Skeptics Stack Exchange
Skeptics Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [biology]

Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Use this tag for general biology questions, but also use more specific life science tags to accompany this one if applicable.

Biology

Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines. Among the most important topics are five unifying principles that can be said to be the fundamental axioms of modern biology:

  1. Cells are the basic unit of life
  2. New species and inherited traits are the product of evolution
  3. Genes are the basic unit of heredity
  4. An organism regulates its internal environment to maintain a stable and constant condition
  5. Living organisms consume and transform energy.

Disciplines

Subdisciplines of biology are recognized on the basis of the scale at which organisms are studied and the methods used to study them: biochemistry examines the rudimentary chemistry of life; molecular biology studies the complex interactions of systems of biological molecules; cellular biology examines the basic building block of all life, the cell; physiology examines the physical and chemical functions of the tissues, organs, and organ systems of an organism; and ecology examines how various organisms interact and associate with their environment.

A more comprehensive list is the following:

  • Anatomy
  • Arachnology
  • Astrobiology
  • Botany
  • Biochemistry
  • Biogeography
  • Bioinformatics
  • Biophysics
  • Cell biology
  • Cytology
  • Dendrology
  • Developmental biology
  • Ecology
  • Entomology
  • Ethology
  • Evolutionary biology
  • Embryology
  • Genetics / Genomics
  • Herpetology
  • Histology
  • Human biology / Anthropology / Primatology
  • Ichthyology
  • Limnology
  • Malacology
  • Mammalogy
  • Marine biology
  • Microbiology / Bacteriology
  • Molecular biology
  • Mycology / Lichenology
  • Nematology
  • Neurobiology / Neuroscience
  • Ornithology
  • Parasitology
  • Palaeontology
  • Phycology
  • Phylogenetics
  • Physiology
  • Plant pathology
  • Taxonomy
  • Virology
  • Zoology
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Is Plant-e an actual company stating a serious premise?

This is what I read beforehand and then I reached the company page. They state that plants produce energy. This happens when releasing stuff from the photosynthesis process, which is consumed by bacteria among their roots, and that process releases…
Luis Masuelli
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Is it possible have a cell fusion by just injecting human sperm to an unfertilized chicken egg?

I stumbled upon these video documentation titled 'Humonculus' in Youtube (I know Youtube is not reliable source, but the video to me looks legit and well video documented) by channel named Planet Nibiru. The videos were about a Russian Alchemist…
threeFatCat
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Did the Garuda Purana explain the formation of embryo and consciousness before modern science?

The Garuda Purana is an Hindu text. Here is a chapter translated in 1911. There is a widespread belief among Hindus that it accurately describes the formation of embryos and consciousness, and did so before modern science. For example, this Quora…
Dudey
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Is the microorganism buildup in bedsheets harmful?

According to business insider, the New York University microbiologist Philip Tierno claims that bedsheets should be washed once a week and that mattresses should be changed more frequently because otherwise it can "make us sick" and trigger allergic…
Sparkler
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Does Asclepias gigantea cause blindness?

It is a widespread bilief that Asclepias gigantea or the "Arka" or "Jilledu" tree is poisonous and causes blindness. The general belief is that If the milk of the plant falls into the eye, you go blind. If the leaf is consumed, you go blind. I…
Dudey
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Someone told me elephants can be mean to each other. Are they?

I was told that elephant in a herd can be mean to each other. Are elephants known to be mean to each other?
Maggie
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Can microbes live on surfaces with less than 10% humidity?

I've seen it claimed that bacteria or viruses can't live on surfaces when the humidity is less than 10%. But I can't find any credible source for this. The earliest source I can find is Popular Science magazine: Humidity also makes a difference; no…
AtomicAcorn
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CPH4 is exist or not

what if our brain really works at more than 50%.In Lucy movie they were telling about the drug name CPH4 or they tell that it will produce at the time of pregnancy when women is at 5 or 6 months.Is this true a drug CPH4 really produce at the time of…
Suraj Verma
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Is sugar toxic?

Possible Duplicate: How bitter is Robert Lustig's “Bitter Truth” about sugar? From the NY Times Article: Is sugar toxic? Robert Lusteg, a specialist on pediatric hormone disorders and the leading expert in childhood obesity at the University of…
Brian M. Hunt
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Oxygen buildup in the atmosphere

It is commonly believed (or based on few evidences) that atmospheric oxygen built up because of extensive photosynthesis. I am skeptical about this theory that biotic factors are solely responsible for creating 21% of atmosphere (around 40 million…
WYSIWYG
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Is the intelligence of people going down?

Somewhat popular idea in media (say movie "Idiocracy") and general perception of older generation is that people and society are getting dumber. It seems that even real studies show that "stupid" people have more children, than "smart". Does this…
IBr
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Does excessive menthol cause sleepiness?

Does over consumption of menthol cause sleepiness? I found no substantial sources either to suport or refute this argument. I have heard it from a few sources not perfectly reliable. I do know that consumption of cough drops does cause. By over…
700resu
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Is de-extinction possible in the near future?

I just read a news about an organization for de-extinction of extincted animals, see also here and here. I searched internet to see if it is really a possible project, but i haven't found any estimate about its costs and its time frame. Of course,…
user11212
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Are there currently any tests available to diagnose fluoride or fluorine toxicity?

That's what I read here: http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/nutritional_disorders/mineral_deficiency_and_toxicity/fluorine.html No tests to diagnose toxicity are available.
Skeptical
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Do single families of insects have more species than all vertebrates combined?

This article about a caterpillar specialist claims: There are roughly sixty-five hundred species of mammals, nine thousand species of amphibians, and eleven thousand species of birds. These are what people tend to think of when they picture the…
feetwet
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