| If microevolution is evident given the way microbes evolve in response to antiobiotics+vaccines, wouldn't microevolution also be present in our own microbiome, serving as observable evidence of evolution in humans+other animals? Posted: 02 Dec 2018 03:34 AM PST TL;DR - listening to microbiology podcast episode, microbiologist+podcaster mentioned [bad] microbes being originally believed to be supernatural/demons [with no knowledge of good microbes, or microbes at all], I recalled that microevolution is observable, people deny macroevolution for lack of contemporary observability, supernatural belief is generally pitted against macro scale evolution (stating that we "can't observe" it), our body has a microbiome which contributes to certain fundamental biological aspects/functions,etc., this sounds to me like potential observable evidence of evolution in humans+other animals. • I was just thinking about this listening to the microbiology episode of the Ologies podcast and it got me thinking about our understanding of evolution starting at the micro scale in relation to supernatural beliefs. Bare with me. Specifically, I was thinking about how she mentioned that the English word "bug" (in reference to bacteria/microbial bugs) comes from a Welsh word for ghost or evil spirit. It reminded me of a few weeks ago when I was listening to Joe Rogan speaking to someone (I think it was Elon Musk) and they were mentioning how we have the problem of making new antibiotics and vaccines every year because microbial bugs continue to adapt to the treatments and evolve into newer, stronger bugs. I.e., some of them "superbugs". Edit: the microbiologist she was interviewing also spoke about how changing the gut bacteria in mice (among other animals) made them behave differently. Would that possibly indicate something in relation to humans? Edit 2: Also was reminded that up to 90% of our serotonin is produced by gut bacteria, so the state of our microbiome obviously plays an integral role in our general state of being and our behavior. An example I think about all the time, for those who don't know, is saying the phrase "bless you" or "God bless you" after a person sneezes which stems from people once believing that sneezing was our soul getting rid of evil spirits/demons in our body, or another origin stating that a Pope thought people were dying (or something of the likes) when they coughed and sneezed so this short blessing would protect them. And centuries later, even tho we understand allergies and inhaling dust and mucus production and the common cold, etc. is not demons or deadly, most people still say "[God] bless you" after a person sneezes. And if anyone here happens to have played God of War you might remember when Sindri tells you that Freya discovered "little beasties" (microbes/bacteria) on everything lol, and said they were responsible for human sickness. Just a funny reference to how people once did believe microbes and their effects on us was a supernatural matter. My point in emphasizing our understanding, or lackthereof, during that part of history is that supernatural beliefs are generally pitted against biological evolution. But the irony is that what once was considered a supernatural phenomenon by those fundamentally against evolution, now seems to serve as clear evidence of evolution. It seems like people subconsciously think less objectively, or less overall, about the matter or just deny whatever they're told, but somehow many people will still consciously accept what we've learned from the matter. submitted by /u/fuckingblackmale [link] [comments] |
| Is Quantum Mechanics Really Random? Posted: 01 Dec 2018 09:51 PM PST Really dumb it down for me, I don't know much about Quantum Mechanics. I have heard that quantum mechanics deals with randomness, and am trying to understand the implications for our understanding of the universe as deterministic. First of all, what do scientists mean when they say random? Sometimes scientists use words differently than most people do. Do they mean random in the same way throwing a dice is 'random'? Where the event has a cause and the outcome could theoretically be predicted, but since we don't have enough information to predict the outcome we call it random. Or do they mean random in the sense that it could literally be anything and is impossible to predict? I have heard that scientists can at least determine probabilities (of the location of a particle I think), if you can determine the likelihood of something doesn't that imply that something is influencing the outcome (not random)? Could these seemingly random events simply be something scientists don't understand fully yet? Could there be something causing these events and determining their outcome? If these events are truly random, how do random events at the quantum level translate into what appears to be a deterministic universe? Science essentially assumes a deterministic universe, that reality has laws that can be understood, and this assumption has held up pretty well. submitted by /u/archon325 [link] [comments] |
| Does gamma radiation excite nuclei? Posted: 02 Dec 2018 05:58 AM PST Since exicted nuclei emit gamma radiation to get back into their ground state, can they also absorb (certain wavelenghts of) gamma radiation? Going further than the general question above: Could gamma radition be used to deliberatly excite a nuclei, possibly leading to fission (or induce alpha/beta decay in fitting isotopes) or fusion of several, nuclei already under high pressure/temperature? Would a (hypothetical) gamma ray laser be useful to create fusion on demand, possibly even a fusion power plant? (And while I am at it: Is there recent research about those hypothetical gamma lasers? From googling around all I could find articles indicating there's some occasional research going on for the last 60 decades, but nothing too promising). submitted by /u/TheRealStardragon [link] [comments] |
| How do we measure eccentricity in the orbits of stars around galactic centers? Posted: 02 Dec 2018 07:32 AM PST One of the things that led people to assume that we need "dark matter" is that the orbits of stars around the galactic center of mass is "too fast" as you move out from the center. How do we differentiate between stars that are in circular orbits that are too fast for the known mass distribution from stars in more eccentric orbits that happen to be in a lower portion of their orbit right now and are moving faster as a result? submitted by /u/froginthelibrary [link] [comments] |
| What is the default state of the muscles that are responsible for closing your eyes? Posted: 01 Dec 2018 03:29 PM PST If you were to turn 'off' the muscles that open/close your eyelids, would your eyes stay open or closed? I know that the majority of the time when people die, their eyes stay open, but it is possible to close the eyes and have them remain closed. When we go to sleep, we almost feel like our eyes are wanting to naturally close, but when we're awake, it's very easy to keep them open, so would that mean that we're using our eyelid muscles constantly when we are awake? Edit: grammar submitted by /u/Willdrow [link] [comments] |
| Are animals able to count and do they have any idea of numbers? Posted: 01 Dec 2018 04:27 PM PST |
| If we ever have the opportunity to mine other planets like Mars, will we discover similar gems, crystals and precious metals like we do on Earth? Posted: 01 Dec 2018 06:47 PM PST |
| Does classical thermodynamics hold up at relativistic speeds? Posted: 01 Dec 2018 10:39 AM PST Hi there, undergrad materials engineer here. I was wondering if classical thermodynamics would hold up for matter traveling at relativistic speeds. The idea behind this question started with a friend and I discussing accretion discs of black holes, and wondering how to model diffusion/mixing processes as one nears the event horizon. Questions like how would the chemical potential for adding a proton to the accretion disk change if the matter of the disk were travelling at .9c and the proton was travelling at v << c verses v =.9c? submitted by /u/Phalcone42 [link] [comments] |
| Is the perception of heat linear or nonlinear? Posted: 01 Dec 2018 10:11 AM PST I have always felt that when microwaving food, it quickly transitions from lukewarm to way-too-hot. This makes me wonder, is our perception of heat linear or nonlinear? For example, if the temperature of my soup goes up by 10%, does my perception of the hotness go up by 10% or some other factor? The possibility reminds me of how we process hearing, which is more logarithmic. submitted by /u/eternusvia [link] [comments] |
| How do satellites know when they're close to one another? Posted: 01 Dec 2018 05:17 PM PST A couple of months ago it was announced that a Russian satallite, the Luch-Olymp had come suspiciously close to a French satellite the Athena-Fidus. According to many sources the Russian satellite came within 10km of the French one, how was this known? Does each satellite have sensors to see if other satellites are near to it? submitted by /u/HunTer_286 [link] [comments] |
| Do reptiles and bugs fart? Posted: 01 Dec 2018 10:02 AM PST For context, this was a thought because of the recent news of a spider species that feeds milk to its young. Someone suggested it could be a environmental boon if we had spider milk versus cow milk. I doubt any of that is feasible but it got me wondering if non-mammals toot? submitted by /u/dagmx [link] [comments] |
| Does Cancer continue spreading in a dead body? Posted: 01 Dec 2018 01:23 PM PST |
| What would the day/night cycle be like on a NON-tidally locked moon? Posted: 01 Dec 2018 05:56 PM PST It seems to me that at least half the time it would be night time everywhere on the surface as the moon moves behind its planet relative to the sun, but the other half of the time would be a more typical day/night cycle as viewed from the surface. I'm having a hard time confirming this just by Googling and using Wikipedia, as most of the major moons I can think of are tidally locked. submitted by /u/absolute_future [link] [comments] |
| How are the IV curves of solar cells determined? Posted: 01 Dec 2018 05:46 PM PST Hi all, I'm having a hard time understanding the IV curve of a solar cell. All the sources that I have consulted are saying that it is literally the IV curve of a regular PN junction shifted downwards. The amount of shift depends on the amount of illumination. However what I'm confused about is whether or not we bias the solar cell. E.g. here is a IV curve of a regular PN diode. The "forward bias" region in the image is due to the experimenter hooking up a voltage supply to the diode and measuring the current as a function of the value of the external voltage supply. The "reverse bias" region in the image is similarly due to reversing the polarity of the external voltage source and measuring the current. Now, is this how the IV curves for a solar cell is also produced? I.e. do we apply an external voltage source, in addition to an illumination source, to get the IV curve of a solar cell? A related question is: are solar cells operated under a forward bias? I know that in order for a solar cell to produce power, we must look at the 4th quadrant of its IV curve, since in this case the passive sign convention dictates that power is being generated. Here is the IV curve of a solar cell. While the cell is being illuminated, it shifts downwards, and a part of the illuminated IV curve passes through the 4th quadrant of the graph. So, in order for the solar cell to produce power, it must be operating in the 4th quadrant. However, the voltage in the 4th quadrant is positive. I'm not sure how to interpret this voltage. Is this voltage the voltage that is being supplied to the solar cell externally? I.e. similar to applying an external voltage to a PN diode to record its IV characteristics? So does this mean that the solar cell (e.g. a solar panel that is being used to power up a house) is operated under a forward bias? Different sources say different things. This source suggests that solar cells are not operated under ANY bias. In this source, different answerers give different responses. Maybe I'm not understanding the concept of biasing? Maybe biasing means different things when used in the context of PN diodes and BJT transistors vs. a solar cell? Are solar cells operated under a bias? What does "bias" mean in this case? Does it mean simply connecting an external voltage source to the solar cell? Or does it mean something else? Thanks for your help guys! :) submitted by /u/DoctorKokktor [link] [comments] |
| If breaking the speed barrier causes a sonic boom, then why isn’t light or space radiation constantly causing booms? Posted: 01 Dec 2018 01:36 PM PST |
| Why and how do small fishes (like goldfish) overfeed themselves to their death? Posted: 01 Dec 2018 11:24 AM PST |
| What causes mosquito and other bug bites to swell up? Posted: 01 Dec 2018 04:27 PM PST First post here. I'm just curious about what exactly causes the swelling and itchiness when someone is bitten by a spider or insect, and couldn't find an explicit answer online. submitted by /u/ThoseFreeFries [link] [comments] |
| How do you control the torque curve of an electric motor? Posted: 01 Dec 2018 09:28 AM PST Edit: To clarify, I'm curious if torque/power curves for electric motors can be tuned similar to torque/power curves for internal combustion engines and either how or why not. Thanks! submitted by /u/T2QTIW31hmtGbNsq [link] [comments] |
| What happens at the cellular level when leaves turn from green to other colors in autumn? Posted: 01 Dec 2018 09:18 AM PST Leaves turning is essentially the death of the leaf right? So if chloroplasts reflect green light, do these dying chloroplasts reflect the yellow, red, orange, brown colors we see? submitted by /u/bencargo30102 [link] [comments] |
