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1500 questions
23
votes
2 answers
Are mosquitoes repelled by high frequency sound?
I am totally confused whether ask this question to physics or biology stackexchange.
I downloaded a mobile application which claims to repel mosquitoes. This application basically produces sound from 16kHz to 22kHz (I doubt that it even produces…
Santosh Kumar
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3 answers
Supercomputer Vs Human Brain
With supercomputers doing calculation in petaflops ($10^{15}$ Calculations per Second), have we crossed the speed of Human Brain?
Devashish Das
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23
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Are single-celled organisms capable of learning?
I've read that the amoeba is capable of learning. Since these protists have no nervous system, it's safe to assume that even highly simplified learning mechanisms of the Aplysia are miles off in the evolutionary distance.
How does this species…
jonsca
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23
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0 answers
Effect of Aging on SA node's sympathetic fibers
I am trying to understand the effect of aging on the sympathetic fibers of SA node.
I know that aging shifts the vagal curve to left in frequency due to aging.
However, I am interested if aging has similar effect on sympathetic fibers.
In young…
Léo Léopold Hertz 준영
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23
votes
1 answer
Why is coffee a laxative?
How does caffeine (or any additional agents) act as a laxative when ingested? I'm interested in the metabolic/signaling pathway.
zeller
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23
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3 answers
Good source that explains the evolution of single-celled organisms "from scratch"
Are there any books or sites that detail, step-by-step, the evolution of the first single-celled organisms (bacteria, archaea) from a Miller-Urey-like beginning? That is, assumes only amino acids, then from there to self-replicating proteins, until…
Chris Wenham
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23
votes
1 answer
Did neanderthals need vitamin C from the diet?
Modern humans need to get vitamin c from the diet, because we do not make it ourselves. Did neanderthals produce vitamin c? At what point of evolution exactly was this ability lost?
Euphorbium
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23
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What exactly is bound by the control line on COVID19 antigen tests?
Clearly the test line binds some component of the coronavirus, I believe most commonly the nucleocapsid protein (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8049777/). However, despite extensive googling (and Google is doing a lousy job of…
Hinton
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22
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1 answer
Why do we use an autoclave at 121°C (250F)? (Origin)
Let me start by saying I know why, but I am inquiring more about the origin.
My question is more related to literature that I cannot seem to find.
I've found some helpful papers and information on the origin of the using 121°C for sterilizing…
m4rio
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22
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1 answer
Do some genes follow Rock-Paper-Scissors model of dominance?
Assuming there are at least 3 alleles of the gene $G$ in total - $G_R$, $G_S$ and $G_P$ - is there any gene for which the following is true?
$G_R$ is more dominant than $G_S$.
$G_S$ is more dominant than $G_P$.
$G_P$ is more dominant than $G_R$.
rus9384
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22
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3 answers
When did vision evolve for the first time?
Today I wondered what the first organism to evolve vision would have been. I assume that it would have been kind of primitive and basic, but of course extremely innovative and eventually useful to a wide variety of beings.
It also makes sense that…
magnetar
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22
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2 answers
Are some people more 'attractive' to mosquitos? If so, is that a hereditary trait?
Mosquitos clearly love me-- but I have been told I am just more reactive to mosquito bites. Are some people more 'attractive' to mosquitos (get bit more)? Or is it just that they are more reactive? If it is an 'attractive' trait-- is this…
Shannon
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22
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4 answers
Could we detect GMO foods if there were no samples to compare with?
In my understanding, there’s nothing “special” in how a GMO product is composed inside compared to a “natural” product. I mean, still, same principles apply to both: some DNA that controls protein building, and so on.
Now, having read about all…
Meglio
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22
votes
3 answers
I found this strange tooth in Galveston, Texas. What does it belong to?
I found this on May 7, 2017, on Bolivar Peninsula in Galveston, Texas. What's not visible are the treelike rings inside the tooth and what looks like a tiny interior porous center. It looks like it was considerably larger but broken off.
We're…
Kristen Miller
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22
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2 answers
Does human brain store duplicate data?
There are several answers and articles about how the brain stores data, but none specifically cover whether a human's brain stores duplicate data.
I was reading in this article that a human brain can have a capacity of 1 terabyte to 2.5 petabytes.…
Johansson
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