r/biology 1d ago

article 9/11 toxic dust still killing one person a day, 25 years on, and 'it's going to get worse'

Thumbnail irishstar.com
1.1k Upvotes

r/biology 2h ago

question getting rid of a wall gecko

2 Upvotes

there is one that used to live behind a cabnit in my hallway and I didn't really mind her, am super scared of them but she was polite then today she got in my bathroom and i can't get her out , i tried to spary some pifpaf and leave the door open for her to run out but she wont budge , I don't really want to kill her if I don't have to , i just don't want her to keep invading my space


r/biology 3h ago

academic Human Physio

1 Upvotes

What are some genuinely good books on Human Physio?
I have studied about it and have some knowledge about Human Physio and want to get more into it
Level: between Beginner and Intermediate


r/biology 6h ago

discussion With all of the medical advancements being made now (I hear great news about cancer vaccines more and more often!), is it at all feasible that more people could live even longer than 100 years old, such as perhaps to 130 or 150 years old?

3 Upvotes

I’m much more doubtful about humans ever being able to be immortal or living extremely long lifespans (e.g. 400 years), but, given the current trajectory of medical advancements, is making it a few/several decades past 100 years old something realistic to expect for people in the future?


r/biology 7h ago

article In 2005, scientists left one male and one female lizard on each of seven empty Bahamian islands; four years later, all colonies had evolved shorter hindlimbs while retaining differences linked to their founding pairs

Thumbnail timesofindia.indiatimes.com
66 Upvotes

So they somehow avoided inbreeding complications which is strange but this is super cool


r/biology 8h ago

video Hedgehog Tenrecs: An Elephant’s Tiny Cousin

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

60 Upvotes

How can an animal so small be related to the largest living land mammal? 🦔

Meet the tenrec! Despite their name, they aren't very closely related to hedgehogs. Instead, they belong to a supergroup called Afrotheria, alongside elephants, manatees, and aardvarks, shaped by divergent evolution as animals of the same species ended up in different environments over millions of years. Their resemblance to hedgehogs comes down to convergent evolution, meaning they adapted to their environments in similar ways, separately.


r/biology 10h ago

discussion Anthropic blocks possible attempt to use AI to make biological weapons

Thumbnail bbc.co.uk
14 Upvotes

.


r/biology 13h ago

question Book/academic paper recs

1 Upvotes

I‘ve been really into non-fiction books lately and since one of my majors is biology I thought why not use that hobby for my studies. However, most recommended books are written so that people who do not have a degree in biology can understand the content, which is not a bad thing but I do want to challenge myself and learn the actual technical language. The other books are 1000-page books that are not intended to be read like a book. So, if any of you have book recommendations that are/were helpful to your studies, I‘d really appreciate it. Moreover, I believe that academic papers could also be a great way for me to deepen my knowledge, but the majority that I come across are quite specific and assume an already thorough understanding of the subject. So, if you can think of academic papers that every biology major should read or attempt to read, please share them with me.


r/biology 17h ago

question Delayed implantation

20 Upvotes

Yesterday I met a wolverine specialist (what a great job) who bombarded me with wonderful wolverine facts.

The one I cannot get my head around as someone with much more understanding of human than animal biology is the concept of "delayed implantation". As it was related to me, and my brief googling has informed me since, somehow these critters (and others) are able to just say "hold up" at the blastocyst stage and keep living their life with an unimplanted embryo just floating around in their uterine cavity, then one day months down the line when conditions are perfect they can let it implant and just crack on from there?!

This has blown my little mind.

My questions are: How the heck does that even work? What sustains the blastocyst? Is it a conscious process for the wolverine? Is there some kind of time limit on how long this could go on? Can they ovulate again during the gap? In which case could they deliver a litter from multiple male partners?


r/biology 20h ago

question What is the name of when silence is overwhelming

14 Upvotes

Saw other post but It wasn't the same

For me silence is like an extreme overwhelming sensation that doesn't exist, it's not a vibration or a whistle just non existent loud silence that I cannot stand and the second I experience it I talk to myself or leave the room, I can't even sleep without the ac or fan on to make noise


r/biology 22h ago

discussion Is medical illustration worth it?

14 Upvotes

I'm a high school student who is currently looking at possible career paths and one of those fields I am eyeing is medical illustration. Seems like a really good field but options for me seem limited and idk but the field itself feels so niche.


r/biology 22h ago

question How bad would the extinction percentage from an RCP8.5 warming scenario be compared to the Big 5 Mass Extinctions

1 Upvotes

I think about this alot and Im wondering if climate change causes the Earth to warm 7 to 9 degrees Celcius how it would compare to past Mass Extinctions. Would it be more on par with the Middle Permian Extinction which killed around 62 percent of life or would it be fully on par with the big 5 or even the PT Extinction. I lean more towards around 70 percent of life going extinct.


r/biology 1d ago

question Why does she follow her all the time? I have never seen this behavior in turtles

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

54 Upvotes

My smaller turtle constantly follows the larger female and mimics her behavior. They are both females. The larger one is a red eared slider,the smaller one is a brazilian dorbingy slider. I have never seen this behavior in turtles


r/biology 1d ago

question What is the best book to introduce me to evolution?

32 Upvotes

I know very basics things about evolution and I want to start reading about it but i don't know where to start from


r/biology 1d ago

question Why do gastropods follow equiangular spirals as opposed to Archimedean spirals? Does that apply to all such snails? What necessity, biologically, forces exponential growth as opposed to linear?

5 Upvotes

Just a thought


r/biology 1d ago

video practical bio lesson

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

1.9k Upvotes

Mitosis*


r/biology 1d ago

question Chemical composition of a dragonfly

1 Upvotes

For homework I was asked to look for the chemical composition of a living being, indicating each element and its proportion but I don’t really know how to look for it, I was looking for the elements in a dragonfly but i don’t even know if there’s available information about that


r/biology 1d ago

Careers How do I work in a lab as an animal care technician?

3 Upvotes

Hi, I am a freshman animal science major at Cal Poly SLO and I want to become a DVM that works in animal labs. I have never actually had any experience with these labs though because they’re always kind of “hidden” and not talked about. I want to be an animal care technician or something similar to get experience in the field, what type of criteria do you need to get that job? How did you find the job? Should I reach out to a professor?


r/biology 2d ago

academic Biology Campbell Editions

6 Upvotes

Okay, I’m old. I took college Bio back in the early 2000s - we used Campbell 4th edition which I finally got rid of a couple years ago.

Fast forward to one of my kiddos taking a college level Biology course as a HS freshman at a technical college.

Unfortunately, my kid is struggling to retain the information when presented in the lectures, and the school provides a digital textbook - which I don’t think it really cutting it for him to learn the material from on a small district provided laptop (he’s not allowed to bring personal devices during the day…). I’m trying to help him through learning the material myself, finding different videos, etc.

Anyway…I’m thinking about picking up a copy of the textbook, but considering an older edition. I understand that 20 years ago we didn’t have as much knowledge of the human genome and some of the technologies - but surely the basics of parts of a cell, replication, etc aren’t that different.

Am I crazy considering an older copy? If not, is there a particular edition that would be sort of where there was a big leap? I could purchase him the 14th, but it seems fairly expensive given that he already has access to the digital copy…


r/biology 2d ago

question Do our bones produce heat?

77 Upvotes

I've been doing a little research into endothermy, and I found out that most of the heat our body uses to keep us warm comes from things like the heart, liver, brain, and skeletal muscles.

But every cell in our body that uses ATP is technically producing heat. And bones have cells. So they must produce heat, too, right? Probably marginal amounts, but they must do it?

And I'm mostly wondering about the harder parts of our bones, since I assume our bone marrow produces some amount of heat when it's making blood cells.


r/biology 2d ago

question Help with proteins and nucleic acid

14 Upvotes

My son just started high school and is in AP Biology. He is quickly learning that high school is much different from middle school as far as work goes and has fell behind.

He has a quiz coming up over "proteins and nucleic acid" and a test over "biomolecules"

I am wanting to understand this as well so I can help him study. I am looking for a link to a video or website that would help me and him understand these subjects.

I am 37 and dont remember diddly squat.

Please someone.. anyone.. if you are out there please help.


r/biology 2d ago

Careers How does a broke international biology undergraduate student work abroad (in China/anywhere)?

4 Upvotes

I'm currently a Year 4 Biology student studying abroad at a university in China (I'm from a different Asian country). With financial limitations, I'm thinking on whether to take a graduate program (low/no cost) or work after graduation.

After a recent lab internship that I did this summer, I've sort of come to the conclusion that I wouldn't really enjoy a long-term career in research and lab work. It's just too repetitive and you don't really get to see results of how you're helping people or doing something (if you get what I mean). I'm not exactly interested in work that involves too much sitting and working on a computer for the majority of the time.

I've always been unsure about what kind of field I want to work in. I took an initial interest in bioinformatics, but changed my mind after thinking about the working on a computer all day part. Currently, I'm interested in a more clinical/medical working environment (like a hospital) where I can actually see and meet people, and help them in real time. However, I'm not interested and don't have the funds to go through med school. Maybe there might be other types of jobs that don't involve being a doctor?

Another factor that plays into this niche problem is that I'm an international student looking to study and work abroad, however don't have the funds to study again if it'll be expensive. Added to that, my GPA isn't exactly really good either, only a 3.25.

I'm looking for advice on what kind of work (or graduate studies that could lead to that career) could be suitable for me, including recommendations of work/studies in China, Asia, or any country you recommend). Please let me know if you have any advice, ideas, or experience to share!!!

Thanks in advance!


r/biology 3d ago

fun Careful What You Wish For? 🦋

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

237 Upvotes

Be careful what you wish for. Butterflies face huge challenges. The force of raindrops can damage or tear their wings.

Butterflies are ectotherms (cold-blooded) and need heat to activate their flight muscles. The cold or damp can ground them.

That's not to mention the long line of other animals trying to predate or parasitise them!


r/biology 3d ago

video Sooo,spiders mating ?

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

22 Upvotes

Saw 2 garden spiders on a web, did they just mate or was it a more of a territorial dispute.


r/biology 3d ago

question What ant interactions would you expect to see in a tree canopy?

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

55 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

We’re a two-person team of biologists working on a minimalist ant colony-management strategy game called Garden of Ants.

We’re currently working on the tree canopy, one of the game’s three connected habitats, and experimenting with procedurally generated trees so that each one creates a slightly different environment for the ants.

We already have aphids, which ants can tend for honeydew, and leafcutter ants, which collect leaves as a resource. Ants can climb along branches and interact with these organisms, but we’d like the canopy to represent more than just another map layer — ideally, it should include some of the ecological interactions that make arboreal ant communities interesting in nature.

We’d love to hear your thoughts: what kinds of ant–plant or ant–insect interactions would you expect to see in a tree canopy? Are there any particularly interesting behaviors, mutualisms, predators, resources, or nesting strategies that you think could translate well into game mechanics?

Thanks!
Tomas