forum I Can do the Research For You

Started April 03, 2019 by @AloeVera groupMentallyImInACottage

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Perfect, that helps. Thanks a million!

I need some help with deforestation.
Could you tell me: How much of the rainforest should be allowed to be cut down? What role do rainforests have in the cycling of matter and energy through photosynthesis? What is resource availability for plants and animals in the rainforest?

How much of the rainforest should be allowed to be cut down?
Everything I'm looking up seems to just say "none of it" or the general idea of that, but I finally found someone that said, "No more trees should be cut down than trees being planted; basically, for every tree that is cut down, at LEAST one other tree should be planted." This will help maintain the balance and avoid the problem of destroying biomes and pollution in forests, or what's left of them.

What role do rainforests have in the cycling of matter and energy through photosynthesis?
By absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing the oxygen that we depend on for our survival. The absorption of this CO2 also helps to stabilize the Earth's climate.
Rainforests also help to maintain the world's water cycle by adding water to the atmosphere through the process of transpiration which creates clouds. Water generated in rainforests travel around the world; scientists think that moisture generated in the forests of Africa ends up falling as rain in the Americas.

What is resource availability for plants and animals in the rainforest?
All of the rain forest plants work to provide food and shelter for rain forest animals as well as convert carbon dioxide to oxygen.

This might have been less than what you asked for but it was weirdly difficult to find an answer to what you're asking but it was fun I saw pictures of cute monkeys !!

just a quick one: if, theoretically, a person grabbed a machete by the blade when the machete was totally still, then shoved it away from himself, could the machete slice through his hand while he kept a grip on it? i'm thinking no because of the bone, and that you would need more momentum to slice a hand off, but i'm not entirely certain and since it's so specific it's hard to find anything…

Just shoved it though air? If so, no. Not as long as he gripped it well.

just a quick one: if, theoretically, a person grabbed a machete by the blade when the machete was totally still, then shoved it away from himself, could the machete slice through his hand while he kept a grip on it? i'm thinking no because of the bone, and that you would need more momentum to slice a hand off, but i'm not entirely certain and since it's so specific it's hard to find anything…

This particular post gets fairly graphic [involves blades and it's sharpness to a human]. Discretion is advised.

Going from what I've seen, no.
Not only would you need more momentum, you'd need plenty of strength and force.
Even pineapple harvesters use a "hopped up version" of Machete to harvest fruits. The machete was first made from Jeep springs, about 4 inches wide and about 3/8 inches thick. the steel used in jeep springs at first was the heavy duty heat treated tough stuff and about 28 inches long with 4 inches used for the handle leaving 24 inches as the blade and only about 3/8 inches on both sides as the bevel leaving a 45 degree angle. That angle is easy enough to achieve and still be able to hack through wood and brush but it isn't that good as a weapon against something like a "water buffalo" or another man,..truth be told, if you are strong enough to swing it at another person and hit someone with it, you'll most likely knock them down and mangle them or break a bone simply due to the weight of the blade. you would need an angle closer to about 9 degrees to really slice through flesh.

Grabbing a machete, even gripping it tightly, would not slice through the hand. Granted, it might cause a cut or two, especially enough to make it bleed, but I don't think gripping a still machete and shoving it away from you would even help the blade make it through the muscle.

Could you tell me:
What are some of the most common concerns associated with genetically modified crops?
What are governmental policies associated with farming practices?
I'm super sorry about all the science questions, I have a character who's a scientist and I want the info to be right.

just a quick one: if, theoretically, a person grabbed a machete by the blade when the machete was totally still, then shoved it away from himself, could the machete slice through his hand while he kept a grip on it? i'm thinking no because of the bone, and that you would need more momentum to slice a hand off, but i'm not entirely certain and since it's so specific it's hard to find anything…

Going from what I've seen, no.
Not only would you need more momentum, you'd need plenty of strength and force.
Even pineapple harvesters use a "hopped up version" of Machete to harvest fruits. The machete was first made from Jeep springs, about 4 inches wide and about 3/8 inches thick. the steel used in jeep springs at first was the heavy duty heat treated tough stuff and about 28 inches long with 4 inches used for the handle leaving 24 inches as the blade and only about 3/8 inches on both sides as the bevel leaving a 45 degree angle. That angle is easy enough to achieve and still be able to hack through wood and brush but it isn't that good as a weapon against something like a "water buffalo" or another man,..truth be told, if you are strong enough to swing it at another person and hit someone with it, you'll most likely knock them down and mangle them or break a bone simply due to the weight of the blade. you would need an angle closer to about 9 degrees to really slice through flesh.

Grabbing a machete, even gripping it tightly, would not slice through the hand. Granted, it might cause a cut or two, especially enough to make it bleed, but I don't think gripping a still machete and shoving it away from you would even help the blade make it through the muscle.

you're awesome! thank you!

Could you tell me:
What are some of the most common concerns associated with genetically modified crops?
What are governmental policies associated with farming practices?
I'm super sorry about all the science questions, I have a character who's a scientist and I want the info to be right.

Common Concerns
First, if GM crops cross-breed with wild relatives, the foreign transgenes could “contaminate” the natural ecosystem. For example, pollen from Bt-corn has been known to fertilize non-Bt crops. Such genetic contamination can pose problems for certified producers of organic produce, as well as certain U.S. trading partners.
Second, some ecologists have warned about the harmful effects of Bt corn on non-target insects, such as Monarch butterflies that feed on wild milkweed growing near cornfields. To date, these fears have not materialized. However, research over a longer time period is needed.
Critics of biopharming have noted because plants process proteins differently than animals or humans, the body might recognize a “human” protein produced in plants as foreign, triggering an allergic reaction. Opponents have also warned that GM crops containing transgenes for bioactive or toxic substances could contaminate the human food supply through the dispersal of seeds or pollen. Pollen spreads on the wind, and seeds can be carried long distances by birds or animals, farm equipment, and trucks transporting grain. “Volunteers,” or unharvested seeds that sprout in a field the next year, are also difficult to control.6 For these reasons, a 2004 report by the National Academy of Sciences concluded that containing transgenes coding for pharmaceuticals and other foreign proteins is virtually impossible.
Pharma crops also pose potential risks to useful insects (such as honeybees) that consume their pollen, and to wildlife that eat corn and other engineered crops, particularly as scientists modify such plants to produce drugs and chemicals in higher concentrations.

Government Policies
Regulation of GM crops in the United States is divided among three regulatory agencies: the Environmental Projection Agency (EPA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Each of these agencies regulates transgenic crops from a different perspective.

EPA regulates biopesticides, including Bt toxins, under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). If a crop is genetically engineered to carry a gene for a Bt toxin, EPA requires the developer to verify that the toxin is safe for the environment and conduct a food-safety analysis to ensure that the foreign protein is not allergenic.
FDA is responsible for regulating the safety of GM crops that are eaten by humans or animals. According to a policy established in 1992, FDA considers most GM crops as “substantially equivalent” to non-GM crops. In such cases, GM crops are designated as “Generally Recognized as Safe” under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) and do not require pre-market approval. If, however, the insertion of a transgene into a food crop results in the expression of foreign proteins that differ significantly in structure, function, or quality from natural plant proteins and are potentially harmful to human health, FDA reserves the authority to apply more stringent provisions of FFDCA requiring the mandatory pre-market approval of food additives, whether or not they are the products of biotechnology.

In 1997, FDA established a voluntary consultation process with GM crop developers to review the determination of “substantial equivalence” before the crop is marketed, such as assessing the toxicity and allergenicity of the gene product and the plant itself. If the data in the food-safety assessment are satisfactory, FDA notifies the developer that marketing of the crop may proceed.
Critics have raised questions about whether this voluntary consultation process provides adequate assurance that GM crops are safe. In particular, the use of food crops like corn for the production of non-food products, such as pharmaceuticals, does not fall under FDA’s authority unless the gene product ends up contaminating a food crop, at which time the crop is considered adulterated and must be recalled. Because of this gap in regulatory authority, FDA may not perform appropriate oversight until it is too late.
In 2004, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced legislation that would have required any product grown in a food crop to receive pre-market approval, whether or not it was intended to be eaten. Thus, before any pharmaceutical was produced in a food crop, FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition would conduct a food-safety analysis to ensure that accidental human exposure to the drug through the food supply will not cause health risks.

Hope this helped! Also no need to apologize, I'm learning new things by looking this up so that's always a benefit for me lol

Common Concerns
First, if GM crops cross-breed with wild relatives, the foreign transgenes could “contaminate” the natural ecosystem. For example, pollen from Bt-corn has been known to fertilize non-Bt crops. Such genetic contamination can pose problems for certified producers of organic produce, as well as certain U.S. trading partners.
Second, some ecologists have warned about the harmful effects of Bt corn on non-target insects, such as Monarch butterflies that feed on wild milkweed growing near cornfields. To date, these fears have not materialized. However, research over a longer time period is needed.
Critics of biopharming have noted because plants process proteins differently than animals or humans, the body might recognize a “human” protein produced in plants as foreign, triggering an allergic reaction. Opponents have also warned that GM crops containing transgenes for bioactive or toxic substances could contaminate the human food supply through the dispersal of seeds or pollen. Pollen spreads on the wind, and seeds can be carried long distances by birds or animals, farm equipment, and trucks transporting grain. “Volunteers,” or unharvested seeds that sprout in a field the next year, are also difficult to control.6 For these reasons, a 2004 report by the National Academy of Sciences concluded that containing transgenes coding for pharmaceuticals and other foreign proteins is virtually impossible.
Pharma crops also pose potential risks to useful insects (such as honeybees) that consume their pollen, and to wildlife that eat corn and other engineered crops, particularly as scientists modify such plants to produce drugs and chemicals in higher concentrations.

(Is it ok if I add on to this?)

• Crops are often genetically modified to be resistant to certain pests - for example, adding a transgene that produces a substance which is toxic to the pests. But this just means that the pests can ultimately develop a resistance to whatever is being used to drive them away, creating "bigger and badder" pests, so to speak. This is problematic since we're constantly being forced to come up with new ways to react to pests who keep getting stronger and stronger.
• Along with the cross-contamination thing, it raises the issue of natural selection. If you're genetically modifying crops to have some sort of improvement, they'll have an advantage over other plants in similar situations which upsets the balance of the ecosystem. And if your genetically modified crop is contaminating other species, then you suddenly have a bunch of wild species that have an advantage over your non-GM plants. So these species become more problematic to deal with.

(Is it ok if I add on to this?)

Hell yeah ! The more info they get, the better, thanks!

Thank you so much!

Thank you so much!

Of course!

I have a project in Health where I have to make a slideshow on autism and I have very limited knowledge on it, could you help me out? I just don't want to make a mistake since I know it's a super sensitive topic for some people.

I have a project in Health where I have to make a slideshow on autism and I have very limited knowledge on it, could you help me out? I just don't want to make a mistake since I know it's a super sensitive topic for some people.

This is actually going to be super helpful for me because I've been wanting to write an autistic character but I want it to be more accurate than how media might portray them. This oughta push me to do more research lol so thank you!

However, you're right it's a large and sensitive topic, so I might need to ask for specifics. What exactly would you like to know? General facts, maybe the thought process of people with autism, maybe the media's portrayals debunked, or something to that effect…?

I have a project in Health where I have to make a slideshow on autism and I have very limited knowledge on it, could you help me out? I just don't want to make a mistake since I know it's a super sensitive topic for some people.

This is actually going to be super helpful for me because I've been wanting to write an autistic character but I want it to be more accurate than how media might portray them. This oughta push me to do more research lol so thank you!

However, you're right it's a large and sensitive topic, so I might need to ask for specifics. What exactly would you like to know? General facts, maybe the thought process of people with autism, maybe the media's portrayals debunked, or something to that effect…?

Well, I have the rubric right here. It's supposed to be on a disease/disorder, so there are a bunch of things. I'll list them for ya! And thank you for doing this. :)

• Symptoms
• Causes
• Treatments
• Random stats/facts

Again, thank you a million!

Well, I have the rubric right here. It's supposed to be on a disease/disorder, so there are a bunch of things. I'll list them for ya! And thank you for doing this. :)

• Symptoms
• Causes
• Treatments
• Random stats/facts

Again, thank you a million!

1. Symptoms
   Symptoms can include intense focus on one item, unresponsiveness, lack of understanding social cues (like tone of voice or body language), repetitive movements, or self-abusive behavior like head-banging. The severity of the symptoms varies widely among affected individuals. Other possible symptoms include learning to speak relatively late, not playing interactively with other children, avoidance of eye contact, lack of empathy, and social withdrawal. Children with ASD who have not developed sufficient language skills may act out, including screaming or crying, to express their needs. It is important to note that people with ASD may vary widely in their level of functioning, and not all people with ASD will experience all of the symptoms listed.

2. Causes
   Research tells us that autism tends to run in families. Changes in certain genes increase the risk that a child will develop autism. If a parent carries one or more of these gene changes, they may get passed to a child (even if the parent does not have autism). Other times, these genetic changes arise spontaneously in an early embryo or the sperm and/or egg that combine to create the embryo. Again, the majority of these gene changes do not cause autism by themselves. They simply increase risk for the disorder.
   Research also shows that certain environmental influences may further increase – or reduce – autism risk in people who are genetically predisposed to the disorder. Importantly, the increase or decrease in risk appears to be small for any one of these risk factors:
   -Increased Risk
   A. Advanced parent age (either parent)
   B. Pregnancy and birth complications (e.g. extreme prematurity [before 26 weeks], low birth weight, multiple pregnancies [twin, triplet, etc.])
   C. Pregnancies spaced less than one year apart
   -Decreased Risk
   Prenatal vitamins containing folic acid, before and at conception and through pregnancy
   -No effect on risk
   Vaccines. Each family has a unique experience with an autism diagnosis, and for some it corresponds with the timing of their child’s vaccinations. At the same time, scientists have conducted extensive research over the last two decades to determine whether there is any link between childhood vaccinations and autism. The results of this research is clear: Vaccines do not cause autism. The American Academy of Pediatrics has compiled a comprehensive list of this research.

3. Treatment
   Each of the items on this list followed a link to an extensive explanation of how each one works, so I'll just provide the link with each one as well.
   -Applied Behavior Analysis
   -Early Start Denver Model
   -Floortime
   -Occupational Therapy
   -Pivotal Response Treatment
   -Relationship Development Intervention
   -Speech Therapy
   -TEACCH
   -Verbal Behavior

4. Stats n' Facts
   -In 2018 the CDC determined that approximately 1 in 59 children is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
   1 in 37 boys
   1 in 151 girls

-Boys are four times more likely to be diagnosed with autism than girls.

-Most children were still being diagnosed after age 4, though autism can be reliably diagnosed as early as age 2. 

-31% of children with ASD have an intellectual disability (intelligence quotient [IQ] <70), 25% are in the borderline range (IQ 71–85), and 44% have IQ scores in the average to above average range (i.e., IQ >85).

-Autism affects all ethnic and socioeconomic groups.

-Minority groups tend to be diagnosed later and less often.

-Early intervention affords the best opportunity to support healthy development and deliver benefits across the lifespan.

-There is no medical detection for autism.

-An estimated one-third of people with autism are nonverbal.

-Nearly half of those with autism wander or bolt from safety.

-Nearly two-thirds of children with autism between the ages of 6 and 15 have been bullied.

-Nearly 28 percent of 8-year-olds with ASD have self-injurious behaviors. Head banging, arm biting and skin scratching are among the most common.

-Drowning remains a leading cause of death for children with autism and accounts for approximately 90 percent of deaths associated with wandering or bolting by those age 14 and younger.

Hope this helped! It helped me lol

I'd like to point out that the ratio of girls with autism is actually most likely higher than that, girls tend to go undiagnosed quite a lot.

I'd like to point out that the ratio of girls with autism is actually most likely higher than that, girls tend to go undiagnosed quite a lot.

Thanks for pointing this out! Good thing to consider haha

I'd like to point out that the ratio of girls with autism is actually most likely higher than that, girls tend to go undiagnosed quite a lot.

Thanks for pointing this out! Good thing to consider haha

No problem!

Thank you so much!

how to stop sleep paralysis? I know it is a strange question :P

how to stop sleep paralysis? I know it is a strange question :P

Don't worry about it being strange! I've probably googled stranger.

To help get started, here's a list of things that may cause or increase the chances of sleep paralysis:

1. Lack of sleep
2. Sleep schedule that changes
3. Mental conditions such as stress or bipolar disorder
4. Sleeping on the back
5. Other sleep problems such as narcolepsy or nighttime leg cramps
6. Use of certain medications, such as those for ADHD
7. Substance abuse

Treating or avoiding the items on this list can improve sleep.

If the sleep paralysis is more severe, these are some larger steps you can take to treat or prevent sleep paralysis.

1. Start by making sure you get enough sleep. Do what you can to relieve stress in your life – especially just before bedtime. Try new sleeping positions if you sleep on your back. And be sure to see your doctor if sleep paralysis routinely prevents you from getting a good night's sleep.
2. Improving sleep habits – such as making sure you get six to eight hours of sleep each night
3. Using antidepressant medication if it is prescribed to help regulate sleep cycles
4. Treating any mental health problems that may contribute to sleep paralysis
5. Treating any other sleep disorders, such as narcolepsy or leg cramps

Hope this helped!

Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No problem!