount and length of exposure.

13