Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Science/2014 June 14

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June 14

Fuller's teasel and jumping beans

A couple days ago during a clear, windless sunset in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, I heard what sounded like light rain in the overgrown portion of my yard. It seemed to be coming from a stand of three Fuller's Teasels. The next morning, the sound was still going on and I found many small (~1mm) yellow balls jumping around in depressions where the leaves join the stem. The balls still jump around when isolated in a small glass, and continue to do so over 24 hours later. There are other types of plants nearby and this is not happening at two other stands of Fuller's teasels in the yard. Does anyone know what these small balls are and what causes them to jump around?--Wikimedes (talk) 01:24, 14 June 2014 (UTC)

Does the jumping bean article help ? I'd be tempted to break one open and find out what kind of critter is hiding inside. StuRat (talk) 02:26, 14 June 2014 (UTC)

I had checked the jumping bean article hoping it would contain a list of similar things. I figure whatever I have has to have a similar mechanism - sometimes plants will shoot out seeds under pressure, but I don't know of any seeds that actually move on their own. They're very small, but I might be able to cut one open under a microscope. Maybe something will hatch from one of them.--Wikimedes (talk) 04:16, 14 June 2014 (UTC)

There are seeds that move under their "own power", but they move much slower than what you describe. One cool one to watch with time lapse photography has a spiral bit and a straight bit, and the spiral part coils and uncoils with changes in temperature and humidity during the day/night cycle. The result is that it slowly drills itself into the ground over several days. StuRat (talk) 04:30, 14 June 2014 (UTC)

Those are wild oats you're thinking of. SemanticMantis (talk) 15:57, 14 June 2014 (UTC)

So that apparently explains why "sowing your wild oats" means screwing. :-) StuRat (talk) 23:45, 14 June 2014 (UTC) </small?>

I agree with Stu that that this is likely an animal product, probably insect. A jumping bean is a seed that has been parasitized, but the Teasel's seeds would not be yellow, nor round, nor present yet at this time of the season. Those little pockets where the stem joins the leaf can house entire ecosystems, and it would be a likely place for many things to lay eggs. Let us know if you cut one apart, or if you can post a photo :) SemanticMantis (talk) 15:57, 14 June 2014 (UTC)

Another though: are there oak trees nearby? If so, could be jumping oak gall [1] [2] dropping down and getting caught in the leaf crotches. SemanticMantis (talk) 16:08, 14 June 2014 (UTC)

Oak leaves with jumping gall infestation.

Jumping oak galls they are. Here's a picture of the oak leaves about 50ft (15m) almost directly above. My microscope with picture capabilities is old enough to use film and I've never actually used it, so I probably won't be getting pictures of individual galls or their contents. Gall wasps never cease to amaze me. Thank you.--Wikimedes (talk) 20:08, 14 June 2014 (UTC)

I'd be concerned that this level of parasitism might kill the oak tree. In any case, it seems you have your answer, so I'll close the Q. StuRat (talk) 23:48, 14 June 2014 (UTC)

Resolved

Is it true that daily consumption of 200ml red wine decreases the risk of heart disease by 80%?

Zonex shrestha (talk) 07:09, 14 June 2014 (UTC) zonex

Some decrease in heart disease has been reported, although our articles Wine and Health effects of wine don't give any hard numbers on this point. It also probably depends on which red wine you drink. See the last paragraph of Wine#Health_effects.

By the way, please note that we can't give medical advice on this page. Rojomoke (talk) 07:30, 14 June 2014 (UTC)

There have been various studies over time suggesting that red wine may or may not have a protective effect against heart disease (see the 2014 crop) - the latest I heard of said "not as much as claimed". But I've not heard of one with such a massive effect. It's hard to isolate causal factors - countries with a traditional red wine culture often also have other elements of mediterranean cuisine. I've made it a personal policy to only believe red wine studies from Italy, Spain, and France, coffee studies from Italy, olive oil studies from Italy or Greece, and tea studies from India and Japan. Gives me a lot of peace of mind. Oh yes, and chocolate studies from Belgium and Switzerland ;-). --Stephan Schulz (talk) 17:02, 14 June 2014 (UTC)

Almost certainly not 80%. There have been numerous studies, all inconsistent. One study I recall is that drinking one alcoholic drink a day decreases cardiovascular events but increases a chance of a stroke by equal amount thus breaking it even in terms of longevity. Resveratrol found in red wine at one point was thought to have beneficial effect as an antioxidant, not anymore. --AboutFace 22 (talk) 02:03, 15 June 2014 (UTC)

Ahhh dunnow, buddy <hic> but ah shoor don worry abart them <burp> hearsh atticks much no more Myles325a (talk) 04:05, 15 June 2014 (UTC)

I'm pretty sure that consuming 400ml per day won't reduce heart attack risk by 160%. HiLo48 (talk) 04:57, 15 June 2014 (UTC)

Consuming more than 6 litres per day will reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, strokes, and almost all other diseases by almost 100%. Count Iblis (talk) 15:10, 15 June 2014 (UTC)

I've read an article not too long ago which basically stated that more recent (2014) in-depth studies indicate that previous studies on the health benefits of taking resveratrol, was flawed in some respect. As the supposed benefits were not replicable, furthermore, any other effects were virtually non-existent. Plasmic Physics (talk) 01:23, 16 June 2014 (UTC)

Botany question - Algae

This question is about algae Taxonomy and Omega 3 fatty acid frequency in Algae in general.

Is it true that generally all Chromalveolata produces DHA? (I ask this because I've read here that 2 types of Algae, which are entirely different taxonomically, the first Crypthecodinium cohnii, and the second Schizochytrium are being used for DHA supplements' production). Thanks for your elaboration. Ben-Natan (talk) 07:20, 14 June 2014 (UTC)

Anyone? Ben-Natan (talk) 08:31, 15 June 2014 (UTC)

Well, this is tough because you're asking people to generalize over the entire group (and if you look up the article you'll see there was some controversy with it, so the first step is to figure out exactly what varieties to survey). Then there's the hunt for DHA production data. I'm thinking the easiest way might be to figure out the gene responsible and do some variants of BLAST searching to see what related organisms have it. But it would take at least hours to answer this one. Wnt (talk) 05:00, 16 June 2014 (UTC)