Tag: laughing gas

Technology

Laughing gas in space could mean LIFE!

Scientists are suggesting something is missing from the typical roster of chemicals that astrobiologists use to search for life. Scientists are suggesting something is missing from the typical roster of chemicals that astrobiologists use to search for life on planets around other stars laughing gas. Chemical compounds in a planet's atmosphere that could indicate life, called biosignatures, typically include gases found in abundance in Earth's atmosphere today. "There's been a lot of thought put into oxygen and methane as biosignatures. Fewer researchers have seriously considered nitrous oxide, but we think that may be a mistake," said Eddie Schwieterman, an astrobiologist in UCR's Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. This conclusion, and the modeling work that led to it...
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New York Stores Ban Sale Of Whipped Cream Canisters To Anyone Under 21. Here’s why

Nitrous oxide is commonly known as laughing gas.(Unsplash/Representative Image)A nearly year-old state law banning the sale of whipped cream canisters to people under the age of 21 has been enforced in New York, US. According to Newsweek, the law went into effect in November 2021, but it was only recently that convenience stores in the state became aware of it. The law is meant to prevent teenagers from using whipped cream canisters to inhale nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas. "Nitrous oxide is a legal chemical for legitimate professional use but when the cartridge is used improperly, it can be extremely lethal," US Senator Joseph Addabbo, who sponsored the law, said in a statement to the outlet.The law was passed last year amid concerns that teenagers are increasingly getti...