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1500 questions
55
votes
2 answers
What is the benefit of fever during infections?
When people get sick, they often develop a fever. What is the effect of an increased body temperature on viruses and bacteria in the body? Is it beneficial to the infected body? Importantly, often fever-reducing agents like aspirin are prescribed…
murmansk
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54
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Human perception of time depending on age
From what I can tell and what thus far all people with whom I discussed this subject confirmed is that time appears to "accelerate" as we age.
Digging a little, most explanations I found basically reduced this to two reasons:
As we age physically,…
back2dos
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54
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4 answers
Why do men have nipples?
I'd be tempted to call nipples in men vestigial, but that suggests they have no modern function. They do have a function, of course, but only in women. So why do men (and all male mammals) have them?
Shep
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53
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3 answers
Can scientists create totally synthetic life?
This particular question has been of a great deal of interest to me, especially since it dives at the heart of abiogenesis.
Larian LeQuella
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52
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1 answer
Do large animals experience a meaningful delay when moving their most distant appendages?
According to the Physics Factbook, nerve impulses travel at speeds anywhere from 1 meter per second up to around 100 meters per second. Blue whales reach up to around 30 meters long.
For a full-size blue whale, this means that a nerve impulse to…
Tal
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52
votes
3 answers
Why does cracking a joint make noise?
What causes the noise when you crack a joint? Is joint cracking harmful?
I J
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50
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2 answers
Why don't we bleed interstitial fluid?
Interstitial fluid is the fluid between cells in tissues - forming the medium between cells and capillaries. From what I gather, the typical human has 5L of blood and 11L of interstitial fluid. This raises an interesting question. If I get cut, why…
John Hon
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50
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4 answers
What is the longest-lasting protein in a human body?
Protein life times are, on average, not particularly long, on a human life timescale.
I was wondering, how old is the oldest protein in a human body? Just to clarify, I mean in terms of seconds/minutes/days passed from the moment that given protein…
JalfredP
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50
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2 answers
Help identifying leaf-like bone
I found two of these objects near a creek in Missouri. They feel like they are made out of bone but they do not look like any bone I have seen before. They also appear as though the could be some sort of plant part. I am having a very difficult time…
Llew
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50
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2 answers
Why does cutting onions cause tears?
Why does cutting onions cause tears? From a couple of sites, I found that it is because of sulfuric acid produced by onions. But I could not find more details. What is the biochemical pathway by which onions cause tears? Also, which compound is…
superbug
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Why Does Salt Water Help Sore Throats?
I am having some trouble understanding how salt water, a simple solution, could so effectively remove the pains of a sore throat.
I do believe that the answer is closely related to hypo/hyper-tonic solutions, but why is this so, and how does this…
nmagerko
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4 answers
What exactly are computers used for in DNA sequencing?
I've thoroughly read the Wikipedia article on DNA sequencing and can't get one thing.
There's some hardcore chemistry involved in the process that somehow splits the DNA and then isolates its parts.
Yet DNA sequencing is considered to be a very…
sharptooth
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49
votes
4 answers
What's the maximum and minimum temperature a human can survive?
This is a question that has been in my mind since I was a kid. I'm not a doctor, nor even a biology student, just a curious person. What is the minimum and maximum temperature a human body can stand without dying or suffering severe consequences…
Bugster
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49
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1 answer
What is this wasp killing insect?
I spotted these two in my garden. What is this insect? He had firm control over the wasp and was just hanging on by one leg. He appeared to hold on until the wasp stopped moving and then flew away with it.
I live in Ohio (USA). The wasp was a bit…
bburk707
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49
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11 answers
Can humans survive without consuming life?
Some people say that it's awful that humans eat animals. They feel that it's barbaric, because you're killing life and then on top of that, you're eating it, and that you should eat vegetation instead.
But isn't vegetation life too? Personally, I…
oshirowanen
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