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1500 questions
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3 answers
Why is mammal coloration so dull?
I have seen species of birds, insects and fishes with splendid colours. But when it comes to mammals (including us humans), they almost always appear in shades of brown, grey, orange, or in black and white. I don't recall seeing any pink, green and…
Question Overflow
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Are there any open plant databases (database/library/collection), containing species information and pictures?
I would like to download a plant database containing photos and species details. Do you know if there are any openly available online?
Eszter
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Identification of an animal building
I live in south-west Germany and today while mowing the lawn I discovered a strange structure. It looks like a molehill on which additional branches were placed. This kind of branches are easy to find in my garden, because they were removed from…
Michi_666
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Is there are evolutionary explanation for why humans and primates are ticklish? How might it have evolved?
Tickling is a rather interesting phenomenon: When humans or apes are touched in certain areas like the armpits or sides, we respond with laughter AND frantic attempts to stop the assault. Obviously our ticklish areas tend to be very vulnerable, so…
Gordon Gustafson
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12
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4 answers
Why is AUG the initiation codon?
Is there any reason why AUG is the initiation codon?
Can’t translation start with different codons?
biogirl
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12
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What histological stain can I use for beta-keratin?
I'm trying to find a histochemical stain for beta-keratin, the type found in Reptilia which is organized in beta-sheets. It's different than alpha-keratin which is found in mammalian skin, hair, nails, etc., and is formed of alpha-helices.
Simple…
kmm
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12
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2 answers
Is there a favoured mathematical model of bacterial growth?
One of the most regularly measured phenotypes in bacterial synthetic biology is growth. Anyone who does wet lab microbiology or synthetic biology will have performed a growth curve measurement. However, it is quite rare in synthetic biology papers…
ajhfedorec
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2 answers
Why does it hurt when you take sweets, if you have cavities in your teeth?
When you have cavities in your teeth taking any sweetend drinks or food causes sensitivity or pain. What could be the reason?
Ram Manohar M
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Why are adenoviral vector vaccines safe in terms of insertion mutagenesis due to genome integration and E4 region's proteins effects?
Disclaimer: I'm neither a genetics professional nor an anti-vax fanatic, I just tried to compare COVID-19 vaccine types currently available on the market and got some questions that I'd like to answer rationally.
Some of the vaccines that are being…
RomanG
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How does pressure travel through the cochlea exactly?
I cannot find this answer anywhere.
What I do know is that the stapes pounds on the round window of the cochlea and this causes the fluid to move inside the cochlea itself, which has the three chambers (the scala vestibuli, the scala media, and the…
user525966
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Do animals get sick from eating dirty food or eating off the floor?
Humans have very strict tradition of hygiene, such as washing hands before eating, using utensils, and in general keeping as much distance between food and dirt as possible.
At the same time, most animals would eat off the floor or eat food with…
Alex Stone
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Are bleach solutions still routinely used in biochemistry laboratories to rid surfaces of bacteria, viruses, certain enzymes, and nucleic acids?
Decades ago I would stop by biology and biochemistry laboratories to see what was up, and I noticed a ubiquitous presence of a squirt bottle of bleach solution. When I asked what it was for I would get different answers in different laboratories.…
uhoh
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12
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2 answers
Why should I degas my gel solution for polyacrylamide gels?
In protocols for polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) I often see instructions to degas the gel solution by putting it under vacuum for 10-15 minutes before polymerizing the gel.
I usually don't do this, and when I tried it once I couldn't see…
Mad Scientist
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Why are there so many medicinal plants?
Question
Quite a few plant species can be used for medicinal purposes wiki. As an example, Filipendula ulmaria is rich in acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin).
An allele that produces a substance which is beneficial for a predator should not get fixed in…
Remi.b
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Chicken Genome what are the LGE 'chromosomes'?
The chicken genome identifies two "LGE" sequences in the chicken genome. Are these distinct chromosomes or some highly variable sequence from the genome that is put in a separate sequence? I'm thinking they are not really separate chromosomes....…
shigeta
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