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Arguments why Telegram is not a good idea for anyone
  • A solid privacy conscious youtuber, The Hated One, just published a video on this exact topic. It's very detail oriented and should be easy for anyone to follow along. Here's the link: https://youtube.com/watch?v=A8ZXDiQLH9I

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    US confirms first case of bird flu with no known animal exposure
  • Virulence is defined as causing damage to the host. If the virus kills everyone in that small proximity, the virus will no longer be able to reproduce or spread, plain and simple.

    Viruses are super crafty in obtaining their limited number of proteins from the host. However, some viruses bring enzymes with them to get the job done without much help from the host. These are typically larger RNA viruses. Influenza is in this group, but it still steals the 5' cap from the host. This happens without miss as it's able to interact with the host RNA polymerase undetected and then this cap makes it so the influenza RNA appears to be host RNA.

    The 1918 influenza was so deadly as it had just jumped to a new host, humans. The same exact influenza responsible for the 1918 pandemic has relatives still in circulation. It's not in circulation as the less virulent versions were more successful. This explicitly demonstrates the preference to be less virulent.

    If a virus doesn't need many proteins from the host, it's able to reproduce much more quickly than one dependant on more host resources. The more resources it needs, the increased ability of the immune system to prevent it's reproduction. So in many situations, a lower requirement for host resources can make it more successful. Regardless, it can be very dependent on host resources, like many DNA viruses, and still not be very virulent. A great example of this is Hepatitis D. Virology is a fascinating field and it's highly intricate as a virus is more like it's host than any other viruses. There's not a lot of commonality between different viruses and their reproduction cycles. So viruses in the same family are compared, and the 1918 becoming less virulent shows there's a preference for becoming less virulent over time.

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    US confirms first case of bird flu with no known animal exposure
  • Then why does bird flu have more invasive symptoms and a higher mortality rate compared to human influenza's? I was taught by a virologist who's been around the block many times and got her PhD in the USSR. She was adamant that a parasite never wants to kill it's host, as this results in no longer being able to reproduce in the host and shortens it's reproduction time in future host.

    Most viral offspring are not capable of infection, as without mutations, viruses would not be able to reproduce effectively and could not adapt to changing environments. To disprove a hypothesis simply means one aspect of the statement is incorrect. So while the cause and effect occurs, the explanation for why wasn't dialed. Or at least, this would be my guess for how it could have been disproven.

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    US confirms first case of bird flu with no known animal exposure
  • We've known since at least March that about 10 human cases of this new bird flu would allow the virus to mutate and adapt to humans. This is the 14th reported case in the states this year, and the first which could have been transmitted from human to human. We understood what was happening, yet have really done nothing to try to prevent it's spread.

    The mutation rate baked into Influenza's reproduction cycle is much more elaborate than coronaviruses, and this isn't exactly a bad thing. When a human catches bird flu from a bird, the mortality rates are pretty burly as this version of the virus attaches to the α2:3 receptor. While this receptor is found throughout the avian digestive and respiratory track, it's only found in the lower lungs of humans. A lower lung infection will always be gnarlier than an upper respiratory infection. Human influenza viruses have a preference for the α2:6 receptor, which is found throughout our airway. This is the primary adaptation which occurs when influenza mutates to infect humans. But a virus is a parasite, so in their ideal world, they wouldn't kill their host. Viruses often do the most damage when adapting to or having recently adapted to a new host. Hopefully, the mutation rate of influenza will result in a shorter pandemic compared to COVID if it ends up taking place.

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    Everybody in SoCal today...
  • “Shots fired, into the sky, are now returning, where the fuck will you hide?”

    Rise Against — Rumors of My Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

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  • Invest in Housing, Not Prisons: California's War on the Homeless

    therealnews.com Invest in housing, not prisons: California's war on the homeless

    Rather than treating housing as a human right and committing to large-scale construction of accessible housing, states like California are responding with police raids of homeless encampments and imprisonment for unhoused people.

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    *Permanently Deleted*
  • Oh, I see, I interpreted the statement as Mozilla handing over previously collected user data as payment for getting AccuWeather's widget.

    However, any webpage visited in a bowser provides this info. So if you haven't stopped it happening from the get, you're handing this data over in mass. But thanks for clearing that up for me!

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    *Permanently Deleted*
  • Why would Mozilla pay AccuWeather in user data? This would cut into their revenue and be horrendous press. Doing so makes no sense, legit entirely illogical. AccuWeather paid to get placement on the new tabs page. But, if you're this worried about it and haven't spent time in about:config to prevent fingerprinting, tracking, and location data collection, start there for sure. Either way, this seems like a huge stretch and wouldn't make sense for Mozilla try and pull off.

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    *Permanently Deleted*
  • Are you implying Mozilla paid AccuWeather to have placement on it's browser? It's always the other way around, think about Google paying to be the default search engine on Safari. If anything, I have to think Mozilla was paid to incorporate AccuWeather and not the other way around.

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    Are there any individual cells that make decisions, or do they all react to their immediate environments according to chemical and mechanical laws?
  • I mean, cellular/molecular biology is applied organic chemistry. It's all chemical based in some way or another. I guess with T and B cell receptor formations, each receptor binding domain is made totally at random. So much so, they go through training to ensure they won't attack self and are able to detect pathogen associated molecular patterns. Wildly, most T and B cells don't pass training and get recycled, more or less.

    So maybe, but you're talking about the world on the cellular level, it's all based on chemical reactions with environmental stimuli. To be alive requires responding to your environment, and chemistry is how that works at the microscopic level.

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    Are there any individual cells that make decisions, or do they all react to their immediate environments according to chemical and mechanical laws?
  • Immune cells form from stem cells. From start to finish in the stem cell differentiation process, four major changes occur. Some of these changes can have up to four potential outcomes each. Here's a map:

    While all cells react to their environment based on environmental stimuli and feedback loops, even bacteria and archaea, this is a great example of cell differentiation. All our cells started as stem cells, but the immune system's continuous and consistent use of the process is very unique. It's also the most elaborate and the image is surface level. Most the end cells pictured here will become more specific. Like there's many different T-cells, even T-cells which change so much they don't meet the classification of being a T-cell. The CD16 T-cell is a great example of this happening.

    I feel like this is what you were looking for, but I'm not totally sure.

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    'We tried everything': Another long-running Calif. music festival is canceled
  • He's truly phenomenal, basically the Harry Mack of spinning. Their set together is unreal!

    https://yewtu.be/watch?v=ggLpFa6CQyU

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    'We tried everything': Another long-running Calif. music festival is canceled
  • Marc Rebillet and Thundercat had sets too, plus Hamilton Morris was going to give a lecture. The line up was pretty stacked overall and early bird tickets were $250, which isn't unreasonable for a 3 day festival.

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    Researchers Map 50,000 of DNA’s Mysterious ‘Knots’ in the Human Genome
  • I've spent a good amount of time studying various DNA processes and never once made a connection between i-motifs and clippy. Great catch! lol

    The thing is, our cells create these "knots" to make room for enzymes to access our DNA. They're quite common as it's required for DNA transcription + replication, chromosome segregation in cell division, telomere maintenance, and to alter gene expression. Not sure how I overlooked what happens if they form more often than intended. Wild to learn it can lead to cancer, neurodegeneration, and heart disorders! Guess I missed two massive aspects when studying all this, the imapct of DNA forming i-motifs too often, and the resemblance to clippy hahaha.

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  • www.commondreams.org Leaked Messages Suggest Collaboration Between US, Ecuador’s Top Prosecutor as She Targeted Opponents, Broke the Law

    Drop Site News and The Intercept Brasil report that they have reviewed more than 1,500 leaked text messages that appear to be between Ecuadorian attorney general Diana Salazar, hailed by the US government as an anti-corruption champion, and former member of Ecuador’s National Assembly Ronny Aleaga. ...

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    Do bugs "clean" themself?
  • Yep! Insects can use their legs, mouthparts, as well as other specialized structures for grooming. In addition, some beetles actually use water to wash off dirt and contaminants. Other insects make and secret substances for cleaning. A common example of this is ants using formic acid as a disinfectant. Then, similar to monkeys, bugs like bees and ants conduct social grooming. This helps with the colonies overall health.

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    Any good Telegram alternative?
  • Standard Notes is my go to for notes 100%. It's all about privacy through encryption and is FOSS. Plus for this specific scenario, it also allows for notes export.

    https://standardnotes.com/download

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    Is there such a thing as a bullshit-free news agency?
  • I just use radindiemedia.com as my source for these news feeds. It's curated by an activist who also mixes in some of his work as well as a few other news sources. But those sites make up the vast majority of the links.

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    Is there such a thing as a bullshit-free news agency?
  • Sounds like you're looking for independent journalism, I'm in the same boat. I've found checking commondreams.org, scheerpost.com, therealnews.com, unicornriot.ninja, fair.org, thecanary.co, leftvoice.org, consortiumnews.com, labornotes.org, and popularresistance.org/news make for a great news feed. Those are an array of independent news outlets which keep it almost entirely just news. Setting up an RSS feed with these sites would be a solid move to ensure your getting news with none of the BS.

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    Mitochondria are Flinging Their DNA into Our Brain Cells
  • Kind of, however, a nut contains sperm cells which are gametes. Only reproductive cells are gametes, as they need half the total DNA of all our other cells. This is what allows an eggs and sprem to make a new human. The coolest aspect here is how genetic variation is ensured during this process. But nonetheless, that mitochondrial DNA getting splattered all over your brain is from somatic cells. So it has twice the amount of DNA in it than a nut lol.

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    Privacy.com Updates
  • Really? It says I need to upgrade my plan to Pro in order to use the discrete merchants feature.

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  • www.cuimc.columbia.edu Mitochondria Are Flinging Their DNA into Our Brain Cells

    A new study finds that mitochondria in our brain cells frequently fling their DNA into the cells' nucleus, where the mitochondrial DNA integrates into chromosomes, possibly causing harm.

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    Outrage as NYPD Arrests Cello-Playing Grandfather at Citibank Climate Protest

    https:// scheerpost.com /2024/08/09/outrage-as-nypd-arrests-cello-playing-grandfather-at-citibank-climate-protest/
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    www.commondreams.org Indivisible’s Statement on Harris’s Choice of Governor Tim Walz as a Running Mate

    Today, Indivisible released the following statement in response to Vice President Kamala Harris’s announcement on her selection of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate for the 2024 Presidential election: “Indivisible congratulates Vice President Harris and Governor Tim Walz on their histo...

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    Utica Streets Shut Down by 1,000 During Justice for Nyah Mway March

    unicornriot.ninja Utica Streets Shut Down by 1,000 During Justice for Nyah Mway March - UNICORN RIOT

    Nearly 1,000 people shut down the streets of Utica on July 13 in response to the police killing of 13-year-old Nyah Mway on June 28.

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    www.commondreams.org New Report Details Massive Impact of Methane Emissions on Near-Term Climate Picture

    A new report from the national advocacy group Food & Water Watch presents a stark picture of the immense amount of climate-killing methane emissions emanating from the top two sources of such pollution: fossil fuel fracking and corporate factory farming. While carbon dioxide still remains a larger s...

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    Harris Would Continue Genocide in Gaza

    https:// scheerpost.com /2024/07/22/harris-would-continue-genocide-in-gaza/
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    geopoliticaleconomy.substack.com EU admits it has hypocritical 'double standards' on Israel, Ukraine, Iraq, climate change

    EU foreign-policy chief Josep Borrell admitted the West has hypocritical “double standards” on international law, Russia-Ukraine-NATO war, Israel bombing Gaza, US-led invasion of Iraq, climate change

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    This past weekend the heads of state from Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger met in the first summit of the Alliance of Sahel States.

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    www.truthdig.com The Politics of the Plastics Treaty - Truthdig

    The petrochemical industry says it wants to help reduce plastic pollution, but not if it means cutting production and use.

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    We Can Have Cop City, Or We Can Have Democracy

    therealnews.com We can have Cop City, or we can have democracy

    Atlanta’s Democratic leadership is trying to build a massive police urban-warfare training facility before the public can stop it. The outcome will set a precedent for the political future, with implications well beyond the city itself.

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    scheerpost.com ‘Democracy Must Be Respected’: Bolivian Leader Replaces Military Chiefs Over Coup Attempt

    Leftists and political leaders around the world slammed the coup effort as Bolivia’s trade union federation called for an emergency mass mobilization and a general strike.

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    scheerpost.com Ukraine Escalates Majorly + Israel Fighting Iran?

    By Ray McGovern and Robert Scheer / Original to ScheerPost In this week’s episode of “Playing President,” Ray McGovern, 27-year CIA veteran and briefer of five presidents, continues to make s…

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    thedonnellycentre.utoronto.ca U of T researchers develop RNA-targeting technology for precisely manipulating parts of human genes

    Researchers at the University of Toronto have harnessed a bacterial immune defense system, known as CRISPR, to efficiently and precisely control the process of RNA splicing.

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