What is "foaming at the mouth" and what exactly causes it? | AskScience Blog

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Saturday, December 1, 2018

What is "foaming at the mouth" and what exactly causes it?

What is "foaming at the mouth" and what exactly causes it?


What is "foaming at the mouth" and what exactly causes it?

Posted: 01 Dec 2018 05:52 AM PST

When someone foams at the mouth due to rabies or a seizure or whatever else causes it, what is the "foam"? Is it an excess of saliva? I'm aware it is exaggerated in t.v and film.

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Does the force of ejaculation influence the probability of impregnation, or is this only determined by the swimming speed of individual sperm cells?

Posted: 30 Nov 2018 07:50 AM PST

Seeing as the speed of sound is the speed at which sound waves translate through the air (roughly) Does that mean the speed of sound is slower at, say 60,000’ than Sea Level?

Posted: 01 Dec 2018 05:50 AM PST

Why is it that when you rub your eyes you start seeing weird colours and patterns?

Posted: 01 Dec 2018 03:16 AM PST

I've heard about efforts to eliminate mosquitoes by genetically modifying them to be sterile. How would the gene spread if the individuals with this gene couldn't have any offspring?

Posted: 30 Nov 2018 11:33 PM PST

What causes phosphorescence in the ocean?

Posted: 01 Dec 2018 06:58 AM PST

And is there a correlation between red tide and phosphorescence

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Since objects get denser as they get colder, would you be able to get ice that was cold enough to sink in water?

Posted: 01 Dec 2018 03:04 AM PST

Between cycloalkyl substituent and double bond in an alkene which one has higher priority ?

Posted: 01 Dec 2018 06:05 AM PST

Why can you only get black widow antivenom once in your lifetime?

Posted: 30 Nov 2018 09:10 PM PST

If an animal within a group (chimps, wolves, etc.) is infertile, are they ostracized by others of their group, or is it not 'noticed' at all?

Posted: 30 Nov 2018 08:11 AM PST

As the title says! I've been reading up on evolution, and for some reason this question came to my mind. The book (The Human Body) puts a lot of emphasis on how natural selection played a role in making our bodies are they are, obviously through breeding 'advantageous' characteristics, and it made me wonder what happens to animals in the wild who are infertile.

I had a quick look on the internet, of course, but really couldn't find much in the way of evidence to answer my question.

So:

Is infertility 'noticed' somehow by the whole community (e.g. horde of chimps or pack of wolves?). After all, these animals can smell/sense/see when a female is in her most fertile period, so is it possible they can also sense when one of their females/males is infertile?

What happens if such a thing is 'found out'? Will the animals be ostracized for not being able to breed?

Does it affect their individual behaviour in any way, e.g. do female animals feel more motherly or less towards offspring from different females?

PS: Yes, I am aware all of what I have said it really really generalized and a lot of species will differ from each other in this regard, but I'm only looking for a simple, basic overview. Also, please don't nitpick about what evolution/natural selection really is, but focus on the question at hand. I have not explained either of the concepts very well, most likely. I am not a biologist. I'm simply interested and would like to know the answer to my question, not fight about what evolution and natural selection are in detail.

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What methods do scientists use to reconstruct dinosaur postures from discovered fossils?

Posted: 30 Nov 2018 11:19 PM PST

I had a thought today, specifically about Brachiosaurus and its portrayal of constantly holding its head extremely high up. This posture doesn't seem to make sense to me. Based on theories about bird ancestry tying in to dinosaurs, would it make more sense to reconstruct the dinosaur keeping its neck in a tight S-shape like modern birds?

The green heron is a great example of what i'm talking about, with its resting neck posture giving it a relatively short and neck-less appearance due to feather coverage, but its neck can extend to many times its resting length.

How strongly does evidence point towards the current depiction? Could it be because the neck-extending action of birds is more of an attack mechanism for capturing small prey, and the Brachiosaurus is thought to have eaten from tall trees?

Though my idea was specific to one species, I'd still like to know what goes into the reconstruction of dinosaur posture in general. With mostly bones to go on, how does the paleontological community decide how a dinosaur would stand or how it would move?

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Does an unbound electron have transnational energy levels as it moves through space?

Posted: 30 Nov 2018 04:43 PM PST

Genetically speaking, why is inbreeding bad? What happens with the genes, why do mutations occur?

Posted: 01 Dec 2018 04:12 AM PST

What happens to the elastic potential energy stored in a deformed body when the body breaks or enters plastic deformation?

Posted: 30 Nov 2018 08:35 PM PST

Can Radio Telescopes pick up strong signals outside of where they aim?

Posted: 01 Dec 2018 02:52 AM PST

The purpose of my question is for a science fantasy story I've been making. In it, the sun gives off a distinct signal that suggests life—Not life on the sun, but in it. Was the sun to send a radio message to Earth, would radio telescopes be able to pick it up if they weren't aimed at the sun? How far off could these telescopes be aimed before they'd pick it up?

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Has the Poincaré Recurrence Theorem been observed for in a real system? Can we build a sufficiently small system where this can be achieved?

Posted: 01 Dec 2018 02:48 AM PST

What happens to our stomach that makes us vomit when we eat too much food?

Posted: 01 Dec 2018 01:10 AM PST

Will the two Mars rovers ever meet? And if so would they be programmed to recognize each other?

Posted: 30 Nov 2018 05:28 PM PST

Why does your risk of cancer increase as you age? Don't your cells divide less as you get older?

Posted: 30 Nov 2018 10:58 AM PST

Is there a unit for pain?

Posted: 01 Dec 2018 12:15 AM PST

How do Bacteriophages know their targets and how to get to them?

Posted: 30 Nov 2018 11:53 PM PST

What is the functional difference between taking a blood sample and taking a urine analysis test?

Posted: 30 Nov 2018 04:12 PM PST

What information can you get from both/one vs. The other

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What is the difference between Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease(CJD) and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease(vCJD)?

Posted: 30 Nov 2018 11:28 PM PST

Is the difference just the origin of the disease? Don't really get it. Thanks!

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