Collapse

614 readers

563 users here now

This is the place for discussing the potential collapse of modern civilization and the environment.

Collapse, in this context, refers to the significant loss of an established level or complexity towards a much simpler state. It can occur differently within many areas, orderly or chaotically, and be willing or unwilling. It does not necessarily imply human extinction or a singular, global event. Although, the longer the duration, the more it resembles a ‘decline’ instead of collapse.

RULES

1 - Remember the human

2 - Link posts should come from a reputable source

3 - All opinions are allowed but discussion must be in good faith.

4 - No low effort, high volume and low relevance posts.

Related lemmys:

founded 10 months ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

‘Don’t call it zombie deer disease’: scientists warn of ‘global crisis’ as infections spread across the US (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 1 day ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

11 comments fedilink hide all child comments

The risk of a CWD spillover event is growing, the panel of experts say, and the risk is higher in states where big game hunting for the table remains a tradition. In a survey of US residents by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 20% said they had hunted deer or elk, and more than 60% said they had eaten venison or elk mea

The movement of meat around the country also raises concerns of environmental contamination. CWD is not caused by bacteria or a virus, but by “prions”: abnormal, transmissible pathogenic agents that are difficult to destroy.

Today, as CWD spreads inexorably to more deer and elk, more people – probably tens of thousands each year – are consuming infected venison,

Well, that was a torrid read

Better surveillance to identify disease in people and game animals is more urgent than ever, experts say. Osterholm says the Trump administration’s proposed cuts to public health funding and research, and the US’s withdrawal from international institutions, such as the World Health Organization, could not be happening at a worse time.

I don't know, religious revelations nutters might be happy /s

top 11 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[–] [email protected] 5 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

Heaven forbid we stop eating deer, though.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago) (1 children)

This has nothing to do with deer. They are, as much as cows, just the most prevalent species in which prions are found. Prions don't discriminate and don't care for your type. I bet they are even able to kill a tardigrade or cockroach

Edit: correction, I read up on it, prions only affect brain cells and function.

Damn: Trump and Elon are safe badummtzz

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 hours ago

Heaven forbid we stop eating animals.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 day ago (4 children)

Prions are scary shit. Not virus, bacteria or fungi but some wrongly folded proteins that are indestructible and contagious:

Prions are misfolded proteins that can induce other normal proteins to also misfold, leading to cell death and causing fatal neurodegenerative diseases in both humans and animals. They are unique because they do not contain any genetic material like DNA or RNA, and they are resistant to typical methods of sterilization.

Sometimes I'm almost glad that I'm an old fuck that doesn't have to care that much for shit like that.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 hours ago

Anyone working in a hospital around prion patients usually have to destroy their equipment, autoclaving or chemical treatment may not destroy the protein entitely

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 hours ago

I just read a thing saying you can clean knives used to process prion meat with 40% bleach for 4 mins to deactivate the protiens. Idk if its true but it was in one of those science pdf sites.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 hours ago (2 children)

They make me believe that the reason we've never seen evidence of or encountered other life in the universe is because it's flawed. Life itself could very well be fundamentally flawed and doomed to eventually die out.

I mean outside of prions we're even seeing the deterioration of the y chromosome. That alone could wipe out the majority of multicellular life.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 hours ago

i think you might have an inaccurate understanding of sex chromosomes, only mammals have y chromosome

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 hours ago

Kudos, this might very well be an explanation for the Fermi paradox. Who knows, times are wild, let's enjoy the ride

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Prions are scary shit. Not virus, bacteria or fungi but some wrongly folded proteins that are indestructible and contagious:

Indeed, autoclaves don't kill them, so they can spread on surgical instruments etc as well.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago)

Prions are stable proteins, forming beta sheet conformation, which stack on top of each other, making a densely packed aggregate as they call it, impervious to most chemical, radiation and low heat. Most normal protein are conformation of alpha helix's.

The way prion beta sheet converts alpha helix to.beta sheet conformation is usually due to a specific part of the prion.