What is the zombie deer virus detected in Yellowstone National Park? | Expo Daily

Zombie deer virus detected in Yellowstone National Park

What is it?

The "zombie deer" disease sounds scary, especially the word "zombie", which easily reminds people of the zombies that bite people in the biochemical crisis. But if you know its professional term, you may not find it so scary, although this disease is indeed quite scary.

The professional name of this disease is "chronic wasting disease" (CWD), which is a neurological disease that is currently spreading mainly among wild deer and can infect North American black-tailed deer, white-tailed deer, Rocky Mountain elk and moose.

As for why this disease is called "zombie deer", it is mainly because the symptoms after infection are somewhat similar to zombies portrayed in movies. Zombie deer infected with CWD look listless, with dull facial expressions, drooling, lack of coordination in movement, and are not afraid. Deer infected with this disease will eventually die, and it is an incurable disease.

In fact, the disease of "zombie deer" is similar to mad cow disease, so "zombie deer" can also be called mad sheep disease. The host of CWD in natural conditions is mainly deer, and no cases of other species other than deer being infected with CWD have been found.

However, scientists have found through experiments that CWD can be transmitted to primates through eating infected meat, which means that if humans eat meat infected with "zombie deer" disease, they may also be infected with humans. Therefore, a practical suggestion is not to eat uninspected venison products.

Deer infected with CWD (Source: Wikipedia)

Octopus DNA reveals Antarctic ice sheet could collapse

Several different species of tauguito octopus live in the waters around Antarctica. These octopuses crawl along the seafloor and usually don't stray far from home. A few individuals or their eggs may occasionally drift with ocean currents to neighboring colonies, but populations in the Ross and Weddell Seas are separated by the impassable West Antarctic Ice Sheet.

However, DNA analysis of tuquet octopuses from different sites in Antarctica suggests that the two populations mixed and exchanged DNA around 120,000 years ago, during the last interglacial period in Earth's history, when temperatures were similar to today.

According to the researchers, the patterns observed in the octopus gene pool could only have occurred if the West Antarctic Ice Sheet was not in the way and relatively open shipping lanes across the continent allowed the octopuses to travel freely between the Ross and Weddell Seas. This finding suggests that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapsed during the last interglacial period, allowing the two geographically separate octopus populations to mix.

This study provides empirical evidence that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet will collapse when global average temperatures are similar to today, suggesting that the critical point for future collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is approaching.

Why are the bronze wares from the Shang Dynasty so hideous?

Zun was a container for holding wine in the Shang Dynasty. On the neck of the zun you can see inverted Kuilong patterns and animal faces with sharp teeth, ferocious eyes and sharp claws.

Why did the patterns on bronze wares in the late Shang Dynasty look like this? This has to do with a very important saying about the Shang Dynasty: "The most important affairs of a country are sacrifice and war."

As the supreme ruler of the country, the King of Shang had the highest military command power and the highest sacrificial power, that is, the right to communicate with the supreme god. The territory directly controlled by the King of Shang was very limited, and it was surrounded by various states. In order to control the entire wider area, the King of Shang needed to conquer other countries by force, and at the same time, he also used sacrifices to suppress their spirits.

However, the sacrifices during the Shang Dynasty were different from those today. The sacrifices at that time were very bloody, and hundreds of people were killed in each sacrifice as important sacrifices. The patterns on ritual vessels and bronze vessels would inevitably show this ferocious momentum to strengthen the deterrence of the Shang king and to intimidate his ministers and people. The animal face pattern is relatively restrained.

Cultural and museum blogger @Kailiangjun

Can 1 gram of uranium 235 undergo trillions of nuclear fissions?

Uranium 235 is the smallest common unit of nuclear fuel. One gram of uranium 235 contains trillions of atomic nuclei and can undergo trillions of nuclear fissions. Compared with thermal power generation, the energy released by the complete fission of one gram of uranium 235 is equivalent to burning 2.7 tons of standard coal when used to generate electricity.

The content is compiled from China Science Popularization Expo Weibo, Science and Technology Daily, Gezhi Lundao Forum, CCTV Records

This article was first published on China Science Expo (kepubolan). Please indicate the source of the public account for reprinting