Questions tagged [excreta]
15 questions
24
votes
1 answer
Why do dogs try to cover their poop?
It may seem obvious to us humans to hide our excreta, but this is not quite normal behavior for animals.
Interestingly, dogs have the habit to pee all over the place. It's know that they do so to mark their territory. So when they want to mark their…
Steven Roose
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14
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Why do cartilaginous fishes not excrete ammonia?
My teacher taught me that bony fishes are ammonotelic while the cartilaginous fishes are ureotelic, but why does that happen? Why do cartilaginous fishes not excrete ammonia?
Rohan Singh
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10
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2 answers
Is the chemical composition of urine detrimental or beneficial for a tree?
Seeing as a lot of people around the world urinate against trees it came to mind that I never thought about how the tree responds to this.
Is it detrimental for a tree if people urinate against them?
When looking on the internet, I found this…
Tom Sol
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8
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4 answers
Why are human feces riskier than urine with regard to spreading diseases?
I came across a Wikipedia article titled "Urine diversion". It explains different ways, including using special diversionary toilets, and treating the collection of human feces and urine separately as opposed to just flushing everything down the…
Zebrafish
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7
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Does urine therapy really work?
I heard a lecture from a supporter of urine therapy and he claimed that urine is not only good disinfection but also as rich source of minerals. To me, these two advice seemed contradictory.
In addition, the supporter emphasized one should use his…
Probably
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Is there a function for urea in sweat?
In ureotelic organisms, ammonia is converted to urea for excretion primarily in the liver and, to a lesser extent, in the kidneys. However, sweat also contains trace amounts of urea. Is this small amount just a residue from the blood or is it…
Rodrigo
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4
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What mammal or creature dropped this? (Warning: Gross Pictures)
I'm at a loss to explain what creature dropped or created this. This giant pile showed up virtually overnight. If someone could point me in the right direction, I'd greatly appreciate it.
The geographical area is Sparks, Nevada.
No1Nos
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4
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Identify this excreta!
A picture is worth a thousand words!
It's about 1.3cm (1/2") long. We rented a basement and I found this on a machine that was moved in a bit earlier.
I would like to know if there are any mice, rats, etc that could have come in.
We are on the…
Thomas
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4
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Why is ammonia converted to urea rather than secreted in the urine?
Since ammonia is highly soluble in water, my senses keep telling me something like, "Just a little bit of water is enough to flush it, given that a lot of it would dissolve per liter of solvent". But who knew, it's exactly the opposite.
I keep…
2
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0 answers
How urination prior to blood test may give error?
Source: Textbook of Practical Physiology, 4th Edition
according to it urination within 30 minutes is a precollection factor that may alter the results of blood test.
I am unable to comprehend how urination could affect the blood sample.…
JM97
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2
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2 answers
Recycling and storage of nitrogen from breakdown of macromolecules?
If nitrogen is so important (it's a constituent of both proteins and nucleic acids), why are animals still throwing them out, and needing to eat it again? Is it true that in almost a billion years of evolution, life still haven't found a way to…
Rodrigo
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vote
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Shape of feces in herbivores
Why do some herbivores like sheep, cow, and others excrete feces in a pellet (or biscuit or other) shape, while other species including humans do not do so? What is the reason for such an adaptation in herbivores? Is it beneficial to them, and if…
JM97
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0
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1 answer
Does cow urine have medicinal properties?
It is a common belief in India that cow urine has medicinal properties.
It is said to be anti-biotic.
It cures diabetes, cancer and many other diseases if not all.
Because this is biology I would like to focus on the anti-biotic property and set…
anomdsgf
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What percentage of human excrement is toxic if ingested?
I have been considering food production, waste management and 3D food printing, particularly during space exploration. This led me to wonder if human excrement could be processed into raw materials for printing healthy food.
What percentage of human…
Thom Blair III
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How does the blood flow in the glomerulus when everything except plasma is drained out?
So I learned that in the glomerulus, everything smaller than the RBCs is filtered out, but I had learned previously that - Blood needs plasma, water medium to flow. So if its drained out into the Bowman's Capsule, how does the blood leave the…
