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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?
  • There are good answers about differentiation from stem cells, process governed by the evolutionary determined genetic information stored within the cell itself. This genetic information was/is influenced by environment but that influence tends to be slow and subtle.

    I have another answer to contribute. Metastatic cancer cells. These are cells which detach from primary tumors in any part of the body, then have to break into the lymph or blood and then they in a sense "decide" where they want to settle. We now know they'll have preferences: some cancers will metastase to liver, some to lung, some to brain; but before they do so, these cells will literally circle around the body, searching for a "perfect spot". Once they find it, they settle, often entirely changing their O.G. tumorous behaviour in the process which in return makes them super unpredictable and hard to kill. And all it takes is one wandering cell.

  • What book(s) are you currently reading or listening? September 03
  • I started Confessions of a Crap Artist by Phillip K. Dick and am not yet sure how I feel about it. Also started Tai-Pan in the urge to keep Shōgun vibe in my life after literally devouring the book, but Tai-Pan didn't feel the same. Is on hold for now till I forget Shōgun a bit.

  • Austrian surgeon 'let teenage daughter drill hole in patient's skull'
  • I missed this in the news, then saw link refers to Kronen Zeitung report which is not a great newspaper to cite so thought for sure it cannot be entirely true? But it is! And here another link from Die Presse (google translate works fine here) which tells us it was not a jerk dad who brought his kid to drill holes but an idiot mom.

  • Hyperosmolal vaginal lubricants markedly reduce epithelial barrier properties in a three-dimensional vaginal epithelium model
  • Interesting. As women tend to combat vaginal dryness later in life, guidelines like these are especially needed there. Pretty sure you very easily fall into a vicious circle of lubing, ruining cells which produce any remaining lube -> lubing even more. I guess the bottom line is to buy water-based lubes with some sort of an organic "gel" source and avoid propylene glycol/tons of glycerine/detergets (though those are harder to detect by name).

  • Language Is a Tool for Communication, Not for Thought, MIT Researchers Argue
  • This is pretty interesting. I mean I've seen dogs dream vividly and am not quite sure how much I believe all them Babe the Pig-alike movies. :)

    But I think the definition of a thought is a problem here. Everything we say (or contemplate of saying or trying to remember) is also a thought which precedes our verbal output. Those thoughts will inevitably be in a language of our preference. And actually in process of learning a new language that is often times the pivotal point - once your thoughts switch to a new language, you know you adapted it.

  • I was blind, but now I see
  • Also -1 here. I was convinced throughout my studies that my university was being super cheap on the projectors, getting always some shitty, soft ones. Ranted about it the whole time. Wish it was the beamers.

  • What book(s) are you currently reading or listening? May 6
  • I am 10% into Lonesome Dove. Many people swear by it and to me has East of Eden vibes. I find the story a little slow but then there were a couple of scenes (all of which involved pigs) that made me laugh out loud. So far - worth it.

  • Suggest me your most gripping page-turners
  • I'll suggest you what another user here on Lemmy suggested to me: Replay by Ken Grimwood. Topic is re-living life, there is a love story involved, relatively short and easily written but good - you won't need much brain to keep track of what's up but it is still a quality read.

  • True happiness is the intersection of imagination and reality. It's visualizing joy with eyes closed and, upon opening them, finding yourself exactly where you wish to be.
  • This is beautifully said. There had been moments in my life when I'd be so very happy that I would indeed close my eyes, take a deep breath and appreciate the moment. When there is nothing to bug you in the back of your mind to ruin the setting, such moments are beautiful and I agree, could be described as pure joy.

  • Do we have any theories as to why complex life eventually started requiring various metal elements as micronutrients?
  • Also, metals can easily accommodate varying number of electrons in the electron shells of their atoms and still be stable. That makes them very good to quickly store and release electrons which means they can help say transfer molecules around (iron for transport of gasses), scavenge free radicals (e.g. manganese) etc.

  • Any tips for reducing my car dependency beyond walking and cycling?
  • It can really depend where you live so I think the first advise is to take it easy on yourself.

    • It is ok to combine ways of transports, say cycle to the first train/bus then load the bike on it/park at the station
    • Start with a sturdier bike, the one which is bigger and more visible in traffic and gives you a better sense of control.
    • don't expect cars to respect you because you cycle or to know what to do around you. Bad drivers are everywhere. Don't try to prove points. Safety is more important than ego.
    • get yourself a good, large backpack. This will be your new back seat
    • Take taxi/uber when needed. I once arrived to a friend's wedding held out of town in a taxi and literally everybody I knew there looked at me as I was either a fool or a millioner. The bill was like 35$. Way cheaper than owning a car.

    Lastly, enjoy how good you will feel. Climate protection and all that is great but your body will love you for it and you will feel it. Good luck

  • As an adult, what seemingly childish things do you get excited about?
  • Yes!! Funny story, I learned about redwood from a boardgame when I was six and thought they are some trees from this magic game world that don't exist in real life. You can imagine how excited I was once I realized they are real and more so when I first saw them! Californian ones are the most impressive, no debate there, but I actually found quite a few across Europe too, often in super random places. So maybe you will also find some around where you live? You never know.

  • Sci-fi books which don't involve too much space travels and massive world builds?

    Don't really know how to explain this. I like sci fi and would love to dig deeper into it. Am avid reader and enjoyed Project Hail Mary (though set in space, this book is just amazing), Dune, short stories by Ray Bradbury and TV shows like Raised by the Wolves, Westworld, From (love From!). But e.g. Foundation I really disliked. Wheel of time is massive and I lost interest. Even the guide through galaxy I appreciated but was not really into it. Somehow, all those lots of traveling, lots of worlds, lots of many novel/invented names and terms render reading laborious for me.

    Can you help me pin what is that I like and perhaps offer me a suggestion where to start? Thanks!

    EDIT: thanks everyone for your excellent suggestions! So happy to be a part of lemmy community. I might make a follow up thread in couple of months so we can discuss some of the works. And lastly, if you been reading this far: have a good weekend.

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    giriinthejungle @lemmy.world
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