Did you eat glowing shrimp meat because of nuclear wastewater? Here comes the February science rumor list →

1. If you are nearsighted when you are young, can you “offset” your presbyopia when you are old?

Rumor content : Although myopia is uncomfortable, it will be beneficial if you endure it until you are older, because people with myopia will see things more clearly and will be less likely to suffer from presbyopia.

Truth : This statement is very imprecise. Myopia and presbyopia are two common vision problems that affect the ability to see far and near, respectively. Myopia makes distant objects look blurry, while presbyopia affects the ability to see close objects clearly. As people age, they may be able to read close objects more comfortably without glasses because myopia reduces the effects of presbyopia to a certain extent, but this does not mean that the two can completely offset each other.

Most people will still need to adjust their glasses as their vision changes. When myopia and presbyopia coexist, bifocal or multifocal glasses may be needed to see objects clearly at different distances. To say that myopia in youth can partially mitigate the effects of presbyopia in old age is actually simplifying the complexity of vision problems. It is important to have regular eye examinations and take appropriate vision correction measures as recommended by your eye doctor.

Source: Science Refutes Rumors

2. If a fish bone gets stuck in your mouth while you are eating, can you just eat a bite of steamed bun or rice to push it down?

Rumor : Soft staple foods such as steamed buns or rice can stick to and remove fish bones.

Truth Interpretation : Don't do this. The fish bone is stuck in the inner wall of the digestive tract. Without the help of professional equipment, it is difficult for us to know how big the fish bone is, where it is stuck, how deep it is stuck, which direction it is facing, and other important information. In this case, if you rashly eat a large mouthful of staple food to forcibly remove the bone, you may be lucky enough to achieve your goal, but if the bone is hard, stuck deep, and in the wrong direction, it may cause the bone to go deeper and even penetrate the digestive tract and injure other internal organs. If a fish bone gets stuck in the throat, you should go to the hospital for help from a doctor in time, and it is not advisable to handle it yourself. In addition, when we eat fish during festivals, we should also pay attention to one thing, especially when feeding fish to young children, we must help them pick out the fish bones, or simply choose varieties with fewer bones.

Source: Science Refutes Rumors

3. I ate shrimp meat that glowed. Was it caused by nuclear wastewater?

Rumor content : Radioactive substances can emit fluorescence. If the shrimp someone ate emits fluorescence, it must be nuclear contamination.

Truth interpretation : Not necessarily. There is no evidence that the glow of sushi shrimp meat is caused by nuclear sewage. Shrimp glow may be caused by containing fluorescent proteins, luciferase, and marine luminous bacteria. First of all, edible shrimp is not a krill species that glows by itself, and studies on edible shrimp have not found fluorescent proteins. Secondly, the luminescent enzymatic reaction caused by luciferin-luciferase is mainly concentrated on the outside of the shrimp, which does not meet the description. During the process of eating, fishing, and processing, shrimps may come into contact with luminous bacteria in the ocean. Such bacteria survive and reproduce, causing the shrimp to fluoresce. From the temperature level, the optimal temperature for bacterial luciferase reaction is 18°C, and it is inactivated above 25°C. Sushi is cold processed, and the temperature just fits this range, so it can be inferred that it is most likely caused by luminous bacteria. We only analyzed the reasons for the glow of fresh shrimp from the perspective of natural luminescence of marine organisms.

Source: Science Refutes Rumors

4.Is the rice in self-heating rice fake rice?

Rumor content : The rice in self-heating rice is not real rice. Eating this "fake rice" is harmful to the body.

Truth interpretation : The main difference between rice products such as self-heating rice and rice cooked at home is the different ways of processing rice. There are three main types of self-heating rice on the market. The first is reconstituted rice that is made by crushing rice, adding starch, and then recombining it into rice grains through extrusion and maturation. The starch gelatinizes quickly, which is convenient for quick cooking. The second is rice that is cooked and then dried. The structure of the starch after gelatinization is more stable and can be cooked quickly, which is similar to the processing principle of instant noodles. The third type of sterile rice is actually rice that has been cooked, sterilized and sealed for storage, which is convenient for heating and eating at any time. The main raw material for self-heating rice is still rice, which mainly provides us with carbohydrates, that is, starch, and nutrients can be added for nutritional fortification. From the perspective of nutritional safety, there is not much difference between self-heating rice and the rice we eat at home.

Source: Tencent

5.Does normal blood tumor markers mean that you do not have colorectal cancer?

Rumor content : Some people see that the tumor markers CEA and CA199 in their blood are not high during physical examinations, so they think there is no need for a colonoscopy because there is no possibility of colorectal cancer.

Truth interpretation : Tumor markers are scientifically detectable markers in the human body that are different from normal people and are mainly related to tumors. The main tumor markers in colorectal cancer are CEA and CA199. It should be noted that although the proportion of CEA and CA199 in colorectal cancer patients increases by 40% to 60%, it can play a role in clinical auxiliary diagnosis and monitoring of tumor treatment effects. However, about half of the patients' tumor markers do not increase. Therefore, in order to achieve the purpose of early diagnosis of colorectal cancer, colonoscopy is also required. Colonoscopy can not only remove polyps or early micro-cancer foci, but also biopsy suspicious lesions. It is currently the most effective means to improve the early diagnosis rate of colorectal cancer. Therefore, it is not possible to judge whether there is a risk of colorectal cancer based solely on the tumor marker indicators in the blood test. As long as there is discomfort and a relevant family history, you must actively check and detect and treat it early.

Source: People's Daily Health Client

6. Can hypnosis make people obey the hypnotist's instructions?

Rumor content: Hypnosis can make a person lose himself, and he will do whatever the hypnotist asks him to do.

Truth interpretation: This view is wrong. Hypnosis is a psychotherapy technique that helps people concentrate through verbal suggestion and imagination guidance, making it easier for them to accept suggestions or change their thinking and behavior patterns to improve their mental health. In the real hypnosis process, the hypnotized person will not completely lose consciousness, nor will he become unable to resist the hypnotist's instructions. In short, hypnosis is not a supernatural power, nor can it make people obey the hypnotist's words. It is a scientific method of psychotherapy that requires cooperation and trust from both parties, rather than unilateral control. It should be pointed out that hypnosis technology has not been widely recognized by the academic community. There are still a considerable number of studies that believe that hypnosis does not play a significant role in psychotherapy, or the effect is relatively small, and hypnosis therapy is also relatively niche in China. Therefore, if you encounter individuals or institutions that use hypnosis as a selling point, please be sure to keep your eyes open and carefully identify them.

Source: Science Refutes Rumors

About the Science Rumors List

Released by the China Association for Science and Technology, the list is reviewed by experts every month. Based on criteria such as timeliness and harmfulness, hot rumors are selected for special interpretation and pushed across the entire network.

Jointly published: Scientific rumor-busting platform, China Internet Joint Rumor-busting Platform, "Study to Strengthen the Country" learning platform

Supported platforms: Weibo rumor refutation, Toutiao rumor refutation, Tencent Jiuzhen, NetEase Health, Toutiao Health, Baidu Knows, Douyin

Scientific rumor debunking: Sponsored by the China Association for Science and Technology, the National Health Commission, the Ministry of Emergency Management, the State Administration for Market Regulation and other ministries and commissions, guided by the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, and jointly created by national societies, authoritative media, social organizations and scientific and technological workers, it aims to effectively improve the dissemination, guidance and influence of rumor debunking information, so that rumors can stop at the wise and let science outrun rumors.

List of review experts

(In order of the number of strokes of surname)

Ruan Guangfeng, Director of Science and Technology Department, Kexin Food and Nutrition Information Exchange Center

Li Anjie, Associate Professor, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University

Yang Xiaoyang, Associate Professor, School of Psychology, Sichuan Normal University

Chen Rui , Associate Professor, Institute of Communication Psychology, School of Journalism, Communication University of China

Tang Qin, Chief Researcher, Department of Science Popularization, Chinese Medical Association

This article is produced by "Science Facts" (ID: Science_Facts). Please indicate the source when reprinting.