Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Science/2022 March 19

= March 19 =

How does a lutino work compared to an albino?
The lutino article on here is virtually nothing. What exactly are the genetics of an animal that has yellow fur/feathers with red eyes? Common in budgerigars, specifically. How does that differ from albinos? --Iloveparrots (talk) 04:31, 19 March 2022 (UTC)
 * Follow the link and read Xanthochromism. Martin of Sheffield (talk) 08:32, 19 March 2022 (UTC)


 * Albinism is the absence of (or severely reduced) pigmentation. Xanthochromism is an unusual pigmentation. When genetic, the details may differ by species and even between conspecific individuals. --Lambiam 10:53, 19 March 2022 (UTC)


 * Actually, I've been doing my own research and I think I figured it out. Albinism = lack of melanin = white with red eyes. However parrots (specifically parrots) have *two* types of pigments. Melanin and psittacofulvin. No melanin = yellow with red eyes (lutino) because the psittacofulvin is still present. To get an albino budgerigar, or other parrot requires the genetic mutation that prevents the production of both melanin and psittacofulvin. Does that sound about right? --Iloveparrots (talk) 11:09, 19 March 2022 (UTC)
 * See also . --Lambiam 18:41, 19 March 2022 (UTC)

Life in desert, North Europe and ship journey in past
Now we have technology.

1-During ancient times, how did people survive in hot deserts without water?

2-And all those countries where you have subzero temperatures covered with snow like North Russia, Norway, Finland, Iceland.

Thousands of years ago, when there was no electricity, heater, how did they survive, took bath, cook food, visit the toilet at minus temperature?

3- Hundreds of years ago, When people travelled in wooden ships from one continent to another, how did they preserve food for days, attend call of nature, took bath, cook food on the ship? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Kristerlay (talk • contribs) 13:19, 19 March 2022 (UTC)


 * 1: They could certainly transport liquids with waterskins, wooden barrels and pottery as needed.


 * 2: See Inuit culture.


 * 3: Writer Roger M Mccoy describes 16th century maritime life in some detail here: https://www.newworldexploration.com/explorers-tales-blog/life-at-sea-in-the-16th-century.


 * --Modocc (talk) 15:26, 19 March 2022 (UTC)


 * (1) Consider the Well of Zamzam
 * (2) Eskimos build igloos.  See fire
 * (3) See salting (food) and ship's biscuits — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.19.174.20 (talk) 15:55, 19 March 2022 (UTC)


 * 1. Small patch of surface or underground water (the deepest well being much shallower than the deepest modern water well) at oases that are a small fraction of the world's desert land. Caused by "moon crater with a central peak under rim level" or another workable shape-shaped layer(s) of porous rock surrounded by non-porous which trap and funnel either 1. fossil water from an era of the desert's prehistory when it was wetter or 2. rain from somewhere that's still wetter now. Literally hiding in tents all day in white clothes. Going from one oasis to another at night on camels carrying necessities. Acquiring goods or human slaves at or near one edge of the desert and selling at or near the other edge for profit. Like the sugar and spice etc on the Silk Road or selling salt in hot Timbuktu where you need the electrolytes and it was a local salary and there's no major source nearby. Salt from North Africa where even the Mediterranean is hot, rainless and sunny all summer, that sea has little tide and anyone can just leave seawater in the sun to dry, harvest, repeat. Or maybe at least some of it was pre-dried by nature? (saltwater that was already dry when you got there is where salt mines and salt flats come from). You can also buy crackers and stuff with salt, pepper, gold from past trades etc., you don't have to eat nothing but what you can get in the desert.


 * 2. Collecting burnable stuff in the summer. Like wood or grass. Lots and lots of clothes and fire. Most Inuit have stocky bodies and stocky bodies are correlated with a lower temperature (dis)comfort scale cause physics. According to igloo "On the outside, temperatures may be as low as −45 °C (−49 °F), but on the inside, the temperature may range from −7 to 16 °C (19 to 61 °F) when warmed by body heat alone." An igloo apparently could survive short periods of 16°C, it was temporary after all (buildable in as little as 45 minutes) and you could always heal inside decay somewhat by going outside till it freezes then plastering snow to the inside. A thin layer of inside ice from refrozen melting was actually a good thing. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 23:01, 19 March 2022 (UTC)


 * 3. Picking quickly spoiling food right before leaving and eating only that till they can't stand to eat it anymore. Making the rest of the food so dry and usually salty too that it spoils slower, hiding the taste of old food as best as they could with salt, pepper, chili and other spices. Thus if their cargo was herbs and spices they'd eat some of their own (very expensive) cargo but it was worth it (they would literally eat food that had maggots and eat the maggots too). If they caught a rat at sea they'd eat it, sometimes even fight over it if they were hungry enough. If available find a tortoise, preferably more than one (it's an easy chase even if it's scared of you), turn it upside down, carry or drag it to the ship, leave the heavy thing as close to the entry as would not be in the way and it'll always be where you left it cause it can't move while upside down. Okay maybe they had to put chocks or tie it down or something if they wanted to ensure it didn't become a pinball when the ship tilts. If it wouldn't overload the ship you can bring leaves and fruit for it too (and extra seaman crackers if that has calories to a tortoise), tortoises have one of the slowest metabolisms of any animal of that size range or smaller so low appetite per kilo of animal and takes a long time to starve to death. It's flesh wouldn't start rotting till it was dead or so close the immune system couldn't prevent rot anymore, far later than the part of their meat that died on land. Another thing they used to do is stop at Mauritius, a small warm island somewhat near Madagascar. It had flightless birds the size of medium dogs and no predators or humans (before European sailors and cats) so the species wouldn't keep a minimum distance from you like deer and sailors would just walk right up to it and pick it up or hit it's brain area with a pistol or stick. This bird quickly became extinct. If they got stuck a long time from bad wind luck they would eat horses they were hoping to not have to kill, boiled leather too I think, if no food left. Or murder dying mates to eat or everyone comes to an agreement to let themselves be killed and eaten if they draw the short straw or wait for the first guy to starve to death. Did that ever happen on a ship? It's happened on lifeboats. Apparently you can't always get enough food from fishing and shooting seabirds. They peed off the edge, what did you think? But not into a strong wind. Bathrooms are called heads on vessels because they used to poop at the head of the ship as far from the captain and rudder control as possible and they sometimes had seat(s) that stuck out with a hole in the middle and the turd would land in the ocean or at least gain some distance from the deck before touching the side. If there was no seat you could stick your butt off the bow railing and aim for the ocean. They would wash with saltwater and hopefully saltwater soap which works better in seawater than regular soap. They have an entire planet's water to wash with. Fireproof bowls and stuff with fire in them existed on wood ships. Watched to prevent the ship from catching fire and no one realizing till it got too big to put out. Sagittarian Milky Way (talk) 20:18, 19 March 2022 (UTC)