Weird Science Weekly: Is it safe to pee in the pool?

In this week's installment of Weird Science Weekly, we're looking at some of the strangest science, including whether it really is safe to go into the water, how radiation from Chernobyl is affecting more than just the people from the region, and a woman's skull is replaced by 3D-printed plastic.

No, we really shouldn't be peeing in the pool

To anyone who still thinks it's okay to pee in the pool, first ... gross ... and second, no, it's really not okay. According to a new study published in the American Chemical Society's journal Environmental Science & Technology, the chemical compounds produced when urine gets into pool water can actually do real physical harm to us.

Two harmful chemicals are known to be common in pool water, but a group of scientists were curious about exactly how these come to form. One of them, called trichloramine, is known to irritate mucous membranes, including those in the lungs, and could be made into an effective tear gas. The other, known as cyanogen chloride, can be much worse, and it was once considered as a potential chemical weapons agent.

Mixing chlorine, commonly used to keep pool water clear of bacteria and algae, with uric acid, which is found in both urine and sweat, the researchers saw both compounds forming in just one hour. Doing the math on this, they figured out that over 90 per cent of the compounds found in pool water come from urine, and the rest comes from sweat.

So, next time you're in the pool and have the urge to 'go', follow that urge ... right out of the pool, into the nearest washroom and 'go' there instead. You'll be saving yourself and everyone else who uses the pool a lot of health concerns as a result.

[ Related: WSW: It’s humans vs Lego in Rubik’s Cube world record battle ]

The forests near Chernobyl aren't quite right...

That may seem like the tag-line of a new Chernobyl Diaries movie, but it's about something far more serious. Ever since the accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 1986 — which forced the city's residents to abandon their homes and businesses and permanently relocate — the forests around the city aren't decaying properly. Trees that died shortly after the accident are still standing, untouched, more then 20 years afterward, and leaves dropped by the forests' trees each fall are just piling up on the forest floor. That may not seem weird to you, but it is. If you watch forests in other parts of the world, dead trees decay away over time, and the leaves that drop each fall are usually gone by spring. Around Chernobyl, that isn't happening, and its worst in areas that suffered the highest radiation exposure.

Investigating to figure out the reason for this, the researchers gathered leaves from uncontaminated areas, put them in small pouches that would have found that, along with affecting the humans and animals that lived in the area, the radiation is also impacting on the insects, microbes and fungi that break down the detritus on the forest floor. As a result, they aren't doing their very important ecological jobs, and the forests are suffering for it. What might be worse for us is that all those leaves on the ground are the perfect starter for a forest fire, and if such a fire were to start up, the smoke could spread radioactive contaminants on the wind.

[ Related: WSW: ‘Chicken from Hell’ dino terrorized Cretaceous era Dakotas ]

3D-printed skull transplant saves woman's life

This story is a bit more uplifting, if a little bit unnerving. A 22-year-old woman in The Netherlands had the top of her skull replaced by a 3D-printed plastic replica. The reason? She has a rare medical condition that was causing her skull to thicken, to the point where it was pushing on her brain, causing headaches and affecting her vision. To help, doctors removed the top of her skull, and replaced it with one they modeled and then printed using a 3D printer. Now three months later, the woman is reportedly doing quite well, and according to a translation by Wired UK, the doctors say that you can't even tell she had the surgery.

If you'd like to watch a video with the doctors discussing the procedure and even showing some of it, click here (if you don't speak Dutch, use the "CC" button along the bottom of the video to activate closed captions). I'll warn you, though, some of the images in it are a little graphic. Given the story from two weeks ago, about a UK man who had his face rebuilt using 3D-printed parts, this is an awesome new application for this technology!

[ More Geekquinox: Mars colony hopefuls will soon have a practice home here on Earth ]

Keep your eyes on the wonders of science, and if you spot anything particularly strange you'd like me to check out for next week, comment below, email me using the link in the banner above, or drop me a line on Twitter!

(Images courtesy: Getty, Reuters, UMC Utrecht)

Geek out with the latest in science and weather.
Follow @ygeekquinox on Twitter!