Benzene kills fat tissue? BRB, going to write the "Benzene Diet" book.
It also lowers serum leptin levels, which the body can interpret as "I'm starving" and send some strong signals to binge on food and stop moving around so much.
Benzene Exposure Alters Endocrine Activity
131–140 of 165 posts
Re: Benzene Exposure Alters Endocrine Activity
#132When I was taking organic chemistry my (mid-to-late 60s at the time in ~20010) teacher told us an anecdote about benzene when we started learning about aromatic molecules. She told us that they used to clean their lab bench with benzene solvent to make it sparkling clean. Of course, she also told us it was carcinogenic and then finished by saying a lot of her contemporary colleagues that went into organic chemistry r…
It used to be the way to decaffeinate coffee https://www.landryswarr.com/did-you-know-decaf-coffee-used-t... In general if you drink decaffeinated coffee I'd check how it's decaffeinated. Even newer processes that use dichloromethane, ethyl acetate or triglycerides are dicey imho. The supercritical CO2 processes seem safe though. Truth be told I'd encourage anyone drinking decaf to really think about the benefits her…
Is there any evidence it is unsafe?
Re: Benzene Exposure Alters Endocrine Activity
#133Back in the day, I worked at a print shop as a press operator for AB-Dick 360CD printing presses. We'd clean the ink off the rollers between separations with benzene. We didn't have any special ventilation (or even use gloves, for that matter). The first few times you did it, you'd get quite a headrush. It's 40 years on, now, and I haven't yet experienced any health effects that I can directly link to that exposure.…
My mother was a typesetter, and either worked at or leased space from printing companies for years. She also had major health problems for most of her life. I've often wondered if the whole cascade of medical problems started with exposure to the many nasty chemicals used in that industry.
Re: Benzene Exposure Alters Endocrine Activity
#134When I was taking organic chemistry my (mid-to-late 60s at the time in ~20010) teacher told us an anecdote about benzene when we started learning about aromatic molecules. She told us that they used to clean their lab bench with benzene solvent to make it sparkling clean. Of course, she also told us it was carcinogenic and then finished by saying a lot of her contemporary colleagues that went into organic chemistry r…
When I was in high school there was this bottle with Mercury floating in it.
We would put it in our hands and mess with it. Mercury has this viscous texture and breaks up and coagulates.
Only later did I find out how toxic it is.
Re: Benzene Exposure Alters Endocrine Activity
#135When I was taking organic chemistry my (mid-to-late 60s at the time in ~20010) teacher told us an anecdote about benzene when we started learning about aromatic molecules. She told us that they used to clean their lab bench with benzene solvent to make it sparkling clean. Of course, she also told us it was carcinogenic and then finished by saying a lot of her contemporary colleagues that went into organic chemistry r…
Chemists used to basically bathe in Benzene back in the day. I’ve heard that they as a group tended to die in their 60’s. Most teaching Chem labs tend to work with small amounts of chemicals today and try to avoid the nasty stuff if possible.
Speaking of bathing in benzene
When I went to Belgium I visited the Red Star Line museum The Red Star Line was a passenger ship company that brought millions of immigrants from Europe to the US in the early 20th century. In order to depart for the US, passengers were required to scrub themswlves down with benzene and let it soak in to kill any potential lice eggs.
Also their luggage was autoclaved (yep, with hot stean) and then drenched in disinfectant.
Re: Benzene Exposure Alters Endocrine Activity
#136Earlier quoted context omitted.
perhaps as a society we need to stop dismissing things containing plastics, synthetic fibres, rubber, resins, dyes and pharmaceuticals as otherwise harmless. I personally strongly avoid sleeping on or wearing anything containing synthetic fibres unless absolutely necessary. dyes I'm less cautious about, as short of dressing like a hippy they're almost impossible to avoid. it would be worse if I was a woman I'm sure,…
Why are you confident cotton isn't carcinogenic?
as I understand it, cancer is essentially DNA damage. a piece of DNA gets randomly rewritten so that instead of doing its normal job it replicates and grows, using up resources and killing off neighbouring cells until it gets to the point where it prevents the organ/system/host from functioning
it's a little like a computer memory leak caused by a bit flip
cotton, silk, linen and wool are all harvested from organisms that contain DNA. if they promoted DNA damage, the organisms that produce them likely would have died off and been selected out long ago
of course humans could be vulnerable in ways plants, worms and sheep are not, or the damage could be slow enough to only affect something with a human-length lifespan, but there's a level of reassurance in knowing that those fibres come from something containing DNA
hydrocarbon-based fibres do not give me this reassurance
Re: Benzene Exposure Alters Endocrine Activity
#137Earlier quoted context omitted.
Chemists used to basically bathe in Benzene back in the day. I’ve heard that they as a group tended to die in their 60’s. Most teaching Chem labs tend to work with small amounts of chemicals today and try to avoid the nasty stuff if possible.
Speaking of bathing in benzene When I went to Belgium I visited the Red Star Line museum The Red Star Line was a passenger ship company that brought millions of immigrants from Europe to the US in the early 20th century. In order to depart for the US, passengers were required to scrub themswlves down with benzene and let it soak in to kill any potential lice eggs. Also their luggage was autoclaved (yep, with hot stea…
I believe around the same time the US was spraying migrants crossing the southern border with Zyklon B to deal with lice and typhus.
Re: Benzene Exposure Alters Endocrine Activity
#138Earlier quoted context omitted.
Old books with chemical information would often have things like odor or taste written down for a lot of surprising things.
Chemistry used to be a scientific spin on the Jackass franchise. Although to be fair often it was the assistants doing the taste tests - not the chief chemist at the lab.
Hi, I'm Johnny Knoxville, and this is "Acid Rain."
Re: Benzene Exposure Alters Endocrine Activity
#139Benzene is everywhere, particularly in trace amounts in otherwise harmless products. Benzene is a building block for the production of many chemicals, including plastics, synthetic fibers, rubber, resins, dyes and pharmaceuticals, and residual amounts may remain in the final products. Benzene is used as a solvent and cleaning agent in printing, paint manufacturing, electronics, etc. Benzene contributes to the overall…
perhaps as a society we need to stop dismissing things containing plastics, synthetic fibres, rubber, resins, dyes and pharmaceuticals as otherwise harmless. I personally strongly avoid sleeping on or wearing anything containing synthetic fibres unless absolutely necessary. dyes I'm less cautious about, as short of dressing like a hippy they're almost impossible to avoid. it would be worse if I was a woman I'm sure,…
> I personally strongly avoid sleeping on or wearing anything containing synthetic fibres unless absolutely necessary.
What's your pillow stuffed with? You mattress? What's your carpet made of? Have anything plastic in the house that might off-gas? You know what aluminum cans are coated with? What's your furniture made of? Is there epoxy in that? What it finished with polyurethane?
Things like lead, benzene, and DDT proved themselves to be dangerous pretty quickly. Your polyester suit should be the least of your worries.
Re: Benzene Exposure Alters Endocrine Activity
#140Benzene kills fat tissue? BRB, going to write the "Benzene Diet" book.
Hillbilly Ozempic