[HN Gopher] 22 Discoveries of 2022
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       22 Discoveries of 2022
        
       Author : Brajeshwar
       Score  : 67 points
       Date   : 2022-12-15 14:43 UTC (8 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.nationalgeographic.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.nationalgeographic.com)
        
       | cultofmetatron wrote:
       | > "preserved the function of multiple pig organs including the
       | brain, heart, liver, and kidneys a full hour after the animals
       | had died. "
       | 
       | oh snapp.. was the pig conscious as a disembodied brain? that
       | sounds terrifying
        
         | yakubin wrote:
         | _> The researchers induced cardiac arrest in pigs and left the
         | dead bodies at room temperature for an hour before infusing
         | their blood with OrganEx, which contains amino acids, vitamins,
         | metabolites, and 13 additional compounds. Using a machine, they
         | circulated the mix for six hours and noticed signs of revival
         | in the dying organs--heart cells began beating, liver cells
         | absorbed glucose from blood, and DNA repair resumed._
         | 
         | To me it doesn't sound that the pig was cut into pieces. It
         | reads to me that everything was left in place.
        
       | thunderbong wrote:
       | https://archive.md/pxG5o
        
       | p1mrx wrote:
       | TL;DR: rainforest fossil, mars rover, oregon shipwreck, undead
       | organs, tonga volcano, small snail, climate change bad, bobcat vs
       | python, jwst, climate change bad, denisovan tooth, big stingray,
       | yucatan asteroid, microplastics everywhere, iceland volcano,
       | spiders dream, dino fossil, synthetic microbiome, silphion not
       | extinct, graveyard snakes, old iraqi artwork, protein folding.
        
       | telesilla wrote:
       | Where can I try Silphion? What 5-star chef has gotten hold of it
       | already so we can taste this marvel.
        
       | zagrebian wrote:
       | > The researchers induced cardiac arrest in pigs and left the
       | dead bodies at room temperature for an hour
       | 
       | How is this allowed?
        
         | rs_rs_rs_rs_rs wrote:
         | Why would it not be allowed? This is a good thing!
        
         | Fomite wrote:
         | IACUCs, the animal version of IRBs, evaluate the potential
         | benefits to both human and animal welfare compared to the
         | suffering of the animals in question - and that a minimum of
         | animals are being used.
         | 
         | It's very possible the argument is that this research outweighs
         | the cost of life for these animals.
         | 
         | It's also possible this was effectively going to happen anyway.
         | Research animals are often, by law, culled rather than sold or
         | the like, and many researchers do their best to ensure that
         | their sacrifice is not wasted. If they are going to be
         | euthanized anyway, they may be directed to a project like this.
        
         | lefstathiou wrote:
         | 1.5 billions hogs are killed a year to feed the human race
         | according to the Google, a huge percentage of which I'm sure
         | ends up as waste (uneaten and unsold). This seems like a noble
         | pursuit by comparison.
         | 
         | Society at large is comfortable with the wholesale slaughter of
         | animals for our benefit.
        
           | uhtred wrote:
           | Please don't trivialize it by calling them hogs. Also one of
           | these things doesn't have to be acceptable; they can both be
           | cruel.
        
             | LarryMullins wrote:
             | Please don't trivialize hogs by calling them pigs. 'Pig' is
             | a diminutive term derived from "piglet". Calling a hog a
             | 'pig' is like calling a man a 'boy'.
             | 
             | If you really want to show respect, then call them swine.
        
       | Bhilai wrote:
       | Fantastic read! I did not know about many of these discoveries.
       | My general thought process was that science has somewhat
       | stagnated but this article proves me completely wrong. Not only
       | are we discovering new species but we are pushing the boundaries
       | of medical research (keeping organs alive after death!) We are
       | also learning more and more about prehistoric stuff like new Homo
       | species and death of dinosaurs and rediscovering plants thought
       | to be extinct! Wow, I am left amazed.
        
       | cachecrab wrote:
       | https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nationalgeographic...
        
       | aksss wrote:
       | Bobcat vs. Python - I get a bit skeezed out when "scientists"
       | start assigning agency to animals like, "local fauna fighting
       | back". I don't think the particular bobcat in this case, or
       | bobcat's generally, are thinking beyond the fact that there's a
       | package lunch sitting there. Seriously doubt they're rallying
       | behind an anti-colonialist banner to oust the snakes, which btw,
       | have been there far longer than any given bobcat has been alive.
        
       | blakesterz wrote:
       | I was surprised how many of these I had read this year, I had no
       | idea I was keeping up on discoveries in 2022! I don't know what
       | the heck I've been reading to have noticed so many.
       | 
       | My favorite has to be the one that some spiders might dream.
       | "Jumping spiders rapidly move their eyes and twitch during rest,
       | suggesting they have visual dreams, never before observed in
       | arachnids."
       | 
       | The runner up is either a new world record for largest freshwater
       | fish, a 661-pound river sting ray, OR, finding the new global
       | record-holder of the tiniest land snail title, with a shell width
       | of 0.6-0.68 mm and a shell height of 0.46-0.57 mm
        
         | andai wrote:
         | Any pics of the snail?
        
           | kparaju wrote:
           | It's in the article: https://archive.md/pxG5o
           | 
           | https://archive.md/pxG5o/62269879416fb0636f7f390f94242675498.
           | ..
        
           | heywherelogingo wrote:
           | One click...
        
         | acchow wrote:
         | 661 pound freshwater fish is wild!
         | 
         | I don't get why a 17th century Spanish shipwreck, a whole 200
         | years after the discovery of the new world, can be considered
         | one of the greatest discoveries of the year. Can someone who
         | understands this domain explain the significance?
        
           | aksss wrote:
           | I'm swingin' blindly here, but I'd say that first, it's on
           | the other side of the new world, and depending on how early
           | in the 17th century, may represent one of the earliest points
           | of contact between the Spanish and the PNW. Their first
           | official voyage was in the 18th century, I believe. So aside
           | from the possibility of Francis Drake making it that far
           | North earlier (which is another fascinating rabbit hole),
           | this seems to be solid proof of a theory/rumor/legend that
           | now has some supporting evidence.
        
           | nonameiguess wrote:
           | It's a bit of an outsized local legend among shipwrecks and
           | also the inspiration for the pirate wreck in _The Goonies_.
           | Oregonian treasure hunters tried to find it for a long time
           | before treasure hunting was banned.
        
           | RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote:
           | > Can someone who understands this domain explain the
           | significance?
           | 
           | Some editor needed to find one more discovery to make it 22
           | items because it was 2022, and this was the first one the new
           | intern found.
        
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       (page generated 2022-12-15 23:02 UTC)