Recent comments in /f/askscience

uphill-bothways t1_jcj6fod wrote

Reply to What makes one greenhouse gas stronger at trapping heat than another? by sand_eater

This article seems to discuss the topic at length in clear terms:

https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/understanding-global-warming-potentials

Different GHGs can have different effects on the Earth's warming. Two key ways in which these gases differ from each other are their ability to absorb energy (their "radiative efficiency"), and how long they stay in the atmosphere (also known as their "lifetime").

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Indemnity4 t1_jcj0kgm wrote

Reply to comment by _night_flight_ in Why is death by respiratory failure in cases when the problem is only muscular (and not a problem with the lungs themselves) so prevalent? why is it so hard to assist respiration long term? Why are ventilators so unsophisticated and brutal on the lungs? by Eschatologists

Iron lungs are huge! You need a dedicated room.

Iron lungs still exist, but use massively declined after the 1960s. They are too cumbersome and restrict movement, compared to a significantly smaller and mobile positive pressure unit.

The stat was something like only 10 units still existed in USA in the 2010's. There were only two people in 2020's.

Only real use now is novel development post-Covid for patients who need limited assistance and can't tolerate a ventilator. An example may be a person who only needs the negative pressure unit at night.

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Rosevkiet t1_jcivkmq wrote

Reply to comment by ronmfnjeremy in Does regularly taking aspirin reduce its effectiveness to reduce pain? by tiltedpyramid

I listened to a really interesting Ezra Klein podcast about chronic pain treatment and the importance of taking a whole body approach. The guest’s main point is that pain originates with an injury or illness, but the patient’s experience of it can be influenced by their day to day life, mental health, supportive care, and levels of stress. I wish I could express it better, because when I write this out it sounds like I’m saying “it’s all in your head!”, but that is definitely not what she was saying. But it would explain someone having reduced relief from pain medication when they don’t have a biochemical reason to do so.

TLDR Pain is a complex sensation and what people experience is hard to understand.

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Dave30954 t1_jcifykd wrote

Reply to comment by 52ndstreet in Does regularly taking aspirin reduce its effectiveness to reduce pain? by tiltedpyramid

Physical tolerance is different from mental tolerance, genius.

Physical tolerance is like if you get drunk enough, it takes more to get you drunk. Like the same level of drunkness literally gets physically harder because your body gets better at breaking down the poison.

Mental tolerance is like you get the same level of drunk but get bored of it. Like the pain relief is the same amount, you just want more now. Like you want total pain relief, which simply isn't possible unless you're completely healthy to begin with.

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