Not sure how to quite phrase this but, is there a sort of “default position” for human body parts? | AskScience Blog

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Thursday, November 5, 2020

Not sure how to quite phrase this but, is there a sort of “default position” for human body parts?

Not sure how to quite phrase this but, is there a sort of “default position” for human body parts?


Not sure how to quite phrase this but, is there a sort of “default position” for human body parts?

Posted: 04 Nov 2020 08:50 PM PST

Like the position each joint and limb returns to at complete rest or if like there were no external forces on it? Not sure if this makes question makes complete sense but I think you get the gist but I'm kind of wondering at whether some lounging positions are more harmful or "unnatural" than others despite feeling relaxing at the time.

submitted by /u/109993108
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Why are there no solid objects that aren’t visible to the human eye?

Posted: 05 Nov 2020 05:01 AM PST

If humans are only able to perceive the visible spectrum of light, but we know there are other wavelengths such as UV that we can't see, how come we don't bump into 'invisible' walls or blocks that are only visible in ultraviolet or infrared etc?

submitted by /u/Heliothane
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When a singer expands their vocal range, does it physically affect them?

Posted: 04 Nov 2020 08:30 PM PST

Ex: If they practiced to be able to sing lower, do their vocal cords get thicker/longer?

submitted by /u/l1v1ng
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Blood tests are administered during pregnancy to test for immunity to rubella to determine if re-vaccination is needed. What bio markers are these tests looking for?

Posted: 05 Nov 2020 07:14 AM PST

In theory, could a similar test be used to detect COVID immunity or are the processes too different?

submitted by /u/gingerreeb
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What is it that triggers risk-taking behaviours in individuals when aroused or in heightened emotional states (specifically anger)?

Posted: 04 Nov 2020 08:04 PM PST

I just read that 15 million minks (or so) in Denmark are going to be killed because they can spread COVID-19. How concerning are mutations from minks and their ability to infect humans and in relation to the vaccine development?

Posted: 04 Nov 2020 12:58 PM PST

Does being immunosuppressed raise or lower the risk of death from COVID among pediatric patients?

Posted: 04 Nov 2020 09:29 PM PST

One of the early discussion points was that an immune reaction called cytokine storm was one of the big contributors to younger people dying from COVID. Does being immunosuppressed have some kind of protective effect from that, that might lead to better outcomes, in young-ish (peds) people in particular? Do we have data for it?

submitted by /u/tosseriffic
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Does depression has any positive correlation as primary/early symptom of other mental illness?

Posted: 04 Nov 2020 03:34 PM PST

What is the shape of hybridised orbitals?

Posted: 05 Nov 2020 04:38 AM PST

So, two sp orbitals have 50% s character and 50% p character, three sp2 orbitals have... you know the drill. Yet I don't understand what this means exactly: I read that one advantage of hybridising is that the shapes of the new orbitals have a larger frontal lobe, which allows for less repulsion between electron pairs (?). So do all hybridised orbitals have this same shape? If so, how do the percentages of p and s character they have affect anything?

submitted by /u/BeautifulGrill
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How does your body push out foreign objects lodged under skin or in muscle?

Posted: 04 Nov 2020 01:53 PM PST

I have a small piece of glass stuck under my skin in my finger, it's been there for 10 years with no sign of movement. Then again when I had a prosthetic tooth put in, the dentist used synthetic bone graft. Months later it still felt like granules of bone working its way through the surrounding gum and out - first a bump on the gum the the piece of bone would break surface and pop out. How does your body know what is the shortest path out? What mechanism is used to push it out?

submitted by /u/a_is_for_a
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How exactly do extended release pills work?

Posted: 04 Nov 2020 01:24 PM PST

I was reading something today about how ibuprofen is formulated with both its R and S enantiomers and that there is some evidence that the body can slowly convert the R enantiomer to the S which is the useful one.

This got me thinking, do some slow release tablets/pills work by taking advantage of this or are there other mechanisms like slowing down how fast it dissolves, etc?

submitted by /u/Zarithe
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Is immunity backwards compatible?

Posted: 04 Nov 2020 07:37 PM PST

If someone develops immunity to virus B which evolved/mutated from virus A, does that person have immunity against virus A or have any advantage against being exposed to virus A that a person who has not been exposed to virus B would not have?

What about the symmetrical question of when one has developed immunity against virus A before being exposed to virus B?

submitted by /u/pstbo
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What happens biologically when your heart skips a beat?

Posted: 04 Nov 2020 03:06 PM PST

I tried googling this but just got results on heart palpitations. My question is more so on what happens when for example, you suddenly remember you forgot to do something and your heart skips a beat.

submitted by /u/squawk_
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How do neutron moderators allow for the fission of Uranium-238?

Posted: 04 Nov 2020 11:48 AM PST

I understand the premise of neutron moderators and that U-238 is fissionable but not fissile. However, I don't understand how to reconcile these two ideas.

As I understand it, moderators lower the kinetic energy of fast neutrons until they are thermal neutrons and are more likely to fission various nuclides. I also know that moderators such as heavy water and graphite can allow for natural, unenriched uranium (mostly 238) to be used as fuel. However, I've also read that U-238 only tends to fission from fast neutron capture and that its own fission product neutrons are not typically fast enough to sustain a chain reaction. How exactly do moderators help with this?

I've searched so many resources to find an answer to this, but everyone just seems to say "moderators allow natural uranium to be used as fuel" without specifying how when (based on my reading) U-238 requires fast neutrons to fission. Does U-238 actually fission with thermal neutrons as well but only with a very small cross-section and moderators just drastically increase the frequency of collisions? That's the only answer I can come up with, but I'm no nuclear physicist.

submitted by /u/Imagine_Baggins
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Would airport radars not work without complex numbers?

Posted: 05 Nov 2020 12:06 AM PST

What causes nausea after taking certain medications?

Posted: 04 Nov 2020 07:14 PM PST

Many drugs such as antibiotics, NSAIDs, etc may cause nausea when taken. What actually happens inside the body that causes nausea from drugs?

submitted by /u/itspickless
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Why are honeycomb cells hexagonal, and is the honeycomb conjecture significantly relevant to this?

Posted: 04 Nov 2020 08:23 AM PST

https://www.reddit.com/r/math/duplicates/jnjaz8/cgp_greys_hexagons_are_the_bestagons/

In this thread I ended up in a disagreement about this. There's something called the honeycomb conjecture ( theorem, technically. It was proven in 1999 by Hales) which says that hexagonal cells are the best ( maximum area for minimum perimeter) shape to tile a plane with.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honeycomb_conjecture

This would imply that bees are using the most efficient shape for their honeycomb cells, because this would get them the most space to store honey using the least amount of wax.

The disagreement here is about whether this is "on purpose"; whether the bees are making the honey comb in a way that "deliberately" makes use of this, or whether it's just the basic physics of the situation that makes cells hexagonal( because I've read that this is because of the effect of the outward pressure of the honey on the wax, rather than any specific thing the bees do). In the latter case, bees could theoretically be trying to make non-optimal circular cells, but the physics at work, the outward pressure of the honey, deforms them into the hexagon shape.

https://www.nature.com/articles/srep28341#:~:text=Geometry%20and%20construction%20of%20the,angles%20between%20some%20consecutive%20sides.

The above paper says that bees make their cells circular, not hexagonal, and suggests several mechanisms ( apparently independent of anything the bees do) that would lead to the hexagon shape.

So, why are honeycomb cells hexagonal and is the honeycomb conjecture and the associated claim ( Bees make honey combs with hexagonal cells "because" it's the most efficient ) relevant here?

submitted by /u/VankousFrost
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How do we know that the Atlantic coastlines of South America and Africa maintained their general shape all the way since the separation of the continents?

Posted: 04 Nov 2020 09:39 AM PST

Hi, people.

First, the question, and then a bit of an explanation to clarify and pinpoint the real answer I want to get.

Q: How can we assume, by noticing that the eastern coast of South America matches the shape of the western coast of Africa, that South America and Africa were conjoined in the past, if the sea level has drastically varied during the ages and even a few meters up or down could mean very different coastlines?

This question arised when my father stated that it is a mere coincidence that the coastlines are similar.

Don't get him wrong: he doesn't question that the continents were conjoined. He simply says that the coastlines being similar is a fortunate coincidence that helped us first visualize the idea, but that all the simulations that show the two continents drifting apart through the ages and at all times maintaining the same shape is bullshit.

After the debate, I researched a bit and found something about the mid ocean ridge being responsible for creating the new ocean soil, but didn't go farther than that.

I would love for someone to explain if my father is right when he says the simulations are only a visualization or if the coastlines really maintained their shapes since the separation of the continents.

submitted by /u/meaning_searcher
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What is actually happening in muscle spasms?

Posted: 04 Nov 2020 02:25 AM PST

In the context of post workout. Take this video for reference: https://youtu.be/i-kN2uofEz0 I get its moving around and all but what does it actually look like without the skin?

submitted by /u/heckin_redditor
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