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Identifying Some Kind Of Fossil
This was found off the coast of Ireland by a friend of mine. The running gag is it's some kind of fetish or totem and should be immediately discarded, but we're interested in whether it's perhaps a coronal section of a fish skull, a bivalve or…
CKM
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What is the composition of human feces?
Are there any studies or general information on the composition of human feces?
I'd specifically like to know the percentage of carbohydrates and amino acids relative to the amount that was ingested in diets of various types and amounts.
Any…
Jo Rijo
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How do ants follow each other?
I was observing ants in my house.They all were going in a straight line and also some of the ants were coming back through the the same line.
I took some water and rubbed the line with my finger, then the ants were not able to follow each other.…
Mesentery
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The human brain in numbers I: neurons
Even though knowing the number of neurons in a functional unit or with the same function is not of main importance, it may be interesting to know their orders of magnitude, especially in the human brain. For…
Hans-Peter Stricker
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How can birds disperse seeds when they are able to digest them?
I've just read in a book that birds' guts can digest almost all the consumed seeds with the exception of mistletoe and loranthus (which stays stuck on the branches). On the other hand, I know that the co-evolution with birds caused the enlarging of…
Probably
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What is the cause that angina pectoris is felt in your left arm?
When someone has heart problems sometimes they feel pain in their left arm. But why is the left arm painful?
Marijn
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Why does immunity from the flu vaccine appear only after two weeks?
It is said that immunity from a flu vaccine appears after about two weeks. However, from experience, the flu usually lasts only a few days.
If sufficient antibodies appear only after two weeks shouldn't the flu also last that long? Or is there a…
Philo
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Why do specifically bananas go brown quicker in the fridge?
Perhaps the title should be: Why don't all fruits containing phenol residues go brown quickly when left in the fridge?
Bananas go brown over time because of the oxidation of phenol residues.
Bananas go brown quicker in the fridge than left at room…
James
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Why does black and yellow indicate danger?
It is a well-known fact that combination of black and yellow indicates danger or poisonousness.
In western society it seems obvious this comes from bees and wasps, but it seems like many tropical frogs use yellow and black. Black and yellow also…
Probably
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Do humans sneeze or cough in their sleep?
As far as I know, I've never seen anyone sneeze or cough while they're sleeping. Google wasn't very helpful either; a lot of contradicting claims.
So the questions remains: do humans sneeze or cough in their sleep? (a few other things I've never…
Simon Verbeke
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Help identify this worm-like thing
Many instances of this worm-like creature were found in a water system for a mountain cabin in the Sierra Nevada mountains of the US, in late June / early July. The water system collects water from an enclosed spring. Can you help identify this…
Jeff Amelang
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Species ID: Buckyball-like fungus
Previous research
A friend of mine shared a link of some beautiful fungi: https://i.stack.imgur.com/B81Pu.jpg. I was intrigued by the curious critter below -- it seems to have honed the power of buckyball geometry, presumably much before we Humans…
hello_there_andy
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Is the human biological clock genetically programmed or learnt?
Argument favouring learning:
A newborn sleeps for 20-22 hours. But overtime (s)he learns to focus sleeping time to night time, according to his or her needs and family needs. Some sleep from 1 am to 7 am, some from 11pm to 5 am. So it is learnt. …
Mitradip Das
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Why would diffusion be faster across a non-specialised tissue?
The standard protocol for a person experiencing chest pains is to chew a 300mg aspirin tablet, the argument being that chewing rather than swallowing the tablet results in the aspirin entering the blood stream faster.
From a biological standpoint,…
Rory M
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What is the magnification necessary to see pond life
My daughter is 5 and wants to learn about Biology. I thought a great start is to see life from pond water through a USB microscope. It would be great if she could see organisms like amoebas, flagellates and ciliates with her own eyes. The…
MyDaftQuestions
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