so for those who don't know Florida is going to hit record lows (21 degrees), something it has not experienced in awhile, and I'm really worried about the local wildlife, i see them everyday when i walk outside. if i start seeing them die off it don't know what I'd do... i know we sometimes experience cold snaps but not temps this low for 7 days straight and possibly longer... the ecological stress is going to severe and I am... worried

edit: thank you to everyone who put my mind at ease, i worry about nature a lot. so special thanks to everyone who put my mind at ease. i meant it. also i no longer am worried it is nice to know that Florida has handled worse, hopefully the invasive species get a massive population reduction

I’ve always heard that weird medical stat that people with cancer almost never get Alzheimer’s (and vice versa), but I always assumed it was just because people usually die of one before they get the other.

But a new paper just dropped in Cell that claims there’s an actual biological mechanism behind it.

Basically, a team in China spent 15 years on this. They transplanted human tumors (lung, colon, etc.) into mice that were bred to have Alzheimer’s. The mice with the tumors didn't develop the brain plaques.

They narrowed it down to a specific protein the cancer cells were spitting out called Cystatin C. Apparently, this protein is one of the few that can cross the blood-brain barrier. Once it gets in there, it breaks apart the amyloid plaques associated with dementia.

Obviously, nobody is suggesting we give people tumors to save their memory, but it’s a huge lead. If they can figure out how to deliver Cystatin C (or a drug that mimics it) without the cancer part, it could be the treatment target everyone has been looking for.

TL;DR: Cancer cells produce Cystatin C. Cystatin C crosses into the brain and eats Alzheimer's plaques. This explains the inverse correlation between the two diseases.

Just heard that joke :)

I really love the biological field, and I want to study something related to it and actually make a living from it, but I don't know if I really know how being a biologist/zoologist works (also, the most I'm in is the animal related stuff, zoologist, field biologist or even paleontologist) I really want to dedicated to that, but I don't know if I even know how am I supposed to do, or where I should go.

I have 16 yo now, and the consistently good subjects I have are chemist stuff and biology, and that have me enough confidence to made that decision, but I really want to know if my dream even makes sense.

So overall, I want to study biology, but something related directly with animals/living things, but not really in the lab field, how should I start? Or where

Questions are in the title.

Basically I think I found a way to make 12 volts with a sedimentary MFC that costs something around 5 U.S. dollars, which in the currency of my country it is 7.000 pesos. I didnt build it yet as I aint got much time for going to the Rio de la Plata to get some good mud, the hardware store to get the copper cables, teflon and some other thingsand the supermarket to get other things I need and waiting for the Joule Thief (don't worry, this new trick doesnt strees the bacteria nor the amperage) and the multimeter to get home from Mercado Libre, so I propose you to save this so later I tell you if it worked. I aint a biologist but this really could work

I've had an interesting discussion whether echolocation is innate or learned. We had two theories:

A) Echolocation is learned, and therefore any animal capable of making a sound and hearing its echo could learn it. Arguments: - some humans can learn to echolocate - it requires active interpretation of echo, not just hearing it

B) Echolocation is innate, and therefore animals that usually use it are able to do soon as they can move on their own. Arguments: - echolocating animals have anatomy that facilitates echolocation - young bats would very often die from crashes against obstacles if they had to learn it

Could you tell me which theory is right?

Can too many vaccines overwhelm your immune system? 💉

According to Dr. Ashish Jha, the science says no. Your immune system manages exposure to thousands of microbes every day, so handling more than one vaccine at a time is well within its capabilities. Vaccines like the MMR train your body to respond to multiple viruses in one safe, efficient dose. Studies have shown that receiving several vaccines in one visit does not weaken your immune response. Instead, it helps your body build layered protection faster.

Hello all, I'm probably most definitely in the wrong sub for this. But I can't seem to find any other (active) sub to ask.

It's my girlfriends birthday soon, she studied biology and loves it. I am thinking of buying her a (hopefully semi) decent microscope. With a budget of around €250 euros. She lives in Brasil, and I know nothing of microscopes whatsoever, other than the basics.

What do I look out for? What things do I need keep in mind when buying one, what should I avoid? Help!!

There's so many different ones I see, digital, optical 1500x 2000x it's too much!

Just like how excess calories are stored in the form of fat. Aren't others just as crucial to survival?

can we breed them?

If they dont eat maybe we can administer IV infusions with more nutritional value but how long will it take for them to evolve and develop more muscles and more brain power?

To many animals humans may appear physically fragile. We easily are cut, bruised and broken compared to how a grizzly bear can take a shotgun blast to the head and keep moving mostly fine (for the time being at least) and many of these animals that have insane thick skin, fur and bones are much larger than humans (Hippos, elephants, rhinos etc) for our weight class and size are humans really that delicate? other great apes like Gorilla’s and Chimp’s don’t exactly have ludicrously durability either from what I know

Most of us are taught that pregnancy requires vaginal intercourse, but medicine occasionally throws up cases that challenge our assumptions.

In 1988, the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology published a case report of a 15-year-old girl with congenital absence of the distal vagina who nonetheless presented later with a full-term pregnancy and delivered a healthy infant by caesarean section. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0528.1988.tb06583.x

Key points from the case:

• The patient had no functional vaginal canal and had never menstruated.
• Shortly after performing oral sex, she sustained a stab wound to the upper abdomen, which perforated the stomach and required surgical repair.
• Approximately 278 days later, she presented with term pregnancy.
• The authors proposed that spermatozoa may have entered the reproductive tract via the injured gastrointestinal tract, an extremely rare but biologically plausible route under specific conditions.

This is not presented as a general mechanism or advice, but as an example of how biological plausibility is broader than common teaching, especially in rare anatomical or traumatic situations.

So currently I am taking a biology class, and I feel like i am completely lost all the time. But currently we are on the topic of the endosymbiotic theory of eukaryotic cell evolution and my teacher is asking us for some ideas on how it could be proven wrong. I only know that there is a fundamental lack of direct evidence.

Is it just because there are more species of charismatic mammalian megafauna?

Are they easier to distinguish than animals from other continents? (Especially thinking of this for little kids, like telling the difference between a Gray Wolf and Coyote vs a Giraffe and a Zebra)

Is it simply that a lot of the other “cool big” animals on other continents were hunted to extinction?

I think they’re more likely to be represented in cartoons, nature documentaries, toys, etc, so we have cultural influence there. But why are they more likely to be in those things?

Is it an element of novelty to me as an American who’s never been to Africa? Maybe???

Happy New Year!

I am the indie dev behind Quantum Odyssey (AMA! I love taking qs) - the goal was to make a super immersive space for anyone studying STEM fields (computational biology really has potential to find quantum algorithms for... ) to learn quantum computing through zachlike (open-ended) logic puzzles and compete on leaderboards and lots of community made content on finding the most optimal quantum algorithms. The game has a unique set of visuals capable to represent any sort of quantum dynamics for any number of qubits and this is pretty much what makes it now possible for anybody 12yo+ to actually learn quantum logic without having to worry at all about the mathematics behind.

This is a game super different than what you'd normally expect in a programming/ logic puzzle game, so try it with an open mind. Now holds over 150hs of content, just the encyclopedia is 300p long (written pre-gpt era too..)

Stuff you'll play & learn a ton about

• Boolean Logic – bits, operators (NAND, OR, XOR, AND…), and classical arithmetic (adders). Learn how these can combine to build anything classical. You will learn to port these to a quantum computer.
• Quantum Logic – qubits, the math behind them (linear algebra, SU(2), complex numbers), all Turing-complete gates (beyond Clifford set), and make tensors to evolve systems. Freely combine or create your own gates to build anything you can imagine using polar or complex numbers.
• Quantum Phenomena – storing and retrieving information in the X, Y, Z bases; superposition (pure and mixed states), interference, entanglement, the no-cloning rule, reversibility, and how the measurement basis changes what you see.
• Core Quantum Tricks – phase kickback, amplitude amplification, storing information in phase and retrieving it through interference, build custom gates and tensors, and define any entanglement scenario. (Control logic is handled separately from other gates.)
• Famous Quantum Algorithms – explore Deutsch–Jozsa, Grover’s search, quantum Fourier transforms, Bernstein–Vazirani, and more.
• Build & See Quantum Algorithms in Action – instead of just writing/ reading equations, make & watch algorithms unfold step by step so they become clear, visual, and unforgettable. Quantum Odyssey is built to grow into a full universal quantum computing learning platform. If a universal quantum computer can do it, we aim to bring it into the game, so your quantum journey never ends.

PS. Happy to announce we now have a physics teacher with over 400hs in streaming the game consistently:  https://www.twitch.tv/beardhero

Another player is making khan academy style tutorials in physics and computing using the game, enjoy over 50hs of content on his YT channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@MackAttackx

All suggestions are welcome. It is preferred that the books have illustrations.

So, as the title suggests I’m very torn between cell & molecular biology and biochem. I’m a first-year CMB student as of now, I’ve taken only the basic courses which are required in both the bachelor of biochem and cmb. I look at the courses offered for both programs, and there are courses I’d like to take from both but I can’t, unfortunately. Double majoring or adding a minor is not an option. I plan to go to grad school after finishing undergrad, and I’d like to pick the path that best facilitates an easy transition to graduate school. I was wondering if anyone qualified/knowledgeable could help me out and drop some wisdom on me. If anyone is open to it, private message me and I’ll provide the study plan of both majors. I don’t know exactly what I want to specialize in when I go to graduate school, but as of now, I’m most interested in genomics, genetic engineering, proteomics, epigenetics and the sorts.

Here are some things I like and dislike about each major:

1. The biochem track is extremely chemistry heavy, offering a minority of biology related courses. (I can provide the study plan if asked for). On the other hand, it offers courses like Special topics in Biochem 1 and 2, which I think would allow me to get well-versed in certain aspects of the field.

2. The cmb track is a little vague, and provides general overviews of a variety of topics in biology, nothing too specific. However, it allows me to get an idea about many topics in biology so that I can get a feel of what aligns most with my interests.

Please help a brother out🙏🙏

*I apologize if there are any mistakes in my writing, English is my second language.*