Science has come far, and new discoveries are being made every day.
In fact, scientific discoveries and advances are so common that it's easy to lose track of the latest in science news. Not every major breakthrough makes it to major news networks, and you can find many published studies online that you'd never hear of otherwise. Some scientific revelations are so scary and panic inducing, that the information is kept mostly under wraps for the general public.
Redditor u/andretwic asked the scientists of Reddit, "What are some scary scientific discoveries that most of the public is unaware of?" and scientists shared some frightening information that you may rather not know.
20. Mass extinctions we may never know about
"An asteroid/comet impact crator was recently discovered in Greenland last year (Nov 2018) due to melting ice caps in the area.
This crator could be as recent as 12,000 years ago and if that's true it completely changes our understanding of 1) how frequently mass extinction events happen and 2) the history of human civilization.
All of a sudden global flood myths, ancient landmarks (Pyramids, Sphinx), and other mysteries line up with a global population getting wiped out and thousands of years of rebuilding/lost knowledge."
19. It's all a simulation... maybe?
"The basic nature of reality is waves of probabilities.
A your chair is only your chair because it is probable that it exists in that form.
We also very likely could be living within a computer simulation. The universe is either simulated or just happens to look very much like a simulated universe."
18. Mosquitos cause too many problems
"Entomologist here. While not 'new' (maybe ongoing is a better term) new mosquito-borne diseases. Remember Zika when it showed up? It's far from the only horrible disease you can get from certain mosquitoes that's often a virus with no treatment with high fatality or severe effects. 'New' ones can still pop up like Zika did, which is scary enough, but certain species of mosquito like Aedes aegypti that are invasive to many countries tend to carry these human diseases."
17. Zombies are unlikely but possible
"The plot of the last of us could actually happen. Given that there could be a cordyceps discovered that could lock onto and spread throughout humans. This would essentially turn every host into a brain dead zombie. The Likelihood of this happening is about 1/1000000 though."
16. The heat is rising
"As the Earth warms carbon dioxide that's traped in ice and in the ocean will be released into the atmosphere. This can start a positive feed back loop where the increased heat releases more carbon and the carbon increases the heat which in turn release more carbon. We could be getting very close to this point"
15. Get vaccinated
"80% of males and females between 16-25 are infected with the papilloma virus (HPV) that is a cause for several types of cancer, especially of the uterus."
14. Something to think about
"Something I find scary to think about is what hasn't been discovered or hypothesized. The universe is most likely finite. If it has an edge, what's beyond that edge? The universe had a birth. What was before that birth? What is nothingness? What causes nothingness to become everything?"
13. This seems to be coming true...
"The impending water wars. Not as fun as it sounds."
"Not even figuratively, there will be literal wars fought over clean water."
12. As if the quality of healthcare isn't bad enough
"Earth has a finite amount of helium, and we are starting to run out. At some point, it will need to be rationed. MRI machines need liquid helium to cool its superconducting magnets.
So what will probably happen is many hospitals will no longer be able to offer an MRI, and knowing the system in the US, this means hospitals in poor areas first. A lot of people are going to die or suffer from undiagnosed diseases/disorders."
11. Avoid teflon pots and pans
Giphy
"Teflon is poison and because we all have used teflon things, we all now have that poison in our blood and we can't get rid of it. Now we have bigger risks of getting diseases, cancer for example"
10. This doesn't sound deadly and would be cool to witness
"The star Betelgeuse in Orion may be about to go supernova. We've known it's going to go supernova soon (that's astronomy soon as in could be tomorrow or in 200 years). Betelgeuse is a variable star, so it gets brighter or dimmer all the time, but it just got dimmer than we've ever seen it before.
No one's 100% what's going on. If Betelgeuse does go supernova, all of our satellites and stuff will be fine, the solar wind will protect us. The main problem is we'll have no night for a while (maybe weeks?) so it'll really throw animals off."
9. Practice safe sex
"'Super gonorrhoea' is resistant to the vast majority of strong antibiotics, including fluoroquinolones and macrolides. N. gonorrhoeae is mutating all the time to resist antibiotic effects. There have been multiple reports of super gonorrhoea in Australia, England, etc."
8. I honestly had to Google "replication crisis"
"The 'replication crisis' in psychology (though the problem occurs in many other fields, too).
Many studies aren't publishing sufficient information by which to conduct a replication study. Many studies play fast and loose with statistical analysis. Many times you're getting obvious cases of p-hacking or HARKing (hypothesis after results known) which are both big no-nos for reputable science."
7. I hate bugs but they're so important
"The world has 70% less insects on average than it did 40 years ago. We really are coming up on our silent spring.
For the people saying there are less pests, those arent the ones we're worried about. Insect pollinators are vital to so many crops, we could be facing serious problems with certain food supplies soon. In recent years China has had issues with apple and pear crops to the point where some regions have had to pollinate crops by hand. Also, insects form lower blocks of many food webs, and their disappearance will spell trouble for higher trophic levels."
6. Great, something else to worry about
"Abdominal aortic aneurysm. It's basically an aneurysm that happens in the big artery in the middle of the abdomen. It's fine and is usually asymptomatic but when it ruptures, a patient loses all their blood within a short period of time. The scary part is that it usually is diagnosed by accident due to annual checkups for something else. Anyone can have the disease, but especially people with Marfan syndrome, smoking, hypertensive, and hyperlipidemic."
5. Take care of your ears
"Known link between untreated hearing loss and cognitive decline i.e. dementia.
ETA: key word is untreated. If you previously had normal hearing and it started slipping, please see an ENT and audiologist... If you have had hearing loss since childhood, you're not one of the ones I'm worried about. You have either learned sign language to keep you from being isolated due to your hearing loss and/or you have learned how to use hearing aids/cochlear implants to keep you from being isolated due to your hearing loss.
The link is really between communication and cognition, not the physical ability to hear. It's just that in people who previously had normal hearing, if they don't do anything it will impair their communication and in turn affect their cognition."
4. The island of nuclear horrors
"Not a scientist but I will still take the time to mention something that scares me I only found about a month ago, and I don't think a lot of people are aware of but probably should be. Back in 1946 to 58, the US tested 60 nuclear weapons on the Marshall Islands and buried the nuclear leftover waste and soil in a 30 ft deep cavern 'sealing' it with a concrete dome...the dome is cracking and now it's leaking into the ocean and surprise surprise it's not fixing itself, and the people responsible are essentially ignoring it or saying it is not their problem. Imagine Chernobyl but bigger and in the Ocean."
3. Another reason to fear climate change
"There are ancient microbes lying dormant in glaciers. As climate change progresses and these glaciers melt, it is possible that we will be exposed to ancient diseases for which we will have no immunity."
2. That researcher is a hero
"A genetically modified bacteria that could have possibly wiped out a lot of crops and plant life was almost commercially released into the environment. Fortunately, a researcher decided to do one more test in the lab before it was used in production. Found out it killed all the wheat seedlings, and she destroyed the remaining stock of it."
1. Man eating fruits
"Pineapples have an enzyme that digests protein. So whenever you eat a pineapple, it is eating you back"
Where's the Beef?
GiphyStop eating beef. If the average person literally didn't eat beef anymore, it would eliminate a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, and even deforestation.
Think Big!
Time to make big sacrifices. Stop driving! Take the bus, walk or ride a bike - or a combination of all those things. Advocate for better mass transit. No, it's not as convenient but our cars are literally killing us. Transportation accounts for 29% of greenhouse gas emissions, and personal vehicles account for 4/5 of that. There are too many people who live in the city and still insist on driving to work downtown. Don't f{replace1}amp;&@ng do that!!! Think of our driving dependency as a chemical addiction that we have to recover from before we die of it.
Electricity causes 27% of emissions. Stop using it unnecessarily.
So so much....
There are many things you can do:
- Don't use plastic bags, but instead buy one of those material ones. (I had one for two years now and it's still usable).
- Don't drive as much if you can. Public transportation isn't that bad.
- Don't buy things you don't need in general like new furniture, clothes or electronics that are still working.
- Don't buy certain foods often like meat, processed food which production leads to pollution.
- Try not to buy plastic things or things in plastic containers like water. You can buy glass/metal/ceramic bottles for drinks.
- Don't reproduce (1 child max) especially if you live in India, China or any of those countries with too many people already.
I could probably think of more but there are other people here.
Make it Happen...
A lot of people are talking about individual action, and that's great, but you can't actually get the world to net zero emissions unless everybody changes what they do. To achieve that, you need to change the rules society operates under. This means exercising the political power required to do so. You can't do that alone. So pick a group, join in, and make it happen.
It's totally worth it.
Mostly cut down on the red meat and air travel. It also helps to drive an efficient car, wear sweaters indoors in winter, and keep indoor spaces comfortably warm in summer. Support politicians who are committed to mitigating climate change, because we're going to have to make some major systemic changes. The individual sacrifices that make a significant difference are moderate, and the benefits for future generations are expected to be huge. It's totally worth it.
Eat Natural.
Go vegetarian! It has a huge impact and is way easier than you might think. If you're a real superstar, go vegan!
Even just cutting beef and lamb (huge greenhouse gas emitters) or fish (fishing is the largest contribution to plastic pollution) is helpful!
Think Ahead.
Think about your next car, if you aren't ready for an EV, try a hybrid or a low emissions car.
Be Smart.
GiphyCarpool, reduce personal waste, cut down on running showers, plant trees/bushes on your property.
Charge the Gates....
Storm the offices of the organizations that are preventing change.
Do not stop for locked doors or anything else.
Seriously, we need angry mobs like yesterday. xxkoloblicinxx
Slow Fashion.
GiphySustainable aka Slow Fashion. Fast fashion producers like H&M or Zara are build on the misery of many people and animals. In Bangladesh for example the water is so polluted by the industry that even bathing in it is a serious health endangerment. Also, there are millions of tons of textiles that are on landfills. These are just a few issues. Sustainable Fashion isn't much pricier or at all pricier and you support a more worker and planet friendly industry.
It's Just Stuff....
Stop buying stuff you don't need. Shipping & transport are the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions.
I second this. I work for UPS air and I get paid by the hour people, not the package.
It's made me hate the christmas season.
Educate yourself.
Educate yourself. I hate to say it, but a lot of suggestions here are well meaning but aren't directly tied into climate change. Recycling is great, but plastic waste doesn't release carbon dioxide. The ozone hole has to do with ultraviolet radiation, not greenhouse gases that cause warming. Good things to care about, but not directly relevant.
Some things are a matter of scale. Try to research how much carbon things are emitting or taking up.
Planting trees helps, but we're emitting every several years in carbon what widespread afforestation of the Earth could absorb. It's a piece to fighting it, but not a one shot solution. One car ride can cancel out the annual CO2 absorption of a tree. Then what happens if that tree dies due to climate change causing a drought? Consider that one mass transit ride could save as much carbon as a tree would absorb in an entire year.
These are difficult questions. There are answers, they just require thoughtful answers. Also political action and the willingness for some personal sacrifices. emumemu
Overpopulation.
Have less kids. 4h4usheer
Right! Adoption is a fantastic thing to do if you want to raise kiddos. Or get pets instead.
Be Smart.
GiphyEat less beef, meatless Mondays, don't buy stupid crap, avoid single use plastic, bike or take the bus to work, recycle properly, buy local, pick up litter, train > plane, VOTE, avoid garbage brands, thrift shop if u need stuff, and then tell ur friends to do all this stuff.
Plant.
Plant trees. There is a lot of tree planting companies. Work for them, earn cash, make a difference. If you want to do even more, spend some of that cash on more trees to plant.
Reduction.
You can reduce the CO2 emissions you cause. Use your car less or get one that needs less fuel, fly less, buy less stuff you won't use, replace red meat with chicken or vegetarian options, ...
You can donate money to projects that avoid CO2 emissions or remove CO2 from the atmosphere, e.g. by planting new trees. As rough guideline: Avoiding 1 ton of CO2 emissions is ~$50. Yearly per capita CO2 emissions in the US and Canada are ~16 tonnes.
Last but not least...
If you want to be fully CO2-neutral you can donate $800 per year to suitable projects, or even less if you cause below average CO2 emissions. This is affordable for many people! And it would be even more affordable if paid relative to the income, e.g. via taxes.
Last but not least: Convince other people to do the same, and vote for people supporting policies that slow climate change.
So Many Options.....
Walk or bike instead of driving, donate and thrift shop instead of throwing away and buying stuff you don't need. Don't use single use items, unplug or turn off lights and utilities if you're not using them, shop locally and organically, cut down on eating meat.
Any One Person.
The biggest things any one single person is:
1 - Push the boundaries of science and business and invent an economical way to get solar panels into space and a way of either safely beaming it down to earth or converting it to a form that can be transported to Earth
2 - Failing this don't have kids.
