Most Popular
1500 questions
25
votes
3 answers
Did the Zika virus mutate?
The Zika virus was already present and known to the world (mostly in Southeast Asia) before the current outbreak.
Why has the virus caused such an extreme outbreak?
Has it mutated from its ancestral form such as that found in Southeast Asia?
Amey Jadiye
- 403
- 6
- 9
25
votes
3 answers
Why do I see different hues of colors between each of my eyes?
Frequently, I see colors with a slightly different hue when looking through my eyes individually. The right eye is more red-tinted ('warmer' hued) and the left is typically more blue-tinted ('cooler' hued). However, sometimes I can't notice any…
theforestecologist
- 29,867
- 10
- 122
- 204
25
votes
2 answers
How is temperature sensed?
Can anyone summarize the mechanism by which when an object of a given temperature is placed in contact with, say, the skin on a human fingertip, the average speed of the particles of the object is converted into nerve signals to the brain?
If you…
mring
- 1,963
- 1
- 14
- 19
25
votes
2 answers
Do all organisms have to die?
I understand (a little) that there are biological clocks and reason that after a certain amount of time organisms die. I'm wondering if that is something inherent in our DNA or in biology/chemistry in general. EG, is it possible that there could be…
Yehosef
- 909
- 2
- 8
- 18
25
votes
4 answers
If body temperature is 37°C (98.6°F), why are most people more comfortable at around 21°C (70°F)?
It may be different for other people, but for me, anything above 32°C (90°F) is very uncomfortable, and my body is inclined to seek cooler temperatures. But I would think that at 32°C, the body would have less work to do to get itself to 37°C. So…
Benjamin Lindley
- 253
- 1
- 3
- 4
25
votes
3 answers
Why is glucose our primary source of energy?
Is there any evolutionary reason for glucose being the "main" molecule used as a source of energy, beginning with glycolysis and subsequently cellular respiration (after being converted to two pyruvate molecules)? Or did this particular biochemical…
LanceLafontaine
- 6,705
- 8
- 36
- 78
25
votes
4 answers
Why do only two sexes exist for animals?
Why, from the natural selection point of view, do only two sexes exist for animals?
emanuele
- 545
- 1
- 5
- 11
25
votes
7 answers
Pipetting damage to cells
I'm curious how much damage is potentially inflicted by shear stress by pipetting. I know that syringes used for stem cell injection can cause a lot of damage. However, to what extent does this happen with P20 and P200 pipette tips? Understandably…
bobthejoe
- 7,867
- 7
- 43
- 73
25
votes
1 answer
Additive genetic variance components from LMER in R
I've set up some dummy data in R which makes 40 genetically related lines, they are all siblings within a line so are genetically related by a factor of ½ thus additive genetic variance should be twice the variance explained by line. For the lines…
rg255
- 16,072
- 4
- 66
- 104
25
votes
4 answers
What is a coupled reaction and why do cells couple reactions?
I was wondering what exactly a coupled reaction is and why cells couple them. I read the wikipedia article as well as several others, such as life.illinois.edu but I still don't get it. Could someone explain it to me?
Snakes and Coffee
- 501
- 1
- 5
- 8
25
votes
2 answers
Why are flies not scared when landing on a monitor with changing graphics?
I have been wondering why would insects in general, not be scared when important changes happen on your monitor where they have landed...
If you move even just a finger, they are scared to death and fly away, but anything on my monitor and they…
Alexis Wilke
- 385
- 3
- 7
25
votes
7 answers
What prevents predator overpopulation?
I've often heard that a population, human or otherwise, will continue to grow as long as there is food available (assuming nothing else is killing them off). It makes sense: if you have food you can live, and if nothing is hunting you you'll…
Nerrolken
- 977
- 1
- 9
- 14
25
votes
2 answers
What does 5' and 3' mean in DNA and RNA strands?
What are 5' and 3' in DNA and RNA strands? Please clarify with some images and please use simple English.
user4147
- 2,159
- 9
- 27
- 39
25
votes
1 answer
ATP cost for gene expression
How would you estimate the number of ATPs required to transcribe, export and translate a single eukariotic protein?
Gianpaolo R
- 3,884
- 1
- 20
- 34
25
votes
1 answer
Why are drug dosages so high in some mice studies?
On reading through some research on the effects of certain drugs I often come across staggeringly high dosages such as in this paper:
Römer, B., Pfeiffer, N., Lewicka, S., Ben-Abdallah, N., Vogt, M. A.,
Deuschle, M., ... & Gass, P. (2010).…
kcpm
- 353
- 3
- 5