/r/biology

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

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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, to how to get that one finicky assay to finally work.

/r/Biology FAQ
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Rules
  • 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 anti-vaxxers or covid-19 deniers
  • no memes or ragecomics (they can be posted in /r/labrats)
  • no pictures with text overlayed
  • no low effort jokes, comedy, puns, etc.
  • Health or Medical questions should be submitted to /r/AskDocs.
  • 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.
  • simple homework help should be posted to /r/homeworkhelp
  • Guidelines for the media
User Flair

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.

Link Flair

Please label your submissions with user flair after submitting them.

Friends

/r/biology

3,073,811 Subscribers

0

Why is it so hard to swallow on command?

Hi, so when I force myself to swallow, I have to concentrate really hard and wait at least 2 seconds for the command to fire. Afterwards, I have to wait about 10 more seconds for me to be able to swallow on command once again. Is this some sort of protective mechanism? What does it do?

3 Comments
2023/06/02
01:44 UTC

1

Could we genetically change plants/trees to be able to withstand higher temperatures? Kinda like forced evolution

Im not saying we shouldn't do anything about climate change because we absolutely should, but incase we dont unfix our fuck up in time isn't this a reasonable solution?

2 Comments
2023/06/02
01:39 UTC

1

I need help producing a Name that Means "Monstrous Creature" OR something similar

2 Comments
2023/06/02
00:15 UTC

1

What is the smallest species?

I have tried looking this up but for some reason species=mammal. I would just google other groups, but I don’t know whether it is a bacteria, eukaryote, or archaea, so that isn’t helpful.

4 Comments
2023/06/01
22:10 UTC

0

How long should a person be actively healthy before trying to have kids?

I’ve been wondering lately about my health and fitness and also my lil spermies. I have a question that could be interesting for others to discuss but bear with me please while I give the context.

I’m 22 y/o male. Been smoking heavily since 18 and I like to drink alcohol but i seldom drink the past 2 or 3 years. I was also a heavy weed smoker for 3 years until very recently.

I’m inactive in terms of exercise and sport but I work in a supermarket so I regularly get upwards of 10k steps a day and throughout high school I was fairly active in a lot of sports.

Now for the biology part. I’m fully aware my habits and lifestyle are terrible for my body and sperm health. I want to one day have kids and I want them to be as healthy as I can possibly allow them to be.

How long does it take for sperm to “bounce back” and become as healthy as they can. Also, with the age I am and my previous lack of care have I caused any irreparable damage?

1 Comment
2023/06/01
21:45 UTC

0

Why are our ears less sensitive to higher frequencies (like 17-18 kHz) than mid-range frequencies?

I am not talking about age related hearing loss or anything but just in general - Why are our ears less sensitive to higher frequencies (like 17-18 kHz) than mid-range frequencies? I would like to hear a detailed explanation. For example the same high frequencies which you don't hear at normal volumes can be heard by increase the volume. I heard that's because our ears are less sensitive to higher frequencies and hence need more volume to hear them, but why is that so? Can somebody explain in detail?

0 Comments
2023/06/01
18:46 UTC

10

would a tri-sex species be viable?

reading a story and one of the species has 3 sexes. Male, female, and gestator. And I was wondering if that would be a viable survival trait.

18 Comments
2023/06/01
18:39 UTC

3

Does cold effect human size?

I was learning about the theory of “polar gigantism” and it’s effects on aquatic life, and I was wondering if it was possible that something similar could happen for humans. The tallest average humans on earth all come from Nordic countries, with exceptions being some sparse tribes in Africa. The stereotype of Icelandic people being giants is also widely known Could cold weather cause a long term evolutionary changes to human anatomy in a similar way that cold water does for animals?

7 Comments
2023/06/01
17:34 UTC

3

As we age why do we lose the ability to hear high frequencies such as 17-18 kHz and not normal frequencies?

As we age our hair cells die but why do we only stop hearing high frequencies and not normal frequencies? For example a 20 year old can't hear a 17.5-18 kHz frequency but a kid who is 12 years old can. Why does it affect hearing of only high frequencies?

17 Comments
2023/06/01
16:29 UTC

70

Another unfortunate loss. The Yangtze Giant Turtle is now considered functionally extinct

10 Comments
2023/06/01
15:26 UTC

2

Advice

Hello all! I recently changed most of my academic path around in order to try to become a scientific journalist. Right now, my minor is biology and my major is journalism. I’m really passionate about environmental biology and sustainability in particular, and want to know how to make my passion/dream a reality.

With that being said, what advice would this subreddit have? Any and all is appreciated!!

Thank you :)

2 Comments
2023/06/01
14:39 UTC

0

If someone jumps off a boat as a dare and dies by drowning or shark attack is that natural selection?

We didn't know the mindset or headspace the individual was in at that very moment. This is about that Louisiana kid who jumped off a boat recently. Everyone on Twitter is saying this Natural selection,

3 Comments
2023/06/01
14:33 UTC

11

Why do moths drown themselves?

I have a habit of leaving a cup of coffee on the windowsill and completely forgetting its there. But since I don't mind cold coffee, when I go back to drink it, there's a 5% chance it has a dead moth or gnat floating on the surface. Moths don't have mouths. What'a going on?

20 Comments
2023/06/01
10:55 UTC

0

Hematocrit

Hey, for my exam Biology and Sickness I was learning about Blood. There’s a little about Hematocrit. At the end it says shifts in hematocrit are normal and temporary. Exp: If u go to the mountains and stay for atleast a few weeks, your hematocrit rises to compensate with the lower lvl’s of oxygen in the air u breath in. And once you’re back at your usual altitude, your hematocrit returns to normal. Now my question: Does this indicate that people who live at higher altitudes have higher hematocrit than people at ‘lower altitudes’ ? Because it seems logical they do but it isn’t mentioned in my book.

9 Comments
2023/06/01
09:31 UTC

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