https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/11rx9b5/ask_anything_wednesday_biology_chemistry/
created by AutoModerator on 15/03/2023 at 14:00 UTC
42 upvotes, 25 top-level comments (showing 25)
Welcome to our weekly feature, Ask Anything Wednesday - this week we are focusing on **Biology, Chemistry, Neuroscience, Medicine, Psychology**
Do you have a question within these topics you weren't sure was worth submitting? Is something a bit too speculative for a typical /r/AskScience post? No question is too big or small for AAW. In this thread you can ask any science-related question! Things like: "What would happen if...", "How will the future...", "If all the rules for 'X' were different...", "Why does my...".
Please post your question as a top-level response to this, and our team of panellists will be here to answer and discuss your questions. The other topic areas will appear in future Ask Anything Wednesdays, so if you have other questions not covered by this weeks theme please either hold on to it until those topics come around, or go and post over in our sister subreddit /r/AskScienceDiscussion , where every day is Ask Anything Wednesday! Off-theme questions in this post will be removed to try and keep the thread a manageable size for both our readers and panellists.
Please only answer a posted question if you are an expert in the field. The full guidelines for posting responses in AskScience can be found here[1]. In short, this is a moderated subreddit, and responses which do not meet our quality guidelines will be removed. Remember, peer reviewed sources are always appreciated, and anecdotes are absolutely not appropriate. In general if your answer begins with 'I think', or 'I've heard', then it's not suitable for /r/AskScience.
1: http://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/wiki/index#wiki_answering_askscience
If you would like to become a member of the AskScience panel, please refer to the information provided here[2].
2: https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/about/sticky
Past AskAnythingWednesday posts can be found here[3]. Ask away!
Comment by [deleted] at 15/03/2023 at 14:12 UTC
8 upvotes, 0 direct replies
[deleted]
Comment by Exotic_Talk_2068 at 15/03/2023 at 14:16 UTC
4 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Will diseases that are caused by defective genes be able to get cured not only with gene-therapy prior to birth like any of mitochondrial disease and will there be cure that make such defects not transferrable to children?
And what is the ethical implications of manipulating genetic structure of individuals and will it affect the necessary diversity of population?
Comment by mottavader at 15/03/2023 at 14:43 UTC
3 upvotes, 1 direct replies
After hearing about microplastics being detected in our bloodstream, are there studies being conducted on the effects of microplastics on a cellular level? What do we know so far and how plastic might be affecting our health and any changes plastic might be making to us microscopically. Thanks!!!
Comment by my_bleeding_gums at 15/03/2023 at 18:18 UTC
3 upvotes, 2 direct replies
Everyone tells me that I have really bad breath. But it seems ok to me. What could be going on here that I am missing?
Comment by [deleted] at 15/03/2023 at 21:07 UTC
3 upvotes, 2 direct replies
[deleted]
Comment by 2d3d5 at 15/03/2023 at 15:20 UTC
2 upvotes, 3 direct replies
Which part of the brain is responcible for speed of thought and movement?
Comment by [deleted] at 15/03/2023 at 15:31 UTC
2 upvotes, 1 direct replies
[deleted]
Comment by Alcoraiden at 15/03/2023 at 16:52 UTC
2 upvotes, 1 direct replies
If a reliable way to speciate is to be separate from your original population due to geography, why aren't the Sentinelese another species yet
Comment by Best_Call_2267 at 15/03/2023 at 16:54 UTC
2 upvotes, 2 direct replies
I often hear it's a slow decent to death from 30yo with the brain having stopped growing/changing, genetic mistakes piling up, immune system degradation, weakening muscles, etc.
Surely there's SOME advantage to being 40? Anything good? Or am I a walking corpse?
Comment by Ixmath at 15/03/2023 at 18:39 UTC
2 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Medicine/Biology: When preventing or diagnosing cancer we often get asked if there's cancer history in our family. My dad died from gastric cancer. My skin is very pale and I asked for two black spots on it to get removed in order to prevent skin cancer.
Does my dad having cancer of any kind increases the chances of his descendants getting any kind of cancer? Or does him having gastric cancer only increases the chances of his descendants getting that specific type of cancer? How does that work/why is cancer history in the family important?
Comment by [deleted] at 15/03/2023 at 19:48 UTC
2 upvotes, 2 direct replies
Chemistry: Can you split a powdered medicine capsule in half by dilituting it in 1 cup of water and then splitting the solution into two half cups? Would the two half cups of water contain approximately the same amount of powder?
Comment by SunChipMan at 15/03/2023 at 20:53 UTC
2 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Biology?: When someone is diabetic and needs to pee a lot. Why is that?
I had a semi argument with a friend and want to see if someone smarter knows.
Comment by pdv128 at 16/03/2023 at 07:24 UTC
2 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I heard multiple times that drinking ice cold drinks in summer should be avoided, as it costs the body a lot of energy to reheat from the inside.
Could you achieve a calorie deficit by only hydrating via chewing ice cubes?
Comment by [deleted] at 15/03/2023 at 17:17 UTC
1 upvotes, 3 direct replies
Do you think it’s possible to have “giant leap” advances in medicine anymore without human experimentation like the Minnesota Starvation study?
Comment by 2d3d5 at 15/03/2023 at 15:19 UTC
0 upvotes, 1 direct replies
What part of the brain dose Hannibal the Cannibal eat and why?
Comment by iamCaptainDeadpool at 16/03/2023 at 03:00 UTC
-1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
What have you got against physics. Why are you discriminating against us.
Comment by 2d3d5 at 15/03/2023 at 15:19 UTC
-4 upvotes, 2 direct replies
Since Thomas the Doubter placed his fist upunto the wrist in the side of Christ and then extended the famouse 2 fingers...what happened too his Liver? and is he not litrly touching and pointing at the Gaul Bladder?
BTW its going to end up being Geomtry and mass and not an opinon.
Why is the same wound in Loki, Promethus..and Oden?
Not nearly..not maybe..but exactly.
Comment by tungvu256 at 15/03/2023 at 17:52 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
physics: where in the universe are we? are we at the edge, center, upper left, etc?
Comment by Eroe777 at 15/03/2023 at 18:07 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Chemistry: if we had the ability to directly manipulate the contents of an atom’s nucleus, could we adjust the number of neutrons in a radioactive element like uranium to create a stable isotope? Or is every element beyond lead destined to be unstable no matter what?
Comment by evangeerbarker at 15/03/2023 at 18:41 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Can anyone explain orbitals and subshells to me in a simple way for my chemistry exam on Friday? The whole thing about their distance from the noble gasses confuses me.
Comment by KingPezPez at 15/03/2023 at 21:28 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
What evolutionary pressure was there for cells to develop sexual reproduction, and what actually enabled it?
Comment by tbryan1 at 15/03/2023 at 21:34 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
medicine/neuroscience: What is the meaning full difference between benzos and alcohol beyond the binding point on the transmitter?
Comment by PlayfulHistory229 at 15/03/2023 at 22:35 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Biology: what organs do stick insects have and is there a cool graphic to visualize it?
Comment by Dalakaar at 16/03/2023 at 04:20 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Biology/Psychology
Do we understand why some humans have an innate desire to form bonds with nature? Animals in particular. (Sorry gardeners.) I don't really mean domestication, and I don't really mean pets either.
I mean that first instinct to bond with wild animals. That first person who threw some scraps to a wolf because he wanted to. Has that, for lack of a better term 'precursor drive to bond' been studied?
Comment by stonerbobo at 16/03/2023 at 05:15 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Biology:
Most of what ive read about metabolism and nutrition talks about how carbohydrates and fats are digested to create energy. What is the role of protein in providing energy for us? If only a small portion is used to power us, and eating protein without stressing your muscles doesn't really build muscle, what happens to the rest of the protein we eat?