r/biology

Sorry in advance if this is a dumb question!

Background: I’m a non-traditional student trying to finish my B.S. in aquatic biology with aspirations to get my DVM and become a marine mammal veterinarian and have my own rescue, rehab, and release center. I am currently taking a couple of online classes this semester to help my progress, but won’t be able to attend a university in person to conduct research at an organization until the spring, at the earliest.

I have ideas that I’d love to research, some of which don’t pertain to aquatic life, that I would love to have answers to. I try to find answers to these ideas and questions that I have, but so few studies (or none at all) have been done about them. If I’m able to find people who are willing to participate in these studies, and basically have them preform very simple tasks where I compare the data with a control group, would this count as viable research? Would I be able to publish my findings for peer review? Am I allowed to fund it myself (one idea of mine would maybe cost a couple to a few hundred dollars after purchasing the supplies I need)?

Tl;dr: can I fund my own research and have it published if not done through an organization? Would it hold the same weight if peer reviewed and cited as research done at a university does?

Thanks!

I would like to ask does Bacteria die ?

Aside from us humans, I think we're on average on the balanced side of dimorphism I guess?

Also would love to hear the reasons/biology regarding the extreme dimorphism, thank you

The first land mammals that came to my mind were Gorillas (silver backs) and elephant seal

I am starting my genetics class soon, and I am interested as to what topics were your favorite or are your current favorite regarding genetics. Please let me know. Thank you!

I came across this video of a man who apparently has been consuming motor oil for years and somehow is still alive. I was shocked and thought the video is fake, but it's by a legitimate news company.

What is motor oil made of and how much does it differ from lipids found in plant and animal foods that a human or other animal would naturally eat? And from a biochemical point of view, what could explain this man's bizarre ability to digest an industrial automotive product?

Looking for answers. Thanks!

Good Memes will be awarded !! Best of Luck!!

Sleeping obviously leaves creatures vulnerable, and the less time they spend sleeping, the more time they can spend avoiding predators, finding food, mating etc, so the less we sleep the more we can survive and reproduce, so after thousands of years, how come animals haven't slowly evolved away from needing sleep?

Hi, so I have a Bachelors degree in biology, and I took the medical track because I thought I'd be going to medschool straight after. That didn't push through because I'd only be able to go if I either got a full scholarship or if I would be going to a state university. I've thought of getting a masters through the scholarship programs we have here where I'm from, but I don't know which one I'd like to pursue and I don't really feel passionate about medicine anymore.

I have thought of becoming an EMT or a lab worker but I also don't see myself doing either anymore. I honestly just want my parents to tell me what to do at this point because I don't have a passion for anything anymore. I tried speaking with them about it and they keep telling me that they want me to have a job that I would like to do even if I'm tired or even if it's hard.

I really don't care because a job is a job and I don't need it to be my life's purpose. I have applied to some jobs but none are replying, and it makes me feel bad when I feel like I regret choosing biology. I think one job I would have a little more joy in doing is vet med but I don't know how to begin since my bachelor's is biology and I don't have any prior experience working in a veterinary clinic. The only experience I have is "working" as an EMT (kinda, like for a total of 240 hours) and in a hospital during my OJT where I didn't really do much. All I really did there was assist in taking x-rays and I scrubbed in on a few minor surgeries.

I really don't know what else I can do and I don't really have any direction in life and I feel like I don't have any purpose or drive anymore.

Hello, I’m doing some world building for a fictional island that combines most of the major island and coastal regions of the world. I love biology so I want to make sure I include a large variety of organisms. I know quite a few species I want to include, but I figure that you guys probably have quite a few niche selections that I don’t even know about. Also im open to extinct species too. I already know im going to include the dodo bird :) So if you have a favorite ocean adjacent organism that you wish got more attention, please drop it in the comments because I would love to hear about it :D

I heard a lot of different answers and I became kind of confused so what is the right theory or answer and it is explanation?

I appreciate the help

When you scratch your skin you get those red lines everywhere you scratched that stay for a little while and then fade away again. I've always wondered what causes those and if it has any purpose

I read somewhere that two full-blooded chimpanzee siblings can have more genetic diversity between them than two humans from opposite sides of the planet. It was said that this is because the ancestral population was reduced to not much more than 1000 about 900k years ago, but multiple species of homo have arisen since then, including us. How is it that enough time passed for us (our ancestral species, not homo sapiens) to diverge into multiple different species, but we still have such low genetic diversity? I do not understand.

I hope this is the right place to ask to this as I can't seem to find a good post for this. But people who vape inahle much more vapor throughout the day than a traditional cigarette smoker. I know there's so much that goes into the harm of tobacco and all that. But it gets a little obnoxious hearing people argue about what's safer when neither of them are good for you regardless.

Do want to clarify that I am not looking for validation for vaping whatsoever. Just curious on the debate considering vapes haven't existed nearly long enough for deep research studies

If ecosystems are self-balancing, why do some organisms resist decomposition after death?

I've been thinking about nutrient cycling and decomposition — in theory every organism that dies should be broken down and recycled back into the ecosystem by scavengers, fungi, and bacteria.

But some organisms seem to resist this — certain bird carcasses are avoided by scavengers, some marine organisms sink to depths where decomposition is extremely slow, and some plant materials take centuries to break down.

Is this a gap in the system, or does even "resistant" organic matter eventually get processed? And are there organisms that genuinely have no decomposers adapted to break them down efficiently?

What is the most ancient common ancestor of all tetrapod that is not also ancestral to fishes and other marine animals ?

And if it is Tiktaalik or something close to it, what was the still marine creature it evolves from ?

I’ve always wondered about this. If I try to tickle myself, it doesn't really produce the same sensation as when someone else does it.
Is it because the brain can predict the sensation when we do it ourselves, or is there more biology behind it?