Recent comments in /f/askscience

metalmaxilla t1_ja3wu3h wrote

Reply to comment by djublonskopf in After a surgery, what happens to the air that was inside the incision? by cimmic

Thank you for the verification. However, this is not technically for the retina to remain 'dry'. This technique effectively 'holds pressure' to keep tissues in place against each other to facilitate them attaching and healing together. It can initially involve head positioning to strategically move the gas bubble against the desired tissue of interest. Gas bubbles can also be used in partial (descemet membrane) corneal transplants.

Mixtures of air +/- SF6 or C3F8 can be used. Air does reabsorb more quickly and is less expansile than the others. The emphasis of my comment was that one cannot fly while gas is in the eye. This is called "gas precautions", and patients may receive a medical alert bracelet during this period.

The eye can also be filled with liquid in lieu of gas, such as silicone oil, which is flying-friendly but requires another surgery to remove it if it's not left in place permanently.

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LibertyLizard t1_ja3vrhd wrote

Reply to comment by CrustalTrudger in Is there any possible relation between the recent earthquakes in Turkey/Syria, Japan and Papua New Guinea? by Corvid-21

Another reason is that the media plays to this bias—they know people will be more curious about other earthquakes after a huge disastrous one, so they will publish stories on earthquakes that would not have made the news otherwise to capitalize on that interest. This can give the illusion that more earthquakes are happening because how else would you hear about the ones on the other side of the world?

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