/r/biology

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A place to discuss all things biology! We welcome people and content from all related fields.

Welcome to /r/Biology!

A place to discuss all things biology! We welcome people and content from all related fields. Feel free to share the latest news, discuss relevant content, show off your latest publication, or ask for help on anything from career choices or to ask about recent biology research.

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We have self-serve user flair. Pick flair representing your favorite biological field of interest. You don't have to be an expert in it. If you don't have a favorite genre of biology, consider "general biology" or "bio enthusiast". If you want something off-list, you can change the flair text yourself.

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Reminder: Label your submissions with with the appropriate link flair when submitting them.

Rules
  • no ID requests; do not ask the sub to identify something in a photo or video
  • no trolling
  • no spamming (ie. posting tons to links to the same website)
  • no hate speech or bigotry
  • no personal attacks
  • quality control: posts and comments are subject to removal if they do not fit the sub's purpose
  • no homework posts
  • no anti-vaxxers or covid-19 deniers
  • no medical questions
  • Health or medical questions should be submitted to /r/AskDocs
  • Health or medical articles can be submitted to /r/health
  • no conspiracy theories
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  • do not ask this sub to participate in research studies or academic surveys
  • Disclaimer: The information provided in the comments section does not, and is not intended to, constitute professional or medical advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available in the comments section are for general informational purposes only.
  • Guidelines for the media
  • You can read the sub's rules here.
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/r/biology

3,834,892 Subscribers

1

Is there something like the APG but for zoology taxonomy?

I may be blind or stupid, but I still don't find anything like that...

1 Comment
2024/03/28
11:34 UTC

5

ants and anthills construction plans

Anthills are a very complicated structures with planty of technological inventions.

For example ants build effective ventilation systems, chambers location allows to heat/cool important areas using sun position during the day, levels and corridors are designed in a way that creates air pockets in case of flooding, and much more.

The only reasonable idea that comes to my mind is that development of these structures must have been done similary to evolutionary processes. Using trial and error method solutions favorable to the colony were kept and those that were negative were not adopted.

Every new ant colony starts from one ant only. There is no way for new ants to learn by imitating older ants behavior how to organize the structure of the anthill. Alsow complexity of those structures and amount of informations used during constructuon makes it to seem unlikely that one individual queen can pass on all that knowledge from mother-colony to first generation of workers in new one.

So how are those informations transferred when new colony is beeing established?

8 Comments
2024/03/28
08:28 UTC

1

Any channels\ platforms that explain chemistry in depth?

Hi, i'm a highschool student and i really need my chemistry grades to be excellent because Chemistry is a requirement for the major i've chosen to apply for in university. However we've got a new teacher who can not explain a simple concept and the whole grade is failing to understand the material. Hence i need something to help me truly understand it and be able to get good marks on tests. Do you happen to know a YouTube channel or a platform that can do that? Tried CrashCourse but it doesn't cover the lessons in depth. Thank you! :)

7 Comments
2024/03/28
05:48 UTC

9

I have a huge dilemma

So I’ve been applying to research positions and the interviews have been going well up until they ask for my references.

The professor who I completed the bulk of my research experience under refuses to write a recommendation for me. It’s not just me, she hasn’t written one for anyone of us who worked in her lab.

I’ve lost so many job offers over this and I just don’t know what to do. She doesn’t seem to be changing her mind about it either.

I’ve been unemployed almost a year and I can’t take much more of this. What do I do?

13 Comments
2024/03/28
03:17 UTC

72

what biology career requires the least amount of math?

Hello, I am interested in maybe getting a degree in biology. I'm not good at math though, so I was wondering what biology careers require less math than others?

(I am in Canada btw, around the great lakes region))

101 Comments
2024/03/27
23:59 UTC

4

Is there a correlation of protein in urine and in serum (blood)?

Is there any correlation at all with plasma protein levels with urine protein levels? Or are these tests (one checking urine and other done on plasma after centrifuging blood) looking at completely different things?

3 Comments
2024/03/27
20:36 UTC

12

Did Homo Sapiens interbreed with Homo erectus to produce fertile offspring?

This also applies for homo Hablis and homo erectus. My biology teacher said they did interbreed to produce a new species, while my biology tutor said that these different species could never produce fertile offspring.

11 Comments
2024/03/27
19:15 UTC

1

Thinking Of Switching Majors

I'm currently in a BS environmental science program and I'm thinking of switching to BS environmental studies. I know studies is more humans impact on the environment and policy stuff and science is the hard sciences. I'm not sure how much crossover there is or how many job opportunities I'll lose by switching. If anyone has an environmental studies degree I'd like to hear how it's been for you jobs wise and if you'd recommend it.

1 Comment
2024/03/27
17:17 UTC

2

Digestion question

Say you drink 8 ounces of water. Then you drink 2 ounces of coffee.

Do those combine in your stomach, meaning you effectively drank 10 ounces of a watered down diuretic?

I always feel like I need to drink these separately so I don't negatively affect my hydration levels.

12 Comments
2024/03/27
15:53 UTC

1 Comment
2024/03/27
13:17 UTC

9

Job worries

i graduated last year with B.S Biology(a year late). took me 9 months to get an interview and i got the job as a specimen coordinator for dept of public health in Massachusetts… as a contractor making $22/hr.

They want to come on full time as a bench chemist to do blood lead testing as well as my current duties so i would be getting a pay increase maybe to $25/hr (idrk thats just my guess). they cant give me a definite answer because they are waiting for approval for the new position(they have to convince upper people that the position is worth funding which it is because they are more understaffed than all the other labs).

I would like to stay here for a bit to gain experience but everyone tells me to just stay to get pension and keep moving up but because this is a gov job the pay scale isn’t that great compared to private. However im really scared to go through the application hell i went through to get this job.

what is your advice for me?

10 Comments
2024/03/27
11:36 UTC

2

lab report citations

i am currently working on my first lab report for my college biology class, and i’m stumped here. if i use information from an article, and that article cites a different article for the information i use, do i cite the article i receive the information from or do i cite the article that is cited by said article? i hope i didn’t word that confusingly, ill give a made up example. say i am using an article by (johnson 2020) that says “barn owls are 33-39cm in length (smith 2015).” do i cite (johnson 2020) or (smith 2015)? i promised i learned citations in grade school and i am not typically an airhead ive just forgotten this one specific rule so please dont make fun of me lol thank you 🙏

21 Comments
2024/03/27
02:30 UTC

5

How come some plants are addictive?

Plants such as tobacco: why are they addictive to us? Is it a way for these plants to try to make us want to propagate them?

12 Comments
2024/03/27
02:05 UTC

2

Why do malignancies with Rhaboid characteristics have a worse prognosis than their non Rhaboid counterparts?

When I’m asking this question I’m not talking about Rhaboid tumors themselves but other diseases such as adenocarcinomas with Rhaboid characteristics.

0 Comments
2024/03/27
01:32 UTC

7

I don't Understand Bees and need your help

Hi,

I study Biology and have a question regarding Insects and reproduction.

So to my current knowledge male insects are haploid and females diploid. If the queen does nothing the zygote is haploid and it becomes a male. If the queen's ads here gametes it becomes female.

But here's the point: Wouldn't that mean that the chromatides in the zygote are both equal? Would the Queen then not create a clone of herself?

Bonus Question to Chromatides because it grindes my gears: If a human (female) would be haploid, would that change anything if we asume that one of the chromatides does not matter? If bees can life haploid can we too (like could you give a human zygote the same command like bees do?

5 Comments
2024/03/27
00:24 UTC

17

I dont understand how many animals are able to successfully mate, especially marine animals

It seems like many marine animals would have a hard time finding the right position?

42 Comments
2024/03/26
21:19 UTC

7

Pain to brain

Hello! I’m studying psychology at uni and we’re now studying biology which is quite difficult for me. I can’t seem to understand the sensor nerves. I’ve tried to read and YouTube it. So:

For example when you stroke your arm, the dendrites wrapped around the hairs pick up on it, these sensory neurons send it further….

There isn’t any neuron nucleus outside the CNS but how can there be dendrites in your finger then? Can’t they only reach like a millimetre? They can’t reach from the spinal cord or brain then? But there still not in the finger, because there isn’t any neuron nucleus in the hand? And a nerve is a bunch of axons which can only send things from the cell? So how does the sensory neuron pick up on the pinch?

I hope someone understands, I’m definitely not native in neither biology or English😄

3 Comments
2024/03/26
20:26 UTC

0

What causes living things to have a predetermined shape?

For example, what makes a human hand take that form, and to not grow irregularly? What makes a human body or the form of a tulip have a clearly defined silhouette that is distinguished from the sky around it? I am aware of DNA coding for different functions, but I don’t see how this answers this question.

44 Comments
2024/03/26
20:22 UTC

8

Do women suffer less from hemorrhage as compared to men?

My wife started attending First Aid courses and it was something mentioned to her. How true is it?

38 Comments
2024/03/26
20:10 UTC

50

How come dandelions are very beneficial to us but don't taste good?

Dandelions and other plants that can positively affect human health are usually not tasty and appetizing. How can this be from perspective of our evolution?

107 Comments
2024/03/26
18:01 UTC

33

Will we ever see organisms evolve to extract energy from plastics?

It is thought by some scientists that back in the Carboniferous period, plants evolved to synthesize lignin before fungi and other decomposers evolved the ability to degrade lignin and consume this form of carbon, partially leading to major deposition of coal beds in this period.

Is it possible that we will see something similar happening with plastics and other fossil fuel products? Might our landfills eventually become something akin to coal beds in the distant future, and microorganisms will have evolved enzymes to digest the polymer chains in plastics?

Are there any studies on this? I know one lab at my almar mater researches the use of mealworms to digest styrofoam but I think they are unsure whether the mealworms can actually derive energy from it or if they are actually starving when they eat it.

22 Comments
2024/03/26
18:00 UTC

4

Reason for Ltyrosine being non essential

so i just learned and am confused. how is lPhenyl essential - but lTyro non essential?

my guess is that because the synthsis pathway assumes u have phenylalanine to make ltyrosine, is that right? but if u have no phenylalanine u have no tyrosine - or is there a way to skip phenylalanine and get tyrosine? BONUS QUESTION - would it ever be possible to get phenylalanine and not have conversion to tyrosine? im guessing for that to be true a total burnout of the dopamine synthesis pathway would need to be possible...

suppose if i do any other animal that has them, will i get them from them or is there something special about "human synthesizing" of these nutrients? is it diet dependant from plants etc or just animals make this and we evolved enzyme to not make it?

6 Comments
2024/03/26
15:44 UTC

13

Would pursuing masters in biochemistry or biotechnology be a good idea? Seeking career advice as a struggling 2020 biology grad

(USA)

Since graduating with my BA in biology, I still haven’t gotten a good job in my field. I currently work in QA/QC at a food manufacturing plant and while it pays enough for my bills, the work environment and culture is awful. Production is always yelling and cursing at me for simply doing my job as QA and I have to work night shift, weekends, and mandatory overtime. I do like that I get experience with HPLC tho.

My job honestly doesn’t even require a bachelor’s degree but somehow it pays more than my last job as an uncertified medical laboratory tech. That job was interesting but I struggled to pay my bills at $18/hour so I had to leave.

I’m thinking about going back to school because my dream is work in pharma or biotech but I can never manage to get one of those jobs. It may be my location (TX) but I have been hardcore applying for jobs recently with zero luck. Would a M.S. in biochemistry help? I want a job in R&D or maybe QC if its in pharma.

Also, I’d probably have to take loans and work while im in school. Worth it or nah? I’m seriously desperate, my job is killing my mental health and I feel like a failure.

19 Comments
2024/03/26
15:07 UTC

28

The Internet made me confused about inheritence.

I am a 12th Grader and Internet made me confused. I was recently reading my bio textbook (inheritence chapter) and I came across Klinefelter's Syndrome ( people having XXY chromosomes) and the book stated that thse people have breasts with testis and penis. Initially I thought that all those people are trans women. So I decided to check it on google and people made me confused by saying anyone can identify as a trans women and a trans women doesn't need to have Klinefelters syndrome (XXY or XXXY chromosomes) and something about hormone replacement. I do not undrestand this as I am Indian and notthing like this happens near me. My question is do all Trans Women have Klinefeltes syndrome or do XY men do it through surgery or hormone replacement, and do Trans Men have Turner syndrome. I hope I didn't offend anyone, I am just curious and just want to understand human biology, I know you guys my not have much time so it would be nice of you if you could explain it to me.

Edit:Thank you so much guys for taking some of your time and answering my doubt. I used to have this question since my childhood ( there is a specific group of people who are enuich, if I am right, called hijra in India, and I used to wonder about their gender). Thanks guys, you solved my life long doubt

30 Comments
2024/03/26
09:45 UTC

125

Does evolution work in the same way on humans anymore?

Sorry if this is a stupid question. from what I understand the primary driving principle behind evolution is natural selection. But natural selection can't take place on humans anymore, right? Because of modern healthcare anything that would have been a disadvantageous characteristic will persist in the gene pool as there are ways of overcoming it with medicine and don't possess as much of a threat as they once would have. I think certain features will still evolve like the strength of eyes due to screens and such but how exactly does evolution work now since good and bad inheritable features persist in the gene pool?

131 Comments
2024/03/26
07:01 UTC

3

Extra Year at College for Experience worth it?

I am studying genetics for my undergrad in the US. I’m in my second year, but I came in with credits so I have the option to graduate a year early if I want to. If I stay another year, I was thinking of doing a double major in data science as I am kind of interested in bioinformatics. I have two semesters of research experience, but I did not do much significant work. I will be doing research in two different labs over the summer and continuing into next year. I was unsure if that is enough research experience to apply for PhD programs in gene therapy or bioinformatics, does anyone have any advice? I’m also an international student and want to do my PhD in the US.

Thanks for any advice!

1 Comment
2024/03/26
06:14 UTC

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