Zathras

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/40489702

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE83i5yn_YQ1HnFO027BnnQ

Got a second sim to trial coverage around my city. It's not even been a full week and I am bombarded with spam calls and texts. Unsure if it is election related or just everyday spam.

Thought it was cute. Had to share. Happy adventuring!

cross-posted from: https://kbin.social/m/PCGaming/t/603675

Original Sin's Honour mode is returning.

Here it comes boys and girls. Your automatic tattooing machine.

https://gizmodo.com/blackdot-automatic-tattooing-device-austin-1850935700

I remember watching Carbot years ago for the WoW and HOTS episodes. Was tickled to watch the BG3 episodes. There are only 3 episodes out at the moment. Hope you all enjoy!

Found this video amusing, thought I'd share. Enjoy!

Part one is a blast (hee hee) if you haven't seen it yet. Highly entertaining.

Thank you @[email protected]

Not from the movie but feels like this one could be.

Phillies Deny Entry To Man’s Emotional Support Alligator Into Citizens Bank Park

Huffington Post / 2023-09-28 22:13

A Pennsylvania man has struck out in his attempt to bring his emotional support alligator to a Philadelphia Phillies baseball game.

Joie Henney went to Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday hoping to see the Phillies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, but he wasn’t alone.

Along with him was WallyGator, a 5-foot-long gator Henney adopted in 2015 and has made into a popular animal on both Instagram and TikTok.

A video of Wally being walked by a girl went viral last year.

Henney and Wally hooked up after a friend of Henney’s in Florida asked for help relocating a group of alligators whose homes were destroyed because of land development.

Henney took Wally in his York County home, and they’ve been a happy pair ever since, according to USA Today.

“I’ve never met an alligator that will not bite you,” Henney told CBS News last year. “You fool around [with their head], their instinct is to grab you. He does not do it. You can reach in there and rub his tongue. He refuses to close his mouth. We don’t know why.”

Henney told the Philadelphia Inquirer last year that Wally “likes to give hugs” and has helped him battle depression.

But things weren’t so happy on Wednesday night when Henney tried to bring Wally inside the park, presumedly for peanuts and Cracker Jacks, and was turned down.

Although Wally has attended minor league games and Citizens Bank Park has hosted “Bark at the Park” events, the admission rules don’t apply to alligators ― even ones that provide emotional support.

The stadium’s policy on support animals only allows “certified service dogs or service dogs in training for guests with special needs” and states “all other animals are prohibited.”

HuffPost reached out to both Henney and the Philadelphia Phillies, but no one immediately responded.

However, Howard Eskin of Philadelphia Sports Radio station WIP was working the game when someone told him about the guy trying to get his gator into the stadium. He immediately walked over and took a photo of Wally.

It was ridiculous,” Eskin told HuffPost. “I understand, kind of, service animals, but he didn’t say that ― he said ‘emotional support animal.’”

Eskin said the guy wouldn’t leave and kept insisting on speaking to someone else higher in security.

“He bought a ticket for the gator,” Eskin said. “I should have asked where the seats were ― maybe they were infield.”

Eskin’s photo has since gone viral.

https://gizmodo.com/spider-venom-tested-as-erectile-dysfunction-treatment-1850879208

by Ed Cara

Gizmodo / 2023-09-27 17:54

Men looking for a better sex life might someday own their thanks to a spider. A Brazilian pharmaceutical company is developing a topical treatment for erectile dysfunction derived from the venom of Phoneutria nigriventer, aka the Brazilian wandering spider. The treatment has already cleared an early human trial and will soon be tested in a Phase II study.

P. nigriventer, also sometimes called the banana spider, is a relatively large and notorious arachnid in South America. Its bite in humans can cause elevated heart rate, convulsions, shock, and even death. But it can also cause priapism, a condition where the penis remains erect for hours on end. While priapism can be painful and even permanently damaging to the penis in severe cases, the bite’s unusual side-effect has long interested scientists looking for the next Viagra. Research on the venom has been ongoing for over a decade. And it seems that all that work is finally about to pay off.

Researchers at the Federal University of Minas Gerais in Brazil say they’ve created a synthetic version of the active ingredient in the venom responsible for causing erections, called BZ371A. The compound has been patented and is being further developed as a treatment by the company Biozeus. It’s used as a topical gel applied to the penis and appears to increase blood flow by increasing levels of nitric oxide, a molecule crucial to having erections.

Earlier this year, Biozeus announced that BZ371A has successfully passed a Phase I trial in humans. Phase I trials are mainly intended to confirm a drug’s safety, and BZ371A appeared to be well tolerated by the volunteers without causing any systemic side effects (often an advantage with topical treatments). The company is now forging ahead with a larger Phase II trial, set to start this month.

“Tests, so far, have demonstrated that the compound works with the application of a minimum amount and without any toxicity, as it is practically not detected in the bloodstream,” said Maria Elena de Lima, one of the drug’s developers and a professor at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, in a statement translated from Portuguese using Google.

Viagra and similar drugs are already pretty effective at treating erectile dysfunction. But not everyone responds to them and others have medical conditions or drug interactions that preclude their use. Biozeus claims that BZ371A relies on a novel mechanism of action, suggesting that it might be an attractive option for these individuals.

According to clinicaltrials.gov, the company’s Phase II trial will test BZ371A on patients who have undergone prostate removal, which can damage the nerves responsible for maintaining an erection. It will involve 72 people, who will be assigned into one of three groups. Some will receive a low dose of tadalafil (the active ingredient in Cialis) along with a topical placebo, others will get BZ371A plus a pill placebo, and the third group will receive both BZ371A and tadalafil. The study is expected to be completed by April 2024.

While the most attention-grabbing application of BZ371A might be for erectile dysfunction, the company is also testing whether it can help treat certain eye and lung diseases as well.

WTF is all I can say.