Things I learned in 2022
31 Dec 2022
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Cotton was independently domesticated in the Old and New Worlds.
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Just more than half of total carbon emissions came after 1991.
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The dwarf sperm whale is unique among aquatic mammals for being able to release “ink”.
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Hummingbirds and bees generate a static field during flight that allows them to electrodynamically sense flowers and when that flower was last harvested.
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One influenza variant may have gone extinct between 2020 and 2022.
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“Perverse polymorphism” is a phenomenon where the crystalline form of a molecule is replaced by a more energetically favorable one, like ice-nine in Vonnegut’s novel Ice Nine. In real life, this can make some crystals impossible to manufacture, because the molecules will revert to the “infectious” form in the presence of microscopic seed crystals. In 1998, the HIV antiretroviral Ritonavir disappeared from the market due to Form II seed crystals permeating the air of the manufacturing environment. Abbott, the manufacturer, spent $250 million trying to remove the Form II contamination. The problem was eventually solved… by using a gelatin capsule to deliver the new form of the molecule (source).
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Until the 20th century, storm oil was required on lifeboats.
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In 1911, ponderosa pine habitat in the Western US had 50 to 60 trees per acre. By the end of the 20th century, it was 1089 trees per acre.
Cotton was independently domesticated in the Old and New Worlds.
Just more than half of total carbon emissions came after 1991.
The dwarf sperm whale is unique among aquatic mammals for being able to release “ink”.
Hummingbirds and bees generate a static field during flight that allows them to electrodynamically sense flowers and when that flower was last harvested.
One influenza variant may have gone extinct between 2020 and 2022.
“Perverse polymorphism” is a phenomenon where the crystalline form of a molecule is replaced by a more energetically favorable one, like ice-nine in Vonnegut’s novel Ice Nine. In real life, this can make some crystals impossible to manufacture, because the molecules will revert to the “infectious” form in the presence of microscopic seed crystals. In 1998, the HIV antiretroviral Ritonavir disappeared from the market due to Form II seed crystals permeating the air of the manufacturing environment. Abbott, the manufacturer, spent $250 million trying to remove the Form II contamination. The problem was eventually solved… by using a gelatin capsule to deliver the new form of the molecule (source).
Until the 20th century, storm oil was required on lifeboats.
In 1911, ponderosa pine habitat in the Western US had 50 to 60 trees per acre. By the end of the 20th century, it was 1089 trees per acre.