Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Science/2022 June 3

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June 3[edit]

Colchicine derivatives[edit]

I was reading the Colchicine article and came across this paragraph:

Because colchicine is so toxic, chemists are continuing to try to synthesize derivatives of the molecule that decrease the toxicity. The most important aspect of these derivatives is that they keep the tropolone ring (the ring with the methoxy group and the carbonyl) intact to retain the mechanistic properties of the molecule.

I googled around and found several Colchicine derivatives being studied like the paragraph says. [1][2][3][4]

Has any Colchicine derivatives been FDA approved yet? Daniel T Wolters (talk) 04:06, 3 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I did find a statement from 2018 that the novel colchicine derivative CR42-24 "is currently completing pre-clinical studies and is expected to be submitted for IND approval by FDA in a year".[5] However, I did not find a follow-up. Four months ago CR42-24 was still being referred to as a "novel colchicine derivative".[6]  --Lambiam 07:46, 3 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you very much! I wish those scientists the best. Daniel T Wolters (talk) 20:09, 3 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Is the claim that relying on the pen causes forgetness, scientifically correct?[edit]

A few years ago, I've read books about memory techniques, and one of them (I don't remember) said that those who rely on their pen writing down, tend to forget things! But now I googled and found research that said that writing with a pen is much more effective for memory than typing on the keyboard. Is the claim that relying on what they write with their pen - causes forgetness, scientifically correct? --ThePupil (talk) 17:36, 3 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Was it writing with a pen vs typing on the keyboard only? Or, was it writing with a pen vs not writing at all? These seem to be two different scenarios. --Bumptump (talk) 19:32, 3 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]
I suspect that writing with a pen is better for recall. Writing with a pen is much faster than typing and you don't get distracted by correcting the inevitable typing errors. Well, that's true for older generation folk like me (aged 75) who were taught properly in primary school. Today's generation of kids don't even get told how to hold a pen properly and writing is not so easy for them and they can't spell. But they are more used to keyboarding, so maybe for them it is reversed and typing is better for recall. Dionne Court (talk) 03:09, 9 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]

What I saw (here, here, and here), was about handwriting Vs. typing.--ThePupil (talk) 02:20, 4 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I can type 50 wpm, but only write about half that. One reason is that I type several hours a day, but hand write only a few dozen words. Another is that modern typing often includes spellchecking. So, if indeed the assertion about memory is correct, I’d tend to think it is because hand writing is SLOWER, or perhaps muscle memory (?). DOR (HK) (talk) 13:08, 10 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]
ADD: I’m 65. DOR (HK) (talk) 13:09, 10 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]

What looks like poison ivy but has five leaves?[edit]

I didn't have any way to take a photo.

Like poison ivy, this plant had a leaf at the end, and two leaves on either side connected to the main stem. But then there were two more leaves connected to the main stem farther down the plant. I've seen this in my yard but not lately. I was in a park and there was poison ivy nearby.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 22:07, 3 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Poison sumac, maybe? --←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 01:00, 4 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Virginia Creeper is pretty common in the eastern United States. I see it both as ground cover and as climbing vines. -- Tom N talk/contrib 03:56, 4 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]
I'll second this. EvergreenFir (talk) 03:59, 4 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]
I described the leaves and I've known for a very long time what Virginia Creeper is. It also looks nothing like poison sumac.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 14:58, 4 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]
I think it is actually poison ivy, since the blog at poison-ivy.org records a rare observation of stalks with 5 leaflets. See The Mystery of 5-Leaf Poison Ivy.  Card Zero  (talk) 17:16, 4 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]
Until I can find a way to take a photo, that looks like it is correct, though the photo there is not what I saw,.— Vchimpanzee • talk • contributions • 18:39, 5 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]