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youshouldknow·You Should KnowbyBluetreefrog

YSK - All song birds on the planet are descended from ancestors in Australia.

The impact that wiped out the dinosaurs also wiped out all songbirds, except for in (ark) Australia. Australian songbirds then spread out to rest of the planet.

The closest living descendents (aka basal lineages) are the Lyrebird and the Rufus scrub bird. The lyrebird's song is a mixture of its own song and other birds songs. They have been also been known to mimic chainsaws, car alarms, camera shutters, and human speech.

YSK - All song birds on the planet are descended from ancestors in Australia.https://www.penguin.com.au/books/where-song-began-australias-birds-and-how-they-changed-the-world-9780143572817Open linkView original on lemmy.world

Presence of Perfluorohexanoic Acid in Fluoroelastomer Watch Bands

Abstract

Many “smart” and “fitness” watch bands are advertised to contain fluoroelastomers, a type of synthetic rubber designed to be resilient against skin oils and sweat. Fluoroelastomers, which are considered a polymeric form of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), have historically involved the use of shorter-chain PFAS as surfactants in the polymerization process. In this study, 22 watch bands were analyzed across numerous brands and price points for the presence of PFAS. Products were first screened for total fluorine using particle-induced gamma-ray emission spectroscopy on the surface of these bands, and 15 of the 22 watch bands contained total F concentrations >1% fluorine, suggesting the widespread use of fluoroelastomers in this product category. Watch bands then underwent solvent extraction and targeted LC-MS/MS analysis for 20 PFAS. Perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) was the most frequently detected compound with concentrations from <LoD to 16662 ng/g. A subset of six watch bands also underwent direct total oxidative precursor (dTOP) assay to determine the presence of PFAS precursors. The very high concentrations of PFHxA readily extractable from the surfaces of fluoroelastomer watch bands, together with the current limited knowledge on the dermal absorption of PFHxA, demonstrate the need for more comprehensive exposure studies of PFHxA.

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.estlett.4c00907Open linkView original on lemmy.world

TIL how to block all posts containing the words Trump or Vance.

I did this on Firefox, but I suspect it may work in other browers too.

  1. Install the Violentmonkey extension. Tampermonkey or Greasemonkey will also do.
  2. Install the Lemmy tools script.
  3. Browse to Lemmy
  4. Click on the screw driver icon on the LemmyTools bar that is now visible on the Lemmy page.
  5. Scroll down and check the box next to "Content Blocking"
  6. Add your block words in the "Add filters seperated by commas." box. I typed "Trump, Vance" Voila!
View original on lemmy.world