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Why isn't vomit corrosive?
Vomit comes from gastric acid, right? And in gastric acid there is HCl and HCl is corrosive (strong), how come when I vomit, it doesn't destroy things that it (as the vomit) hits (such as floor, table)?
Realdeo
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Why is 'Grudger' an evolutionary stable strategy?
I am currently reading 'The Selfish Gene' by Richard Dawkins, which I am sure many here have read. The topic are evolutionary stable strategies (ESS) regarding cooperation.
I apologise for the long question. If you are already familiar with the…
Armatus
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If I squash an insect and it produces red "juice", does it always mean it is a blood-sucking type?
If I squash an insect and it produces red "juice", does it always mean it is a blood-sucking type of insect? Or do some insects have red "juice" themselves, so the color is red on its own and not caused by sucking higher animal's blood?
I squashed a…
Honza Zidek
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Why does rabies cause hydrophobia?
What feature of rabies pathophysiology causes hydrophobia? Why is hydrophobia unique to this one particular type of viral infection?
rhill45
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What causes a 'stuffy' or 'runny' nose when you have a cold?
When humans get the common cold, a common symptom is a stuffy or runny nose. Is that the body's immune response or is that the virus's doing?
Gabriel Fair
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Why are some genes dominant over others? What is the mechanism behind it?
If I have a brown eye gene which encodes the protein that is responsible for the brown color and have a blue eye gene as well, what is the reason that my eye color is brown? How does one gene maintain dominance over the other?
caeruleus
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What is the difference between added sugars and natural sugars in processed foods?
While buying juices, I came across two options, one with no added sugars, one with added sugars. The one with no added sugars had 11 grams of sugars, the one with added sugars had also 11 grams of sugar.
Hence my wonder, does it matter what is the…
John Snow
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Transitivity of Species Definitions
There are many definitions of "species" which usually take the form
Two individuals are of the same species if ...
An implied (rarely made explicit) property of any sensible species definition is that the relation "is the same species as" should…
user4810
20
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1 answer
Do large animals often evolve into smaller animals?
There are several examples where the largest animals were killed off preferentially due to a major ecological shift:
The KT extinction event
The Holocene extinction, as well as the major megafauna humans killed off
The common ancestor of modern…
AlanSE
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Are there any bacteria that could be used as food?
Bacteria are found everywhere. They can also grow on various substrates. Are there any bacteria that can be used as a food source? For example mix x with water and add some of these bacteria. These then either turn x into something nutritious or can…
CuriousIndeed
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How does a plant grow before photosynthesis is possible?
During photosynthesis, a plant translates CO2, water and light into O2. I assume the carbon C is further used for the growing process. I wonder how the plant grows before the time where photosynthesis is possible, i.e. before there are even leaves,…
Nikolaj-K
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Does vaccination lead to short-term secondary infection suceptibility?
For clarity, here is a summary of my question, per anongoodnurse's comment:
Does a lower peripheral lymphocyte count resulting from recent immunization render us more susceptible to infection by other viruses?
There are many bad-faith arguments…
acvill
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Why does UV radiation from the Sun cause skin cancer?
What is the specific mechanism makes non-ionizing UVA and UVB radiation carcinogenic? Can lower energy light, like visible light, be carcinogenic because of this mechanism, or is there some kind of threshold within spectrum at which electromagnetic…
ayane_m
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Do mRNA vaccines cause transfected cells to be killed by cytotoxic T cells?
Based on my research on how mRNA vaccines (specifically for COVID-19) work:
An mRNA sequence, that contains the sequence of the coronavirus spike protein, is absorbed by some cells. These cells now produce foreign coronavirus spike protein. These…
mihirb
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Can one die from pain?
Is it possible that a human or any other creature can die from pain?
I googled and found different answers. Some articles say Yes while others say No.
Mayank Jain
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