Biology

I almost forgot to post this thing.... Anyhow, I went off on fieldwork for 3 weeks in Guam a few weeks ago, and this is the results. Ok, first, this is gleaned from the log I kept in the field, updated daily when I got back. As a result, it's somewhat journal styled, with some omissions on test data and the like. If a day was nothing but a long sequence of repeating the same test over and over for different individuals and variations, that'll be omitted, since I doubt you all want a copy of the notes. I'll intersperse photos where appropriate. Before I begin, I'll give some background. DARPA, the research arm of the Pentagon, decided they want a snake-robot f…

Did plants which produce chemicals with medical uses to animals, including to humans, evolve toward having such uses, because that would increase their chance of being preserved? it seems too convenient that a plant would make things that have any use to animals, (except food because in that case i think it was the animals that had to adapt to make use of what is available to eat), such as being pollenated, and in the case of humans, cultivated (far as i know there arent other animals that deliberately plant things). Well please enlighten me cause i am very interested if the answer is known

So I was going through my usual routine of science webpages and reached the livescience.com article on the effectiveness of human gaits . However, they dont mention the mechanics of this 'third gait' they talk about. I cant find details anywhere. Any thoughts? Sounds like something I would like to try.

Is it possible for plants to photosynthesize with an average light bulb, or is the higher-energy non-visible light that the sun emits in addition to the visible light also necessary?

First off, I'm new to the forums an my expertise in most feilds of science are extremely limited, never-the-less i'm on here mainly to learn and discuss, because I think it's fun. Secondly, I wanted to ask the lot of you a question regarding relative immortality aside from violent death. This would be from the Cellular level outward. I.E. stopping the cell decay in constant reproduction, so that every cell reproduced in all our tissues is reproduced at 100% just as the one before it, so that our bodies would for lack of a better phrase, "never age". Is this possible now in a completely complimentary enviroment? Or would genetic changes have to be made? And would thin…

Hi we all have seen and have moles on our bodies. Can anyone tell me why are they formed and at what stage of development ? Some children have moles since birth and sometimes very symmetrically located like at same position on both hands, feet etc. Is it hereditery or not and what is the physiological importance of them ? Please answer and if possible do send me the links to the references too.

The topic of phallus size seems to pop up in our culture's daily conversation frequently. It got my colleagues and I thinking. Is it true that Africans are more often born with extra large penises? My colleagues and I? We think not! We asked the negro (often not included in our discussions, but he works with us) about his and he seemed a little on the "short" side compared to us. Please vote in this poll I've set up here. Choose your race as well as penis size (erected, of course). Hey, if there's enough data from this maybe we can finally declare this silly myth false! We'll put up a little website with graphs, etc.

Why do snails like to stay on top of the container???

Whats the word when two tree limbs fuse together? And why does it happen? A small tree in front of my house has this, where it seems two tree limbs got too close together and became sort of one. Both are fully grown, but where they touch there is a lump of wood surrounding it. I can get a pic if you need. thanks

When referring to intelligence from different species they refer to this ratio body brain weight is there any evidence that this is a correct way of thinking. Is there any relation between that ratio and intelligence of different humans? Although I can easily find someone that is twice as smart than the other one stil they have the about same ratio. Even one of the smartest people A. Einstein had a brain that weighted a lot less than average. So saying that a lifeform with any size of brain is stupid is a big assumption, right?

Which component of the Calvin-Benson cycle is recycled and why is this important for the light-independent reactions? I think the component is Ribulose Biphosphate (RuBP) but I could be wrong and if it is I don't know why it's important. Anybody have any insight on this?

hi.. i'm new here.. i wanted to ask a question regarding nutrient agar and bacterial growth.. we are going to conduct a research regarding nutrient agar.. our problem is that the nutrient agar components here have high prices.. so we were wondering if it is ok to use only agar/colorless,flavorless gelatin with beef extract,salt and sugar instead of the original nutrient agar..? would it still yield the same effect as with nutrient agar..? also, i was hoping if a speciaList couLd answer my question.. our research teacher is reaLLy strict about where and from who we get our info.. but i'm open to all answers.. thanks in advance to anyone who can answer my question.…

I am facing a problem where i am not sure if a specific protein like for example pituitary folate receptor alpha subunit has the same function, size and structure in any locations of a human body. as i know a gene can have different start and end signal which means a transcript will end in different products then how come a specific pituitary protein will be identical to other places? Any ideas are greatly appreciated.

Hello, I am trying to find a complete definition of the melanine production process in reptiles and amphibians. Does a such thing exist? All I've found was very incomplete and rather limited to tyrosinase and dopa. Thank you, Jean

Does anyone have a suggestion for a relativly innexpensive general biology text that is formatted similar to Pauling's General Chemistry. Also in paperback. W

This biotech company makes test kits similar to home pregnancy test but detects harmful contaminants in drinking water. Also, get results at home no lab require. Good or Bad product? It says it test for: Lead, Bacteria, Pesticides, Nitrates, Nitrites, Chlorine Hardness & pH http://www.watersafetestkits.com

Dear everyone, I have found this dilemma question that's confusing me. 1. A social researcher conducted an experiement to test the effect of sleep deprivation on reaction times. Fifty working adults in an evening study were awakened every 2 hours during an 8-hour period at night and were asked to catch a tennis ball fired from a machine at exactly 20 miles per hour. (Biology-question) The answer says "Wake-up alarms are selected by each participant." (Biology-answer) Would someone please explain this to me, please? (Question) Thanks.

I'm a bit skeptical, here's the link http://www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/fertility.html#prevent The link has some graphs and tables How can I use breastfeeding to prevent pregnancy? The Exclusive Breastfeeding method of birth control is also called the Lactational Amenorrhea Method of birth control, or LAM. Lactational amenorrhea refers to the natural postpartum infertility that occurs when a woman is not menstruating due to breastfeeding. Many mothers receive conflicting information on the subject of breastfeeding and fertility. Myth #1 – Breastfeeding cannot be relied upon to prevent pregnancy. Myth #2 – Any amount of breastfeeding will prevent pre…

From here Just like people, Massospondylus carinatus began life as a quadruped and as they grew became bipedal. From the above site: "As the animal grew from embryo to adult it went from an awkward-looking, big-headed quadruped to a small-headed, long-necked adult that was quite comfortable running around on its hind legs," said Robert Reisz, a vertebrate paleontologist at the University of Toronto at Mississauga, Canada.

I've two general questions.... Why is that plants we eat contain so much less protein than your meaty counterparts? They still require lots of protein to function don't they? I'm guessing that the protein levels is denser in that of muscles and meat Where do plants obtain their amino acids from? They don't exactly have the trypsin and pepsins needed to break down protein & peptide bonds....

Looking for a general (paperback) Biology book that is innexpensive. William DeBenedetti

Hey I was wondering if anyone can recomend a general biology book similar to General Chemistry by Pauling ( similar format). Thanks William

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I was recently having a discussion with my friends about what the dominant species on another planet would look like. Not being biologists, we didn't have much to go on but here is some of what we figured: They'd be mamals or reptiles, or at least not insects If you scale up a spider to the size of a big dog, the pneumatic legs (I think that's what they are) just wouldn't hold it up. Insects don't live nearly as long as mamals and reptiles it'd be harder for them to develop language, let alone learning specific skills. It's easier to move in air, so assuming land is avaliable: fish aren't too likely. They be either bipeds or quadropeds, and they'd have arms …

what kind of organs would a plant need so as to be able to communicate with us, and exercise basic logic skills, and perhaps to learn the multiplication table? suppose you are in grad school studying stuff like chimeras (organisms with genetic material or cells from different species) or neural networks (like those rat braincells the lab in Florida grew in a petri dish and trained to control a flight simulator) OK suppose you are in grad school and studying in some lab where they do stuff like that, and your research director gives you the task of creating an intelligent plant. How would you do it? What would your ideas be? Define the logical task the pla…