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1500 questions
21
votes
2 answers
Given ATP synthase's structure, how can 3.33 protons ultimately synthesize one and only one ATP?
I am familiar with the structure and function of ATP synthase, but one small detail doesn't seem to make sense. It also happens to be a detail that seems very hard to express.
Depending on the organism, there can be from 10 to 14 c-subunits in the…
LanceLafontaine
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Why does mint oil feel cold on the skin?
When putting (japanese) mintoil on the skin it produces a cool feeling.
You can experience this, when adding it to your bath or using a spray with mint oil on your skin. The cool feeling occures even if the actual temperature of the spray or bath…
Kaadzia
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3 answers
Do animals other than humans have different blood types?
Humans have the ABO and Rhesus blood typing systems. I have two questions about it:
Why have we evolved these blood types?
Do other animals have different blood types as well?
user14843
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Identifying a creature that appears to be a worm wrapped in a cocoon
This creature was found on a bed. At first, I thought it was a piece of lint, but then it suddenly moved. I picked it up in a paper towel and put it in an eye cream containers, which it is currently in. I believe this means that it is pretty strong,…
Harold
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21
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3 answers
Why is DNA antiparallel? Can it be parallel?
My biology textbook mentions that DNA is antiparallel and it got me wondering - can DNA be parallel? What would happen if it was parallel? Could DNA still replicate correctly?
Alex Stacks
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21
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4 answers
Impact of Alan Turing's approach to morphogenesis
Shortly before his untimely passing, the computing pioneer Alan Turing published his most cited paper The Chemical Basis of Morphogenesis (1952).
The central question for Turing was: how does a spherically symmetric embryo develop into a…
Artem Kaznatcheev
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21
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2 answers
Why should a tumor look like a crab?
Origin of the word "cancer"
The disease was first called cancer by Greek physician Hippocrates (460-370 BC). He is considered the “Father of Medicine”. Hippocrates used the terms carcinos and carcinoma to describe non-ulcer forming and…
M.A.R.
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21
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1 answer
Why do plants fruit?
This is a two-part question:
What is the point of fruit if not to be eaten? It’s my understanding that organisms will adapt to survive and thrive. I understand that being eaten can spread seeds, but this just seems like too much of a risky tactic…
Srb1313711
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21
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1 answer
What is the biological age of grafted plants?
Suppose you graft a piece of an existing 'old' plant onto a host plant. Will the graft continue to grow having the same biological age as its parent? In other words, would the graft die at the same time as its parent plant? Or would the process of…
AliceD
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21
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Why doesn't water enter my body through my anus or genitals when swimming?
So when we swim, we can make water not enter through our nose and mouth, simply by holding our breath. However, the mouth and the nose aren't the only cavities. What about the anus and the genitals? They obviously can't "hold breath", so how do they…
Realdeo
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4 answers
Could we transmit smells electronically?
We can encode sound and images in radio waves and send them, but presumably there's some physiological reason that we can't easily make a picture or video of a smell. Could we realistically break smells down into "primary scents", in analogy with…
Shep
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21
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3 answers
How is RNAse contamination in RNA based experiments prevented?
Does anyone have any suggestions to prevent RNAse contamination when working with RNA?
I tend to have issues with degradation regardless of whether I use DEPC treated / RNAse free water and filtered pipette tips.
GWW
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Why is hydrofluoric acid so dangerous if it is a weak acid?
I've read that hydrofluoric acid (HF) is extremely dangerous to touch, but what exactly makes it so toxic? It's a weak acid ($K_a = 7.2 \times 10^{–4}$) and dissociates approximately 1/1000 as much as hydrochloric acid does in water, so why is it so…
Gordon Gustafson
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21
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3 answers
Do any animals other than humans undergo menopause?
Do any animals other than humans undergo menopause?
Also, is there any difference between animals in captivity and animals in the wild as regards menopause? For example, even if menopause has been observed in a captive member of a particular ape…
tel
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Have we ever observed two drosophila lineages that evolved reproductive isolation in labs?
Background
The standard definition of species refers to the concept of reproductive isolation. If two lineages are found to be reproductively isolated, then we consider these two lineages to belong to different species. My question concerns evolved…
Remi.b
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