r/biology

As a secondry sexual trait in men , what is the role of moustache and beard in the evolution of men . I mean that what was the need in the evolutionary process that triggered(if it is right word to use) the androgens to form thicker hairs on face for display or any machenism?. And also why not in females

(female's don't produce androgens like testosterone for these kind of secondry sexual characteristics but why )

Edit: while searching i got to know that females also have a little bit amount of testosterone (15-70 ng/dL), and males have much lower amount (som 10-40 pg/mL) of estrogen

I am not well informed in biology or taxonomy, but from a layman's perspective, fungi seems mysterious to me because it is not an animal nor a plant. Why so? Why is it classified as a different type of living being?

Or does the genome contain 20,000-25,000 genes, and one diploid cell contains double of that?

this might be a dumb and/or stupid question, but is everyone capable of orgasming?

i know most if not all male organisms orgasm somehow for the sake of reproduction, but i'm more wondering about the females. female humans can orgasm, despite it not directly aiding reproduction, and i wonder how that translates in other creatures since we're all so interconnected

i'm also wondering, how would you even find that out? would you just look for clitoral organs in the animal, or would you have to watch them in the wild? do all the animals who orgasm KNOW they can? how would you even know that either? lol

also, what about plants? would you even consider the release of pollen an "orgasm"?

also, what animals have the capability to enjoy sexual experiences how humans do? i know lots of creatures mate without necessarily ENJOYING it.. but i do wonder about the ones that do and what function that has in their society and behavior as a whole

this has been on my mind since last night. i'd love to know if any of these questions are answerable

Im so confused. especially around the secondary structure.

heres what I know:

Primary - One polypeptide, the kind of amino acids in chain and how they’re arranged

secondary - two polypeptides and how they interact (I don’t understand the alpha helix and folds in the chain)

tertiary - two polypeptides folding

quaternary - 2+ tertiary structures folding together to make a functioning protein.

I don’t really know how to explain what I don’t know. I think I just don’t understand the difference between 2+3

From the opposite standpoint, I understand wide hips help with childbirth. But the other way around? From this perspective, there is no reason for women to find men’s butts attractive.

Currently taking a break from my biology degree since I needed a break from school. I'm now having a hard time debating if I should even finish it because I've always been told I need a Masters to get a job anywhere. I already have 2 years of experience being a lab tech during my schooling, working over the summers as well as during school. I have a decent skill range within the lab. If I went back and continued working in labs as a tech would I be able to find a job? Or would I have to go get a masters as well. I would not want to work in academic, I'd want to work in biotech or larger corporate companies. Maybe even agricultural and seed research. I would love to do environmental consulting or research new GMO seeds

when I was in Junior High School I discovered that blowing my nose without a tissue produced more snot and I was amazed at how much poured out and wondered where it as came from. (obviously this was only when I was sick.) but mid to late high school my body stopped producing nearly so much, likely only 1/3 of the previous reservoir.

So my question is what exactly changed about that time to cause that to change

Edit: This is not a medical question, I am in my 30s now I just want to know why this specific thing changed late into puberty

I'm a bio major. I came from a small school in a state with horrible education, so my biology before college was basically none. I find it so interesting but holy cow I need to know how to study. Absolutely bombed my first exam. Its just a general bio class, so it shouldn't even be that hard.

I’ve never heard of this happening with other animals.

Okay so i thought the places humans had body hair was originally (like with homo erectus and other early humans) was to keep people warm? so hair like, on legs and arms makes a lot of sense to me. so my question is: How come armpit hair stayed, and chest hair is less common?? is there another use for underarm hair? because that area of the body is warm enough i think, but exposed areas like the chest are way more likely to get cold. and is hair like eyebrows and just normal hair on your head purely visual?

I'm a biology student conducting an undergrad thesis on Soil-Transmitted Helminths (STH). I need technical advice in performing the laboratory component of this study from anyone who has expertise in soil research.

So, here's the summary of the procedure:

- collect samples and air-dry for 24 hours.

- sieve through 2.0 mm and 0.125 mm pore size to get 2g.

- place 2g soil in a centrifuge tube and add 10 mL 0.05% polysorbate-80 solution (used to unclump sample).

- centrifuge (1,800 rpm, 10 min)

- discard supernatant

- add 8 mL of prepared 1.20 SG sucrose solution (we used commercially available/market refined white sugar [I was wondering if this was okay]).

- vortex.

- centrifuge (1,800 rpm, 10 min).

- add prepared 1.30 SG sucrose solution to the brim until a meniscus forms.

- place coverslip and wait for eggs to adhere for 5 min.

- add 1 drop lugol's iodine on glass slide.

- place wet underside of coverslip facing down to the glass slide.

- view under microscope.

We performed a trial on this protocol before going to perform it on a larger sample. We observed the following:

- no helminths recovered in collected sample (site = household).

- bubbles found in specimen.

HI!! As the title suggests I really want to study ornithology and I would like to ask what college’s could be the best for it? I’m from colombia if that helps

and also another question I have is there any college out there in which I could do illustration as a side thing for my studies classes and such? Idk how else to explain it like specifically wildlife illustration :D

Hi, I don’t know if this is the right place to ask this, or if I’ll get any answers but I figured why not try? I’d like to be a scientist who studied lichen but I’m not sure about a few things.

what school would be the best to go to, and are there any good online ones?

is there a lot to research or doing the field of lichen science?

would I be able to get a job remote or local to me? there’s a lot of lichen around here so plenty to study I just don’t know how realistic it would be

is there even much funding for that branch of science?

can I get a good job with only a bachelors or do I have to have a PhD?

is it better to get a higher degree or to have experience? and how would I go about getting that experience?

is there anything I should know or that you would suggest for going into this field??

thank you for your answers and help!!

I’m a high school student and I absolutely love biology. I was wondering what (preferably free) websites or resources I could use to gradually learn more advanced things rather than basic high school biology, as it’s a huge interest for me and I have no idea where to start.
(Edit: for clarification, I’m particularly interested in microbiology!)

Hello🐣

Im before making a career decision. My concerns about climate change led me to study organic farming in Denmark. The course was a bit of a disappointment and I felt my future prospects are limited so I am looking for my next step.

Im stuck between two paths. I feel interest to study something completely new to me and unrelated to the climate: phisiotherapy. But lately Ive been also feeling the urgency of climate action, so Im thinking to continue studying in the field of agriculture, but more on the science side. I came across the work of Elaine Ingham and the soil food web and I find it interesting, but I am unsure how could this knowledge be applied professionally in a job.

So my questions are:

- Does anyone have recommendations of universities in Europe where I can study soil biology? A distance learning option would be great, but optional (I am also open to anything related to fixing our effed up conventional agriculture)

- What could be my job opportunities if I would specialize on soil health? Unfortunately in my country I mostly see "advisor" job postings of fertilizer companies where the job is to push their product to farmers :s

- Are there any other career pathways where I could help to create a more climate resilient food system?

Thank you for any advice, have a great day:)

I'm very curious as to the bio psychology/neurobiology of it all.

I'm curious why non adhd:ers feel energized whilst my adhd peers often feel slightly and tired after drinking coffee.

Energy drinks do work on me. But I'd guess it's the insane sugar contents 😅