kadup
@kadup@lemmy.world
- Comment on Bitch shape attack 22 hours ago:
That’s a fantastic question… which is exactly what I’m pursuing in my master’s degree right now :). The goal will be to have a full metabolic map showing all the involved genes and how they interact, when they’re triggered (and by which signaling pathways) and how it all comes together for placental development.
- Comment on Bitch shape attack 22 hours ago:
Basically, yes. Viruses came up with the syncitins to fuse with host cells, then when they infected us and integrated their genome we had the code for making these proteins… and turns out “invading tissue” was a really useful tool for the embryo.
- Comment on Bitch shape attack 23 hours ago:
Happily! Basically, the true placenta we mammals (Eutheria) have is what allows such a long gestation period. Unlike our closely related marsupials, that quickly deplete their resources and must give birth, our placenta allows for a continuous exchange of nutrients. This involves a quite complicated process of embryonic tissue invading the uterine wall, so you can imagine the kind of immunological regulation that must be taking place for that to work.
So you’d assume we have several genes highly specific to our placenta that appear when we Eutherians first appeared… right? No! Turns out the vast majority already existed in jawed vertebrates (our common ancestor with sharks), then quite a lot show up in bony fish (our common ancestor with most things you call fish), and just one shows up in Tetrapoda (our common ancestor with amphibians).
So most of the framework for developing an organ such as the placenta already existed for millions of years, so what exactly was missing before it can finally show up in evolutionary history? The two genes that are absolutely required for this whole crazy “let’s invade the mother’s uterine wall tissue but NOT trigger her immune system” part: CSF2 and a group of closely related genes called syncitins.
Syncitins are the star here, because they’re actually a gene that came from ancient retroviruses. In the virus, they were expressed in the envelope and controlled the fusion between the viral particle and the host cell. These viruses got integrated into our genome, and this “fusion with the host cell” mechanism became extremely useful and crucial for the placenta, basically allowing it to exist.
- Comment on Yep, I actually own 7,255 games on Steam. I’ve played 23% of my library. I regret nothing. 1 day ago:
It works in the same way that dumping your GameCube games and running them on Dolphin works… It’s quick and easy, but it’s against the ToS and requires breaking DRM.
Steam’s DRM is weak, and in some interviews some Valve developers even gave hints that this is on purpose. Many Steam games will simply run without Steam if you just double click the .exe in the install folder, and the vast majority that only rely on Steam’s DRM can be opened by running a free “Steam Emulator” software that pretends to be an active Steam account with a correct license.
- Comment on How would I repurpose a work laptop? 1 day ago:
Works fine on Proton, it even creates the mod folder in the correct place
- Comment on Yep, I actually own 7,255 games on Steam. I’ve played 23% of my library. I regret nothing. 1 day ago:
While you’re not wrong, by that logic, it’s actually fairly trivial to take my Steam downloads drive and run it on any computer even without my Steam account.
- Comment on Bitch shape attack 1 day ago:
Mammals wouldn’t have a chorioallantoic placenta at all if not for a virus integrated into our genome. Mapping when in evolution the genes responsible for placental development was my first participation in scientific research, so I love this topic.
- Comment on 413524 Gang, rise up! 1 day ago:
I don’t conform to societal norms.
- Comment on What's going on with Borderlands 2? Steam is giving it for free, but the game has 23% positive recent reviews. 3 weeks ago:
Making up scenarios and claiming to know what the response would be sure is a way to make an argument.
I mean, the worse most laughable way, but it’s a way indeed.
- Comment on What's going on with Borderlands 2? Steam is giving it for free, but the game has 23% positive recent reviews. 4 weeks ago:
So should Walmart stop selling products that fit my personal preferences too? Say goodbye to animal fats, products made in the US, ultra processed foods, some fruit I just don’t like the taste of, all Nestlé products…
I think you get the point.
- Comment on What's going on with Borderlands 2? Steam is giving it for free, but the game has 23% positive recent reviews. 4 weeks ago:
What’s Steam got to do with Borderlands 2 having a rootkit?
- Comment on How does AI-based search engines know legit sources from BS ones ? 4 weeks ago:
LLMs can’t describe themselves or their internal layers. You can’t ask ChatGPT to describe it’s censorship.
Instead, you’re getting a reply based on how other sources in the training set described how LLMs work, plus the tone appropriate to your chat.
- Comment on Console war, console war never changes 4 weeks ago:
Unfortunately, while Valve outsourcing repairs and parts to iFixit is great for most regions, iFixit stopped shipping to my country a few years ago, so this complicates things quite a lot :(
- Comment on Console war, console war never changes 4 weeks ago:
We can’t criticise a massive price increase on games and insane markups for a 480p webcam in 2025 because… People are having fun?
I mean, I can have lots of fun with asbestos too.
- Comment on Console war, console war never changes 4 weeks ago:
My battery is no longer holding up the same as it did when I first purchased mine, but I’m only replacing my Steam Deck for another gaming device when the Steam Deck 2 launches.
- Comment on Console war, console war never changes 4 weeks ago:
My comment is got blast processing, so I win
- Comment on SteamOS finally released by Valve 5 weeks ago:
Hur Durr Valve knows something you don’t
Here’s Valve explicitly claiming the same as I did
Hur I struck a nerve time to stop the conversation
Hahaha sure buddy
- Comment on SteamOS finally released by Valve 5 weeks ago:
The website literally states this image is meant for the Steam Deck and Legion Go S, not other random devices.
But sure, go on, you must know something Valve doesn’t.
- Comment on SteamOS finally released by Valve 5 weeks ago:
Clearly it was worth valve’s time and attention, so my guess is they know something you don’t lol
Every manufacturer provides a firmware reset image or tool. It’s not some mystery.
But sure, get weirdly offended because somebody pointed out the obvious lol
- Comment on This section of Jim Carrey's Wikipedia Article 5 weeks ago:
Oh tell me your joking, this profoundly ruins he and every single one of his roles forever for me
- Comment on SteamOS finally released by Valve 5 weeks ago:
Most users aren’t going to install a new OS, especially on a handheld.
The third party devices coming out with SteamOS already installed are significantly more interesting than this .iso.
- Comment on Why console makers can legally brick your game console 5 weeks ago:
If you live in a shit hole like the US, yes.
It’s totally illegal over here.
- Comment on Are there any initiatives aimed at training generative AI using 100% public domain works and works authorized by the creator? 5 weeks ago:
Exactly - the platform owner usually can do everything. Can a third party crawler? I don’t know
- Comment on Lies of P is getting difficulty options to make the Soulslike more accessible 5 weeks ago:
an impossible encounter
That’s kinda the point of Souls games though. The encounter isn’t impossible, and once your skills and attitude change, you get through it - even though the encounter itself didn’t change a bit.
- Comment on Lies of P is getting difficulty options to make the Soulslike more accessible 5 weeks ago:
Dark Souls II fans will love it!
- Comment on Are there any initiatives aimed at training generative AI using 100% public domain works and works authorized by the creator? 5 weeks ago:
We do have fairly precise numbers of how much energy it takes to train the models using the best GPUs available, and slightly less precise but also reasonable estimates on how much it costs to run servers for users to toy around with.
It’s extremely high, but not different from what it would be like if these were cloud gaming or 3D rendering servers.
The main point is usually is it worth it and that’s highly subjective.
- Comment on Are there any initiatives aimed at training generative AI using 100% public domain works and works authorized by the creator? 5 weeks ago:
It’s also very hard to keep track of licenses for text based content on the internet. Do most users know what’s the default licence for their comments on Reddit? How about Facebook? How about the comments section of a random blog? How about the title of their Medium post? And so on
- Comment on Embracer to spin off Coffee Stain Group – remaining business to be renamed Fellowship Entertainment 1 month ago:
Every. Single. Time. I read “Embracer” as “Embraer” and spend 30 seconds trying to parse why an airplane company is investing into entertainment.
- Comment on He's always been there for me 1 month ago:
Do you tend to write down a list of bullet points every time a loved one needs help?
- Comment on Who will win? 1 month ago:
And we would soon follow.
There’s a difference between “okay, Aedes and Anopheles do not belong here and can be exterminated from this local environment because we inadvertently introduced them here” versus “let’s just exterminate all mosquitos, you know, some of the most important biomass that feeds uncountable species in a deeply interconnected network of ecological interactions that directly affects us”
It’s a significantly better idea to come up with solutions to the actual diseases.