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1500 questions
16
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1 answer
How did the huge dinosaurs cope with gravity and loads on bones, etc.?
It's very costly to be a huge animal. Your mass grows in cube when you scale up, but you still only have two/four legs to support the same weight. This increases the pressure that your body needs to cope with.(this is easy to see if you compare an…
Kristoffer Nolgren
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15
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2 answers
How long will a typical bacterial strain keep in a -80°C freezer?
I know that a -80°C freezer is the recommended means of long-term cell-line storage, and that cells will typically not last long in a -20°C freezer. But how long will a typical bacterial strain (e.g., E. coli DH5-alpha) actually stay good in a…
jakebeal
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15
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Can anyone ID this microorganism?
I found this microorganism in a wet moss sample taken from my backyard in Richmond, Virginia (USA). I took some pictures of it at 40x, 100x, and 250x. I'm not entirely sure what it is, but I think it's some kind of rotifer based on it's behavior. It…
user60581
15
votes
1 answer
Why do diseases in the tap water of developing countries affect people from developed countries more?
My siblings and I went abroad to a country that doesn't have drinkable tap water, but we did not know this at the time as the people who lived there used to drink it all the time with no issues.
One day, we all decided to drink a glass of water from…
James
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15
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1 answer
Why aren't the antibodies in the mother's milk digested by the infant's digestive system?
Why aren't the antibodies in the mother's milk digested by the infant's digestive system?
Enzymes like pepsin have been found to be present in infant's digestive system(1). Though the pH in the stomach of infants is high(The gastric pH of neonates…
trinitrotoluene
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15
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5 answers
Are there animals that have evolved a resistance to human activity or encroachment?
There are countless sources, both peer-reviewed and popular, explaining how overuse and misuse of antibiotics is breeding a new generation of antibiotic-resistant "superbugs" such as MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and MDR-TB…
Robert Columbia
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15
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1 answer
How to obtain bacteria samples at home?
As the original question went from hold to closed, I thought I would write up a more appropriate question.
How should one go about getting bacterial samples to look at under a microscope at home? How do professionals do it? What if I want to look…
Atl LED
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15
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1 answer
Inability of vultures to digest diclofenac
The population of Indian vultures has been rapidly declining since 2003. This is attributed to the diclofenac present in the carcasses which the vultures eat. Vultures seem to digest all sorts of food items but why can't they digest diclofenac? What…
Shishir Maharana
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15
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1 answer
Which type of test tube should not be used for blood collection?
The following question is presented in my biology textbook:
You are required to draw blood from patient and keep it in a test tube for analysis of blood corpuscles and plasma. You are provided with the following four types of test tubes. Which one…
Priyanshu Das
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15
votes
1 answer
Could humans and chimpanzees hybridize?
In some cases two species can hybridize. For example, Tigers and lions can hybridize to produce "Ligers".
Would it also be possible for humans and chimpanzees (or any other species) to hybridize ?
If not, what would be the likely cause of…
user5479
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15
votes
1 answer
Do fake wasp nests actually fool wasps?
I have seen fake wasp nests sold as a deterrent against wasps and similar insects. Do they really work? Is there some scientific evidence for it?
A related link: http://www.scienceworld.ca/do-fake-wasp-nests-fool-wasps
Petr
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15
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What is the evidence that plants and animals had a common ancestor?
According to the theory of evolution (which I don't dispute), plants and animals evolved from a common ancestor, probably a eukaryote. I'd like to know how we know that to be true.
Specifically how did scientists come to that conclusion, and what…
aditsu
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15
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1 answer
Do sharks fart?
My son is 5 and I'm encouraging him to be curious and ask questions of the world around him.
He asked if sharks fart and how does it smell? He feels that it would smell of fish and be disgusting.
He was also asking how anyone would know or be able…
Cameron
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15
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2 answers
Looking for a cancer drug target database to guide sequencing of patient tumor DNA
I have a question I would like to pose to the community. I have recently received access to a bench-top ion torrent DNA sequencer. Our idea is to use this machine to sequence the DNA from patient’s tumors in order to guide treatment options. My job…
Alexander
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15
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0 answers
Identify this organism I found in my food
I found this thing floating in my orange juice this morning.
I pulled it out and it appears to be some sort of protozoa or something. It's about a quarter the size of my pinky nail. Was not moving at all.
Should I be worried about this? Either way I…
mackson1560
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