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Ancestral Allele explanation

I'm having some trouble understanding the concept of ancestral allele. What exactly does it mean? What does it have to do with Identity by descent/state? What does it have to do(if anything) with SNP'...
user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
141 views

Do any known viruses contain "junk" or parasitic genomic information?

After reading about so-called "mystery proteins" in this excellent summary of the coronavirus genome (and acknowledging that the "mystery" simply reflects our lack of knowledge about a very new virus),...
Alex Reynolds's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
261 views

Is this some sort of fungus?

There is something strange growing straight out of the glass windows at work. They look like hairs, about half an inch long, and each have a white spot on the tip of them, slightly weighing them down. ...
Jerry Dodge's user avatar
6 votes
3 answers
2k views

Are these lovebugs?

I used to see these insects frequently in Chennai and Bangalore (South India). I just would like to know if this is a kind of lovebug. The lovebug as mentioned in the Wikipedia page is, however, ...
dexterdev's user avatar
  • 1,133
6 votes
6 answers
20k views

Why should evolution not be equated with progress?

My science textbook says this: Evolution should not be equated with progress. In fact, there is no real 'progress' in the idea of evolution. Evolution is simply the generation of diversity and the ...
Agile_Eagle's user avatar
6 votes
3 answers
2k views

Is the theory of evolution being disproved by bats?

For some species the Darwin's theory evolution makes perfect sense. I can easily imagine how, for example, the giraffe has evolved to its current appearance: the natural selection was favoring ...
Desmond Hume's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
168 views

Can an infectious diseases come from a plant?

Coronavirus, HIV, 1918 Flu, etc. They all come from animals. Do any infectious diseases (in humans) come from plants? More specifically, are there viruses that infect plants that can mutate to infect ...
zerosofthezeta's user avatar
6 votes
3 answers
303 views

How easy is it to carry out de novo sequence assembly?

Today a colleague of mine asked the following question: " Assuming I need to build from 0, a chromosome of a fish, with short reads but no other reference whatsoever [de novo assembly]: how ...
hello_there_andy's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
2k views

How is photosynthesis observed?

How is photosynthesis observed? Say I have plants A and B, and I want to find how fast they are able to turn carbon dioxide into oxygen. How would I experiment this? Say I have one plant A, which ...
user8620's user avatar
  • 181
6 votes
1 answer
12k views

Why do people sing?

I was wondering the why people sing, but from a biological point of view. Is it necessary for our body? If it is so, then why can't everyone sing well? Is it in direct relation with neurotransmitter ...
Darwin PC's user avatar
  • 370
6 votes
3 answers
7k views

Do lobsters possess a nervous system to feel pain?

I was reading an article, which it mentions that lobsters do not have a nervous system: Lobsters have very poor eyesight and no nervous system. They walk slowly on the sea floor but are capable ...
Johansson's user avatar
  • 705
6 votes
3 answers
1k views

Where can I find the common names for the zoology taxonomy?

Forgive me if my question does not belong here or if I'm using incorrect terms, but I'm not educated in biology at all. I'm investigating the workings of the biological classification system. I was ...
Fer's user avatar
  • 283
6 votes
2 answers
779 views

How significant is the genetic component of homosexual behaviour?

From some basic googling, I found that nobody has ever proven that people are born gay and that environment plays a great part in homosexuality. I wish to know if there is a genetic component to ...
Luca's user avatar
  • 77
6 votes
2 answers
5k views

Does the light color spectrum and frequency matter for photosynthesis?

Do plants grow differently when given sun light, wolfram lamp, fluorescent light, LED light, infrared, ultraviolet, x-ray, unfocused laser and stroboscope?
user1306322's user avatar
  • 1,567
6 votes
2 answers
1k views

Inductance in cell

In an animal cell, especially neuron and in particular its axon, while there is electrical resistance and capacitance mechanism in the cell, which play essential roles in the cable theory model of ...
Hans's user avatar
  • 486
6 votes
5 answers
8k views

What is the evolutionary rationale for palm sweating?

Sweaty palms seems to be a reaction to stress, anxiety, etc. For our forest-inhabiting primate ancestors sweaty palms could cause unwanted side-effects such as slipping off tree branches under ...
Desmond Hume's user avatar
6 votes
3 answers
18k views

What is the equivalent of shutter-speed in Human eye?

I just learned that in video cameras, every frame of the video has its own shutter speed. And I know how frame-rate in human eye works out, well, not completely, hence the question. http://en....
laggingreflex's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
178 views

Macromolecule levels in daughter cells after fission

When a prokaryote undergoes binary fission, how are the non-DNA macromolecules distributed between the two daughter cells? This is motivated by comments on a previous question and a G+ discussion. I ...
Artem Kaznatcheev's user avatar
6 votes
3 answers
95k views

Is it possible for a child to grow taller than their tallest parent?

I have heard that offspring can't grow taller than either of their parents but I've also heard that sometimes some gene activation can skip generations. Is it possible for a child to grow taller than ...
max's user avatar
  • 273
5 votes
3 answers
36k views

Is the human body composition real?

In Fullmetal Alchemist when Ed goes to disprove to Rose the Sun God's "miracle" to bring humans back to life by proving that science (in the form of Alchemy) can create people by saying Water (35 L)...
Memor-X's user avatar
  • 321
5 votes
1 answer
13k views

What are differences between formation of embryonic disc in chick and mammal embryo?

Exam question which got lowest average points in my university: 1/5 average. No markscheme available so my attempt below. I assume that embryonic disk prefers to germ disk such that Formation prefers ...
Léo Léopold Hertz 준영's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
941 views

What is the name of this red and blue striped spider (?) - Brazil, Rio de Janeiro

Anyone knows the name of this thing? I found it in our bathroom. It is maybe 10-15 mm. It looks like a spider but the colors left me puzzled
blackjack75's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
9k views

How are arms different from legs?

How are arms and legs defined physiologically? For example, we say humans have two arms and two legs, while cats have four legs, and some monkeys (appear) to have four arms (although I guess they ...
Danny W.'s user avatar
  • 431
5 votes
2 answers
10k views

What are the major causes of mutations in DNA?

I know that point mutations can change the base sequence of a gene by altering a specific codon that codes for a particular amino acid. Are these mutations purely random events that occur when DNA is ...
ChrisD's user avatar
  • 210
5 votes
2 answers
2k views

In biosynthesis of cysteine and methionine, where does the sulfur come from?

Methionine and Cysteine are the two amino acids containing sulfur. According to wikipedia, cysteine is built from methionine. However, the wikipedia also claims that methionine is synthesized from ...
mart's user avatar
  • 754
5 votes
1 answer
209 views

How is instinct carried from one generation to another?

How can non-structural information, specifically instinct (a fixed pattern of behavior that an organism reverts to as a response to certain stimuli), be passed on from generation to generation (such ...
CDB's user avatar
  • 1,836
5 votes
1 answer
286 views

Modern reference for Kropotkin's lazy bees

I have been reading through Peter Kropotkin's Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution and he mentions a curious fact about bees (bolding by me for emphasis): predatory instincts and laziness continue to ...
Artem Kaznatcheev's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
7k views

How does protein denaturation work?

I was wondering how protein denaturation works. Are there covalent bonds, such as disulfide bridges involved, or is it based purely on non-covalent bonds such as hydrogen bonds? Why is denaturation ...
inf3rno's user avatar
  • 4,460
5 votes
3 answers
7k views

Why does the apex of the human heart usually point to the left?

In the majority of human beings, the apex of the heart (left ventricle) points towards the left side of the body. Sometimes however (approx. 1/12000 births), a person is born with a condition known ...
Kenshin's user avatar
  • 2,078
5 votes
2 answers
8k views

Can food swallowed when a person is upside down reach the stomach?

If a person positions him/herself upside down and swallows food, will it reach the stomach against gravity? If so how?
Ram Manohar M's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
40k views

Is there a difference between NADH and NADH2?

I've been reading a lot about the oxidative dissimilation etc, and often I see different sources use NADH and NADH2 in the same reactions. One source uses NADH and another uses NADH2 in the exact same ...
user4172's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
226 views

Variation in MHC in humans

What evolutionary process lead to so much variation in MHC? What is the advantage of having such variation?
biogirl's user avatar
  • 8,609
5 votes
1 answer
798 views

Do intestinal flora have the same DNA as their host?

Please bear with me, this is not my professional field and I might be mixing things up. In an explanation why seeds won't start growing in one's intestines, the explanation given was that foreign ...
Louis Somers's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
4k views

Are there any primary structure sequences that strongly suggest b-sheet or alpha helix?

Is there a particular sequence of amino acids that we know will take on a beta-sheet or an alpha helix or is it essentially random?
user2879934's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
4k views

Chromosome 2 fusion?

I read this article by Jeffrey Tomkins and Jerry Bergman claiming to debunk chromosome 2 fusion. Is there anything wrong with these conclusions? " 1.The reputed fusion site is located in a peri-...
Jeff's user avatar
  • 51
5 votes
2 answers
259 views

How much variation is there between DNA molecules from the same organism

If different but in tact molecules of DNA were extracted from my body, for example hair sample, blood sample, and mouth swab, how much variation would there be between DNA molecules?
Curious Layman's user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
25k views

Binomial nomenclature: Why am I seeing different genera with the same species name?

I have looked online but still do not understand how two organisms can have the the same species names but be in different genera? Do all genera share common species names? Also which would be more ...
city7lights's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
3k views

Is there any advantage of having mitochondria for aerobic respiration?

If we consider the pathway of breakdown of glucose which includes glycolysis, the citric acid cycle and the electron transport chain, all these processes takes place in some prokaryotes and ...
biogirl's user avatar
  • 8,609
5 votes
1 answer
3k views

What is needed for a G-matrix?

I have been doing a lot of reading on quantitative genetics and the G- (and B-) matrix lately. I get the principle behind performing the analysis now but I am still not sure how to do it. I'd like to ...
rg255's user avatar
  • 16.1k
5 votes
1 answer
228 views

Did my wildlife camera take pictures of coyotes?

A wildlife camera took these photographs of these animals. These are the only pictures my camera collected of them. This picture was taken in the central interior of British Columbia, Canada. The ...
Galen's user avatar
  • 1,045
5 votes
2 answers
80 views

Could humans choose to establish fibre digesting colonies in our guts?

Humans don't digest fibre, and nor do any animals, but some creatures have micro-organisms (bacteria, I'm guessing) in their gut which digest fibre for them. My question is, could humans take some ...
Rodent's user avatar
  • 51
5 votes
1 answer
1k views

How to do western analysis to lung tissue?

I am working with lungs from mice, and I want to do a western blot analysis to my samples. I am having trouble with this because my images turn out very "messy", with a high background. Perhaps I ...
Alexandra's user avatar
  • 191
5 votes
2 answers
18k views

Is it biologically possible for an adult's eye color to change?

Can it be that the adult eye can change color? Specifically my question is about a unilateral color change, such that the color of one eye remains constant, while the other changes color over time. ...
borenx's user avatar
  • 51
5 votes
2 answers
10k views

Definition of "Effective population size"

Could you explain to me, what is the meaning of "Effective population size ($N_e$)"? I would appreciate an example as well.
Nyctea's user avatar
  • 163
5 votes
1 answer
6k views

Why are female clones more often produced

As a student of biology when ever I come by artificial cloning, I always find examples of females being cloned - Dolly the sheep, CopyCat, Daisy, etc. The only male I could see was Fibro mouse and a ...
Rehan Ullah's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
2k views

How to determine the most likely reading frame of a DNA sequence?

This question is from a past exam paper for an introductory bioinformatics module. I'm a computer scientist doing biology for the first time. "A short bacterial gene has been sequenced, giving the ...
azure_reflection's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
256 views

Difference In Telomeres Between A Thale Cress Plant And A Methuselah Tree

From what I have read and understood telomeres cap off how many times a cell can divide before it can no longer divide and that is what causes aging. A thale cress plant apparently has a life cycle ...
kittycat's user avatar
  • 1,191
5 votes
2 answers
243 views

Where can I find the genome of the L-strain coronavirus and the S-strain coronavirus?

I read an interesting article about two strains of the coronavirus: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2236544-coronavirus-are-there-two-strains-and-is-one-more-deadly/ I would like to know how the ...
yuval's user avatar
  • 161
5 votes
1 answer
369 views

Can both the overlapping genes (in opposite strands) produce proteins?

I have recognized that both the forward and reverse transcripts from a genomic location code for protein products. Both do occur/express in the tissue of interest. In order to eliminate by chance ...
Trupti's user avatar
  • 53
5 votes
1 answer
2k views

Crossing over : Holliday model

In this figure out of the two heteroduplexes formed one is considered to be non-recombinant product(left) and the other recombinant product(right). My question is despite the exchange of middle DNA ...
Tyto alba's user avatar
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