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1500 questions
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What causes notches in elephants' ears?
What causes the elephants' ear to rip like this?
Is it a natural process as they get old, or it's injuries, like consequence of fighting with other elephants?
Wes
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Why do bumble bees run repeatedly into walls?
I have noticed on dozens of occasions that bumble bees will run repeatedly into a wall. Usually between 1 - 5 times before clearing the obstacle or flying away.
Credit: Spine Films
This source suggests that this might be due to "unpredictable,…
theforestecologist
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What kind of crow is this?
Years ago, when I lived in Greece, I saw crows from a close distance, but never with this peculiar colouration. Today I saw two individuals, both with these gray parts.
Location: Austria, Vienna. Pretty much in the city centre. Specifically Altes…
Ludi
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Why do 60S & 40S ribosomal subunits make an 80S ribosome (not 100S)?
Why do 60S & 40S subunits make an 80S (not 100S) ribosome and, similarly, 50S & 30S make 70S? 60+40 is not equal to 80, nor is 50+30 equal to 70, so why are the subunits of the 80S and 70S ribosomes named so weirdly? I couldn't come up with any…
roxaite
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Why does the ring finger not move independently?
Why is it that we need to move little finger in order to move ring finger with it? For example, put your palm on a table and fold your middle finger inside. You won't be able to move your ring finger unless you move your little finger along with it.…
dudethisismyemail
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Why do cells not store glucose?
I understand that glucose is soluble and hence it is not stored by cells. However, my teacher said that I also have to say that "it would have an osmotic effect on the cell." I don't understand what that means.
Rishi Malhotra
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From which animal is this derived?
I know only that it is not a bird and an insect. I am really interested in from what it is.
user32309
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What is this small tree?
I found a dozen of these small trees in a local park that is just an overgrown homestead. The leaves look something like an elder but the flower clusters surrounded by white, four petaled false flowers are completely unknown to me. What species is…
jpopelish
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Do ectotherms think slower when they are cold?
Animals near the ectotherm side of the endotherm-ectotherm spectrum rely on external heat sources to regulate their body temperature. When they are cold, overal enzyme activity and metabolic rate is lower.
My question is if these animal tend to…
mart
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Is there any math formula that can be used to describe shape of leaves?
There can be great variation in shape of leaves. Neverthless they are fairly simple shapes. How far are we in describing the shape of leaves in a mathematically rigorous way? Do we have a general formula that can be used to describe all shapes of…
Ahmed Abdullah
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1 answer
Help ID this South Indian fruit-bearing tree
So there's this fruit-bearing tree near my house in Kerala, South India. A senior neighbor of mine tells me that this fruit is edible. I tried it out, and it tastes alright. I want to ID this plant, know its botanical name, as well as whether it has…
Aravind Suresh Thakidayil
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12
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1 answer
Can you identify this wasp-like insect?
I've never seen anything like it, although I suppose it could be a wasp or an ant with wasp-like colour bands. Found in our garden today (Cambridge, UK). It's about 1.5 cm (half an inch) long.
Thanks!
qris
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What is the non-local impact of a large-scale destruction of coral reefs?
I'm reading today that the "bleaching" of coral reefs is progressing with unanticipated speed. Bleaching is occurring at a scale which was previously believed to be decades in the future.
Bleached corals, according to the article in the New York…
Peter - Reinstate Monica
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2 answers
ECG wave names origin
Why do electrocardiogram waves go P, Q, R, S, T and not like A, B, C, D? Is there any specific reason behind this?
user30133
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2 answers
What is the function of the RNA primer in DNA replication?
During DNA replication, RNA primase puts an RNA primer in the lagging strand. What is the function of this RNA primer? Why can't the enzymes put DNA fragments directly?
Rafique
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