Unanswered Questions
4,153 questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
25
votes
1answer
2k views
Additive genetic variance components from LMER in R
I've set up some dummy data in R which makes 40 genetically related lines, they are all siblings within a line so are genetically related by a factor of ½ thus additive genetic variance should be ...
15
votes
0answers
186 views
Effect of Aging on SA node's sympathetic fibers
I am trying to understand the effect of aging on the sympathetic fibers of SA node.
I know that aging shifts the vagal curve to left in frequency due to aging.
However, I am interested if aging has ...
15
votes
1answer
286 views
At which step should I apply a detection filter when preprocessing microarray data? (Before/After normalization, batch effects removal)
What is the best practice when preprocessing microarray data using a detection filter (on scanner p-value)?
Suppose I have a microarray dataset that I have to normalize with Loess and correct with ...
13
votes
0answers
278 views
What are these bladder snail parasites?
I collected some bladder snails several months ago. While checking them out one day, I noticed that they were now infested with external, parasitic worms.
Here's a picture of a snail with a bunch of ...
13
votes
0answers
1k views
Contact Inhibition of Cell Division: Signaling Pathway
The following article refers to contact inhibition of cell division in epithelial cells, specifically MDCK cells: Collective and single cell behavior in epithelial contact inhibition.
In their review ...
11
votes
0answers
242 views
Identifying Some Kind Of Fossil
This was found off the coast of Ireland by a friend of mine. The running gag is it's some kind of fetish or totem and should be immediately discarded, but we're interested in whether it's perhaps a ...
10
votes
0answers
261 views
What is this thing that is growing in my yard? And should I get rid ot if?
I live in Wilmington, Delaware (Mid-Atlantic USA). The north side of my yard is largely shaded by my house and grass is spotty.
Periodically when I go into the yard I will find as many as four pod-...
10
votes
0answers
261 views
Which is the reference 16S rRNA
Recently, I've stumbled upon a fact, which hasn't bothered me for many years. The fact is that all universal 16S primers are written as "[FR][0-9]+" (in regex notation), that is they have a position ...
10
votes
4answers
274 views
How do antibiotics combined with a non-Western diet affect weight loss?
Wikipedia describes a Western diet as:
... higher intakes of red and processed meat, butter, high-fat dairy products, eggs, refined grains, white potatoes, french fries, and high-sugar drinks.
In ...
9
votes
0answers
36 views
Why are market squid attracted to fishing lights but also avoid naturally lit surface waters during daytime/full moons?
Squid fishermen use really bright lights (which can be seen from space!) to attract squid to the surface at night, but a lot of squid also naturally avoid surface waters that are lit during the day (...
9
votes
0answers
112 views
I am trying to identify this plant
I am trying to identify this medium arching shrub growing to about 1.5m high x 2m wide in the subtropical climate of the Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens in Brisbane, Australia. Unfortunately there was no ...
9
votes
1answer
150 views
Are there certain symmetric-pair muscles that are slightly bigger and NOT due to handedness?
Ok, hear me out, I was just thinking about an article in Nature I read in the past titled "Scrotal asymmetry in man and in ancient sculpture"$^{\dagger}$ and more recently an entire medical textbook ...
9
votes
0answers
144 views
What predates on cactus in the Atacama desert?
Introduction
Last week, I was in the Atacama desert where I've seen many cacti. Some / many of them were seemingly suffering from predation. Most of predation seemed to be on cardón, often restricted ...
9
votes
0answers
253 views
Anatomical Angle Made by the Fingers of an Extended Palm
Does the angle made by the fingers (excluding the thumb) of an extended palm (as shown in the figure below) have a name (such as the Lovibond or Cobb angle, for instance) ?
I have already checked ...
9
votes
0answers
739 views
Did I just watch a spider die?
So I'm sitting in my office and all of a sudden a small spider is gliding down on a web string from the ceiling, right in front of my eyes, and down onto my desk. It proceeds to make a few awkward ...
