Science News

Sunday, September 27, 2026

A Journey Through the Atmosphere

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CerJbZ-dm0

In the video, the person jumps from 19 miles up and survives.

The atmosphere is conventionally considered to end at 100 km, or about 62 miles, above Earth's surface, a boundary known as the Kármán line. In reality, there is no sharp boundary where the atmosphere ends. It gradually becomes thinner with increasing altitude, eventually becoming an extremely tenuous atmosphere that approaches a vacuum.

I saw a video where someone compared the atmosphere to a peel on an apple. Good thing we have it.

Saturday, September 26, 2026

LBN438 Lizard Pillar Nebula

A photographer on Facebook published this image of the LBN 438 Lizard Pillar Nebula, a collection of gas where new stars are born. It is roughly 8 to 10 light-years across and about 1,200 light-years away.

I suspect that nobody has heard of this nebula, but imagine being able to see a completely different part of our galaxy so clearly.

Space is interesting, but it would be almost impossible for humans to ever go there. Maybe thousands of years from now, our descendants will have technology that would make such a trip possible, but it would be extremely costly, probably for very little practical benefit.

This reminds me of a Dilbert cartoon where he said that rather than travel the world, he just looks at pretty pictures online.

How Dark Is It On Pluto?

Friday, September 25, 2026

The THICKNESS of our ATMOSPHERE !?

Thursday, September 24, 2026

The Paradox of an Infinite Universe

Nobody has EVER seen an El Niño like this

Wednesday, September 23, 2026

Tennessee Stellarator Fusion Plant License

On Tue, Sep 22, 2026 at 5:11 PM Larry wrote:

Tennessee grants first fusion license for 400MW stellarator plant

Maybe getting a license is the first step toward building a reactor. I'm not sure whether this represents some sort of breakthrough toward practical fusion. I don't know enough about it to say.

Although practical nuclear fusion would be a tremendous breakthrough for mankind, I am extremely skeptical that we will reach it anytime soon.

If I can believe the numbers I have seen on solar and wind, we should be able to supplement our slowly declining fossil fuel reserves with them. They are not my favorite ways to generate power, however, because of their reliability issues.

For a really long time, I have thought that geothermal was interesting. My reasoning is that there is a tremendous amount of energy inside the planet.

What's the Only Country In The World Without Mosquitoes?

Monday, September 21, 2026

The Ontological Status of Phenylalanine In Sugar Free Sodas

https://neeeeews.blogspot.com/2026/09/the-ontological-status-of-phenylalanine.html

Sunday, September 20, 2026

The Most Important Thing that Ever Happened

Trump says some childhood vaccines will be split into separate shots

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZZDSBxKvXo

I'm quite disappointed with Trump. This is an issue that has been very thoroughly studied.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5ETZy1pmiI

Google AI:

There is no credible scientific evidence demonstrating that vaccines cause autism. Decades of rigorous global research involving millions of children have consistently shown no causal link or association between vaccination and autism spectrum disorders. [1, 2, 3]

The overwhelming scientific and medical consensus is supported by major global public health organizations, including the National Academy of Medicine, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and the National Medical Association. [1, 2, 3]

The Origin of the Myth

The belief that vaccines cause autism stems from a single 1998 case series published by Andrew Wakefield in The Lancet. The study suggested a link between the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism based on just 12 cherry-picked children. It was later discovered that the data was fraudulent and methodologically invalid. The Lancet fully retracted the paper, and Wakefield lost his medical license. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Key Scientific Findings

Since then, numerous large-scale epidemiological and cohort studies have definitively debunked the link across three major areas of concern:

The MMR Vaccine: Massive global studies tracking millions of children across the U.S., Denmark, the U.K., and Japan found absolutely no difference in autism rates between vaccinated and unvaccinated children. [1, 2]

Thimerosal (Mercury Preservative): Although thimerosal was removed or significantly reduced in childhood vaccines globally as a precaution over two decades ago, autism rates continued to rise. This demonstrates that the preservative does not trigger autism. [1, 2, 3]

Immune System Load: Research confirms that an infant’s immune system is fully capable of handling multiple vaccines at once. Cumulative exposure to childhood vaccine antigens does not negatively impact neurodevelopment or increase autism risk. [1, 2]

Why the Misconception Persists

The primary driver of the myth is temporal coincidence. The first noticeable signs of autism typically manifest in toddlers around the exact same age that children receive their routine early childhood vaccinations. Because these two events happen around the same time, it can easily lead to the false assumption that one caused the other. [1, 2, 3]

The Actual Causes of Autism

Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental condition that begins well before birth. According to the Autism Science Foundation, the primary causes include: [1, 2]

Genetics: Strong hereditary factors account for most cases, with single gene variants and familial risk playing massive roles.

Prenatal Environment: Structural brain differences originate in the womb and are tied to factors like advanced parental age, maternal metabolic disorders, premature birth, and prenatal exposure to certain infections or severe air pollution. [1, 2, 3]

The rising prevalence of autism diagnoses in recent decades is not due to vaccines, but rather to broadened diagnostic criteria, improved universal screening, and significantly higher awareness among parents and healthcare providers. [1, 2]