AskScience: Got Questions? Get Answers.

The original post: /r/askscience by /u/smugmug1961 on 2024-10-03 15:34:30.

So, we had historic floods produced by Helene dropping so much water. What was unique about this storm that it did so much more damage?

It seems like we've had Cat 2/1 storms go ashore before and not do this. Did Helene have more water than others or did it happen to drop what it had in more concentrated or vulnerable places?

I know in the Asheville area, they had already had a bunch of rain the week before so the ground was saturated and that contributed to the problem. Is that the main reason?

The original post: /r/askscience by /u/RoyalAlbatross on 2024-10-03 15:01:03.

Is this an error? This is the first time I hear about RNA in chromosomes. What kind of RNA is in chromosomes?

The original post: /r/askscience by /u/clitbeastwood on 2024-10-03 18:51:09.

for ex you have 2 magnets trying to repel eachother but being pushed closer together. Does the magnets internal structure experience increased stress the stronger the repulsion ? Or is that stress only felt by whatever is actually pushing the magnets together ?

The original post: /r/askscience by /u/DOMlNOS on 2024-10-03 12:02:27.

Edit, to clarify:

Yes, cold temperatures only slow the rate at which bacteria develop, and I am referring to resistance in the sense that the bacteria are no longer affected by cold temperatures and will develop as usual.

Is this correct terminology? Perhaps this is a question of physics more so than the microbiology of how and what bacteria become resistant to.

The original post: /r/askscience by /u/OhMyOreo on 2024-10-03 08:14:43.

We learned in school that the reason your body gets a fever etc when you are sick is to fight the pathogens causing sickness. Would taking medicine to relieve these symptoms make you sick for longer?

The original post: /r/askscience by /u/TheHutmasterEn14 on 2024-10-03 02:28:49.

The original post: /r/askscience by /u/xr10050 on 2024-10-02 23:21:23.

Given the vast number of nucleotides in a genetic sequence, there is an unfathomable number of potential mutations. Not all genetic mutations are detrimental or even viable, and a substantial portion of DNA is non-coding - but even so, it seems unrealistic to me that we can classify cancerous cells into a relatively small number of categories or types. Why aren’t all cancerous cells “unique” provided the seemingly infinite combinations of possible mutations?

The original post: /r/askscience by /u/Leipopo_Stonnett on 2024-10-02 20:09:06.

The original post: /r/askscience by /u/Own_Breakfast4451 on 2024-10-02 09:46:51.

So proteins are amino acids, but if you take bcaas or eaas, you won't build muscle, so surely there's something else in a protein that actually creates muscle?

My bicep isn't made entirely of valine for example, or any other amino acid, they are their own cells, but I want to understand how it is actually made and not "the body uses vitamins and proteins to build muscle."... It seems to me like there is ALOT more than that and I can't seem to dig anything up on Google other than the quote I mentioned.

The original post: /r/askscience by /u/Juicyj3nit4l5 on 2024-10-02 05:28:06.

I was pulling Velcro apart in the dark and noticed it was emitting light as I did so. Can anyone explain this? Is it the same reason as adhesive strips/tape?

The original post: /r/askscience by /u/disintegrationist on 2024-10-02 01:52:47.

I know vibration is a major issue in engineering, but I'm curious as to what 's going on on a microscopic level as things get loose, or how can a reciprocal motion make something that needs a circular motion to turn loose and go one way only. Why doesn't vibration cause a bolt to tighten up too?

The original post: /r/askscience by /u/throwmelly on 2024-10-02 00:45:29.

The original post: /r/askscience by /u/ne0muhae on 2024-10-01 19:17:28.

Is there any fossil evidence of human or neanderthal predation by larger predators? Im curious to know which ones our ancestors may have often encountered.

The original post: /r/askscience by /u/RW_archaeology on 2024-10-01 15:00:13.

There is a major part of geology I don't think I understand. I often see geological maps of areas like this one showing different bedrock by periods. I live in an area of Indiana where most of the region’s bedrock dates to the Pennsylvanian period. I understand how this date was established with index fossils and dating methods, however, the entire map goes against what I understand of geology. I was under the impression areas had bedrock sorted horizontally in stratigraphic layers, with different layers dating to different periods as this image shows. Why then do geological maps show a single period dominating an area? Are geological maps just showing the top layer? If so does that mean I could dig down where i live in Indiana and eventually hit earlier-period rocks with earlier-period fossils? With how many valleys and quarries there are in my area you'd think there'd be an outcropping from one of these earlier periods, but that doesn't seem to be the case, hence my confusion. Thank you for any responses

The original post: /r/askscience by /u/TycheSong on 2024-10-01 02:22:50.

How often do volcanoes erupt/blow without warning in our current day and age? I know that our monitoring and sensors/technology have gotten better with time, but sometimes nature just happens.

So my question is, how likely in the estimation of volcanologist/geologists is it for a devastating eruption to happen without any evacuation warning for the nearby towns?

I tried to Google fu the statistics bit mostly just got lists of eruptions in the past 50-100 years, not how much advanced knowledge of the activity we had.

The original post: /r/askscience by /u/hatabou_is_a_jojo on 2024-10-01 01:21:09.

As in if a space elevator is built or if something is winched from the ISS, must it still go at escape velocity to leave Earth?

The original post: /r/askscience by /u/myrealnameisnotryan on 2024-09-30 20:52:19.

Wouldn't the water run down the mountain?

The original post: /r/askscience by /u/sinan_k_03 on 2024-09-30 19:03:33.

The original post: /r/askscience by /u/ImBonRurgundy on 2024-09-30 09:41:51.

Even if the technology doesn’t exist today, would it be possible to somehow extract a persons memories from their brain?

If it might be possible, would they still need to be alive, or is it possible to do it from a corpse?

The original post: /r/askscience by /u/frankincentss on 2024-09-30 08:56:06.

So, I know that over time animals will develop adaptations to better survive their environments, but how to insects compare in this way? Do they also evolve to fit their environments, are they growing a new sets of wings in particularly windy climates? Or are they not as affected. What does an insect adapting to their surroundings look like over time?

The original post: /r/askscience by /u/AskScienceModerator on 2024-09-30 11:00:07.

Original Title: AskScience AMA Series: I am a quantitative biologist at the University of Maryland investigating how viruses transform human health and the fate of our planet. I have a new book coming out on epidemic modeling and pandemic prevention - ask me your questions!

Hi Reddit! I am a quantitative biologist here to answer your questions about epidemic modeling, pandemic prevention and quantitative biosciences more generally. 

Joshua Weitz is a biology professor at the University of Maryland and holds the Clark Leadership Chair in Data Analytics. Previously, he held the Tom and Marie Patton Chair at Georgia Tech where he founded the graduate program in quantitative biosciences. Joshua received his Ph.D. in physics from MIT in 2003 and did postdoctoral training in ecology and evolutionary biology at Princeton from 2003 to 2006. 

Joshua directs an interdisciplinary group focusing on understanding how viruses transform the fate of cells, populations and ecosystems and is the author of the textbook "Quantitative Biosciences: Dynamics across Cells, Organisms, and Populations." He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Academy of Microbiology and is a Simons Foundation Investigator in Theoretical Physics of Living Systems. At the University of Maryland, Joshua holds affiliate appointments in the Department of Physics and the Institute for Advanced Computing and is a faculty member of the University of Maryland Institute for Health Computing.

I will be joined by two scientists in the Quantitative Viral Dynamics group, Dr. Stephen Beckett and Dr. Mallory Harris, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. ET (17:30-19:30 UT) - ask me anything!

Other links:

• New book coming out October 22: "Asymptomatic: The Silent Spread of COVID-19 and the Future of Pandemics"
• Group website 
• Google Scholar page

Username: /u/umd-science

The original post: /r/askscience by /u/Pere_grin6 on 2024-09-27 23:05:53.

The original post: /r/askscience by /u/ajb617 on 2024-09-28 04:27:30.

There’s a post on r/natureismetal that claims that a squid was dropped in metro Atlanta by Hurricane Helene. The photo shows the squid near a pond or lake. So, I’m thinking someone tried to use some old seafood as fishing bait and just left it in the woods when they were done. The only way I can think this could be remotely possible is if it was picked up by a waterspout that was spawned by the cyclone. But even then I have a hard time believing that it could stay airborne for more than 250 miles.

The original post: /r/askscience by /u/Masterick18 on 2024-09-27 22:11:35.

We know wasps and hornets often attack beehives and kill bees by the thousands, sometimes killing the hive if they get the queen.

But can or do they fully wipe out an entire colony? Like, full genocide mode, no survivors. I'm asking between native species of a same ecosystem, a colony of Apis mellifera will be exterminated in Asia by Vespa mandarina without human intervention

The original post: /r/askscience by /u/JidKidN-_- on 2024-09-27 20:25:36.

I'm not talking about space walks, although you can say those if you want. I'm reffering to when humans land on the moon again, how would they deal with bruises or cuts? (Nothing insaneblike stabs)