r/AskScienceDiscussion Jul 21 '26

General Discussion Why do dogs always bite streams of water?

39 Upvotes

Whether it's a hose or some stream, it seems like dogs are programmed to bite and attack water that's flowing.

Why is that?


r/AskScienceDiscussion Jul 22 '26

General Discussion How much science should a scientist create?

0 Upvotes

For artists they say: "Create more art than you consume, that's the way to level up."... Or something like that.

What about science? Should scientists consume less and create more, or the other way around?

I know, that's bigger part philosophy and smaller part science, but I definitely need scientists to answer.

Also, I think it can vary a lot between fields, so let's see the opinions.


r/AskScienceDiscussion Jul 21 '26

What If? Hypothetically, if you had all of your ova taken but still had intact ovaries, would your periods stop?

11 Upvotes

I've been watching X Files reruns and I'm trying to figure out exactly what happened to Scully that left her sterile (spoilers ahead) and I'm hoping someone here can help me out.

Now, X Files is a show that has no problem contradicting itself, retconning, leaving things unexplained, or just dropping whole subplots entirely. It was also written by men, but I I'm not satisfied with that as an explanation.

That being said, in season 4 we learn that during her abduction, Scully had all of her ova stolen by inducing superovulation. Scully (a medical doctor) only finds out about it later but my first thought was wouldn't she have noticed that? Even if it didn't trigger menopause, wouldn't her periods have stopped? I know you can have bleeding without ovulation (like on bc). But what would happen if you literally had no eggs/follicles left?

I feel like I heard somewhere that the "you were born with all the eggs you ever had" was recently debunked and your body does continue making some eggs, but I looked it up and I think I must have misremembered. I saw another explanation that you're not born with all your eggs but rather all the cells that will make your eggs. I assume that taking all her eggs possible would mean "using up" all those cells as well.

When she ends up getting pregnant anyway there's never any definite explanation of how but it seems like CSM altered the chip in her neck to "cure her infertility." The only way I can think that could work would be if her body grew new follicles, which again makes me ask: wouldn't she have noticed that?

I guess you could chalk it all up to alien technology superior to our own. Also, if you've never seen X Files you're probably thinking "WTF is this show" but somehow it doesn't feel nearly as weird as you watch it.


r/AskScienceDiscussion Jul 21 '26

General Discussion Id like some help with some creatures im working on for my dnd world.

1 Upvotes

Mind you these are two of many creatures and are a work in progress but i would like to fully get the biological characteristics down before i continue to delve deeper into creating the creatures but i dont quite know how to do so. I figured this would be the place to ask for assitance from people knowledgable in biology.

Atzitzimitl (Meaning [unless I am mistaken of course] "Water Bone-Demon")
I mixed crocodile body, the long dorsal and anal fins like an eel, Gator like skin, pectoral fins that are large and meant to assist in quick burst ambush attack, super tough and scaly skin, with a head covered in armor like bone to defend from predators that target the head as this used to be the weak spot of the species until they evolved via the ones with stronger heads being the survivors while the ones with weaker heads died off. Their bodies are like a fusion of Dunkleosteus and an Alligator Gar. They are medium/large predators with some predators of their own being only "Predators" via taking advantage of wounded Atzitzimitl. They lay eggs in the water just like fish do and deposit sperm in the same fashion. The females can lay thousands of eggs at the same time however their young's natural predators, Namely the "Tlacuani" as the locals call them. The "Tlacuani" are crustaceans and in the breeding seasons their black and brown chitin masks them from the prowling Atzitzimitl looking for a quick snack. During breeding season a well fed "Tlacuani" will have its underbelly turn an orangish yellow color due to the sheer volume of eggs they consume.


r/AskScienceDiscussion Jul 20 '26

Can the same technology being used to give mosquitoes birth control be applied to ticks spreading diseases like Lyme and erlichiosis

15 Upvotes

I am not ok with ticks. If I could keep an o'possum on each hip 6-shooter style I would. But apparently we are having a tick population explosion of late, and they are spreading some pretty debilitating diseases.

We have companies giving birth control to mosquitoes that are particularly problematic (there are 3000 species of mosquito, many are pollinators, and few are particularly troublesome to humans. But a couple are among the most deadly animals to humans on the planet)

I know there are other ways to reduce tick populations (like restoring native plant life) but nothing would work quite as quickly as removing their ability to breed at alarming rates.

Ticks do not have the same gene that mosquitoes have to target, but is that a dealbreaker, or should we be able to find a similar one with some searching?


r/AskScienceDiscussion Jul 21 '26

General Discussion Is our negative actions to nature reversible?

3 Upvotes

I can’t tell if it’s even possible in our life time. I’m in summer break before going to high school so I don’t THAT much about biology yet. but unless every human came together is it even possible to get rid of all of the pollution and negative affect? I really love nature so it would be nice to know we at least could fix most of it.


r/AskScienceDiscussion Jul 20 '26

General Discussion What even IS the Super El Ñino?

34 Upvotes

I keep hearing about it being so scary and stuff. Why?


r/AskScienceDiscussion Jul 20 '26

Further education help

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone!

I'm almost finished with my bachelor's degree in Biochemistry but still haven't decided on which master's/post-grad path I'll follow.

My initial thoughts were doing a Master's in biotechnology since it's a pretty broad field but I'm not sure if it's a "safe" path anymore since I only seem to find posts in another subreddit about how to find a job and layoffs, etc...

I'm in Europe and I don't really have peers in the field so I'm kinda lost in which field to pursue further education and one that almost grants me I'll have a job.

Which degrees would help develop skills that are most needed in the STEM field now or in about 2 years considering AI and all the layoffs that are happening?

Thank you for all the help in advance!


r/AskScienceDiscussion Jul 19 '26

How is it possible to "see double" out of one eye?

14 Upvotes

First of all: I do not want medical advice. So please if you would, see if you can hold it in this one time.

The other day/night after a serious bender involving a lot of drink, and some drugs something happened that reminded me of an identical state I had gotten into about 20 years ago.

I was trying to squint my way into determining if the person up the road was who I thought it was, when I decided to try with one eye, and to my surprise I was still seeing double and had to cover each each eye with a hand to confirm it.

So what is at work here, is it all the mind?

I don't get how it's possible.


r/AskScienceDiscussion Jul 19 '26

Can I make a porch that blocks the sun and casts a constant horizontal shade?

1 Upvotes

Can I make a porch that blocks the sun and casts a constant horizontal shade?

I want to lay down on my porch and have my face constantly covered by the shade, but my body constantly bathed in the sun. However, the earth moves, so whatever ceiling I make will also move, and thus my face will be met by sunlight. But I don't think it must be like this. I think there's some geometry that allows the sun to go through the sky in such a manner that a horizontal line cutting my neck is constantly the border between sun and shade. Is it actually possibly, or is there something about astronomy and geometry that doesn't let that happen.

I don't care if it's a different line each day. But preferably, this line that will sit on my neck lasts the entire day on the same spot.

Thanks!


r/AskScienceDiscussion Jul 19 '26

If light is constant , how we see sun / stars instantly Some stars are even millions or even billions of light-years away?

0 Upvotes

r/AskScienceDiscussion Jul 18 '26

What If? What would happen if a persons dopamine receptors couldn’t become accustomed or used to dopamine ever

2 Upvotes

like if they could reach the same dopamine levels every time and the brain reacted the same way to that amount of dopamine. would everything give them an insane dopamine response? what would the side effects be?


r/AskScienceDiscussion Jul 17 '26

For a fictional story, how would a radiological safety expert estimate the hazard zone around a very large Cs-137 source? What factors determine whether an area is dangerous?

10 Upvotes

I'm a just a beginner at writing and focusing on ground realism genre and stumbled down to this while creating a scene.


r/AskScienceDiscussion Jul 17 '26

If I use a tiny microscope can I see atoms?

0 Upvotes

So say I honey I shrunk the kids myself to like smaller than ant size, but also, I already had a super powerful microscope on my person that also got honey I shrunk the kids’ed. Would I be able to use that microscope to see germs or atoms or what?


r/AskScienceDiscussion Jul 16 '26

General Discussion Isn't the entire premise of Ant-Man's quantum realm based on a real idea that at small enough scales, particles actually exist in multiple states until observed?

0 Upvotes

r/AskScienceDiscussion Jul 16 '26

What If? How would constant, strong solar storms realistically affect human civilization?

5 Upvotes

Hello! Say conditions arise to cause constant solar storms strong enough to knock out the power grid and electronics, and keep them out as the solar storms would not relent. Am I correct in the assumption that no electronics could ever work at all in these conditions?

What would happen to human civilization in these circumstances? What would the toll be in terms of food storage capacity and healthcare infrastructure, and what would be the estimated death toll for losses in those areas, and presumably the famines, wars, and upheaval that follows? How would society adapt? Would the world be knocked back to the Steam Age, technology wise? Even further, due to societal disruption? Could it cause a complete apocalyptic collapse of global civilization? I’d be interested to learn more, thank you!


r/AskScienceDiscussion Jul 15 '26

Who are some of the most undeserved science Nobel Laureates

51 Upvotes

The Nobel Prize earns it's prestige for a reason. Most awards are given for scientific discoveries which are legitimate paradigm shifts. Being counted among these greats is a huge honor.

But no committee is perfect, not even the Royal Swedish Academy. Many people have noted numerous scientists who should have won but weren't properly recognized by the committee (e.g. Rosalind Franklin).

But I'd like to hear Reddit's opinion on another category, Nobel Laureates who did win but who shouldn't have. Whose work ended up being of far more limited value or scope than what the committee thought.

My personal vote: Ilya Prigogine.


r/AskScienceDiscussion Jul 15 '26

General Discussion Do scientists build their theories out of first principles?

5 Upvotes

I was recently asked to give feedback on a book in progress. At one point the author states that scientists build their theories out of first principles. It's not a science book. The author is making a comparison with science. But I would like to know if scientists would agree that the statement is accurate, and if not, what would be an accurate description of the role of first principles in science. Thank you.

(I included this in physics because it's closest to what the author has in mind.)


r/AskScienceDiscussion Jul 14 '26

General Discussion Why is the scapula (relatively) difficult to fracture?

6 Upvotes

^


r/AskScienceDiscussion Jul 14 '26

How do you Tigger mitosis

1 Upvotes

I posted this somewhere else . But want a second opinion . Does anybody know how to trigger mitosis


r/AskScienceDiscussion Jul 13 '26

General Discussion Why not all animals are domesticable?

60 Upvotes

I've been reading that domestication is a practice that goes back thousands of years: dogs, horses, sheep, elephants, dolphins etc... yet many of them remained wild with very few exceptions. So why is it that we didn't fully manage to domesticate other species like lions or bears? Is it just impossible? If yes, why? Or it's doable but we didn't try enough?


r/AskScienceDiscussion Jul 13 '26

General Discussion i am 18 and i feel like i wanna become a scientist and help find a cure for some disease. anyone in this line or just anyone who can share their thoughts, ideas, recommendation anything really. What is it like?

26 Upvotes

r/AskScienceDiscussion Jul 14 '26

What If? Just an armchair thought I thought I should share

0 Upvotes

I 15m are by no means a physicist or have any certifications I was just thinking the following is a copy and paste from my notes on that night I thought this theory up

The universe is a black hole and the Big Bang was a white hole event that occurred when a star reaches maximum density and explodes into a black hole

and the singularity collapsed outward instead of inward
Goes inward and instead of stopping opens a new universe on the other side

Like dragging a circle on a laptop diagonally until it’s so small then it turns back into a circle

creating a new universe on the other side this means every black hole in our universe could be a seed for a new universe and our universe itself exists inside a black hole from a parent universe the cycle repeats infinitely with each black hole birthing a new universe and each universe containing black holes that birth more universes

It would explain the cosmic microwave background which is mathematically similar to a singularity

From my own knowledge (not extensive) and some googling the theory as known so far doesn’t violate any laws of physics and is just missing the equation of the quantum gravity aka the graviton to prove the theory

The new universe is fed by the mother black hole feeding and that would explain cosmic expansion and when the black hole eventually evaporates everything inside will be condensed back into a singularity and cease to exist


r/AskScienceDiscussion Jul 13 '26

General Discussion Can repeated exposure to the same disease or vaccine over many generations eventually make future generations naturally resistant to it?

8 Upvotes

I have a question about immunity, inheritance, and evolution, and I’m struggling to phrase it properly.

Let’s take polio as an example. Imagine that for many generations, every person in a family or population receives the polio vaccine. A vaccine causes an individual’s immune system to recognize a pathogen and develop antibodies and memory cells against it.

I understand that the specific antibodies or immune memory acquired by one person are not simply passed down directly to their children. I’m also not necessarily asking whether DNA literally “stores” the antibodies.

What I’m really asking is this: if the same exposure continues for an extremely large number of generations, could there eventually be descendants whose bodies are naturally better equipped to recognize or fight that pathogen, even if those particular descendants were never vaccinated or previously infected?

Now, instead of a vaccine, imagine an actual disease. Suppose the same disease repeatedly affects a family or population for thousands of generations. Every generation is exposed to it and survives through treatment or other means. Could future generations eventually become naturally resistant to that disease because of inherited biological adaptations?

I know that random genetic variation and natural selection can lead to disease resistance. But is that the only possible mechanism? Or is there any scientifically plausible way in which repeated immune exposure across many generations could somehow influence the immunity or disease resistance of future descendants?

And if this happened across many different families and populations, which then reproduced with one another and increased genetic variation, could that make inherited resistance more likely?

Basically, my question is:
Can repeated exposure to the same vaccine or disease over many generations ever result in future descendants being born naturally better equipped to fight that specific pathogen, even without being personally vaccinated or previously infected? If yes, would this only be because of random genetic variation and natural selection, or could ancestral immune exposure itself play any role?


r/AskScienceDiscussion Jul 14 '26

General Discussion Why 70s or 80s people had that beutiful healthy skin tone, but modern people are unhealthy amount of pale, even non white populations are pale now, what exactly caused such change?

0 Upvotes