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1500 questions
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Why are cell lines frozen in vapor phase?
For most of the cell lines I've come across, ATCC recommends storing them in the vapor phase of liquid nitrogen. I'm taking that to mean any place above the level of liquid in the nitrogen storage tank. What is the reason for this? Under what…
rhill45
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11
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Why is cancer not a communicable disease?
I read another question where the author is asking about the infectivity of viruses. In the same vein, I am curious why cancer is not a communicable disease.
Benjamin Houston
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11
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Can canines communicate with each other using gaze direction?
After researching why humans have white scleras when most primates have dark scleras, I stumbled upon the cooperative eye hypothesis. It proposed that white scleras may have evolved on behalf that it is an effective form of communication in that it…
BluWasabi
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Non-harmful bacterial invasion of cells
There are bacteria that can enter body cells as parasites.
Could it be that some of these are benign, such that the guest will not kill the host cell it lives in (especially in human)?
Robertos
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11
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What are the mechanism binding histone code with alternative splicing?
There are some bioinformatical considerations showing that there is a significant correlation of some between histone code and alternative splicing; but what are the hypothesis about the underlying mechanisms? Is there any experimental insight in…
user59
11
votes
2 answers
Do single crossovers occur in circular polynucleotides?
Single crossovers in circular pieces of DNA do not seem to be a big topic, because if they happened, they would lead to a kind of combined chromosome with two inner strands and one large outer strand. (A bit like an 8)
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Armatus
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11
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1 answer
Deletion errors with Phusion Polymerase?
I was wondering if anyone has ever seen large deletions (~40-50 bp) occur when using phusion polymerase to clone a gene. I have recently tried using Circular Polymerase Extension cloning to clone a 200 bp insert into a 6.5kb plasmid and obtained…
Justin Smith
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11
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1 answer
Dreadnoughtus: Why are new taxa named using Dog Latin?
Once upon a time, binomial nomenclature was expected to follow Latin rules: the genus had to be a noun and the species had to be an adjective that agreed with the genus according to Latin rules of adjectival agreement with the noun modified by it.…
tchrist
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Cloning and Telomeres
I read that the length of telomeres in Dolly was shorter, because the DNA was taken from an old sheep. Shorter telomeres may lead to early aging. What is happening now with cloning? Do we use a telomerase to restore the length in a donor cell?
Robertos
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11
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Can plants grow under extreme (>1%) carbon dioxide concentrations?
Related to but distinct from this question due to the concentrations involved.
While small carbon dioxide concentration increases can positively impact plant growth under some circumstances and at the same time negatively affect it under other…
March Ho
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11
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3 answers
Do snakes get dizzy?
I've seen snakes get captured in sacks and I've wondered if the snake would get dizzy if the sack were twirled around. I have not done any tests (and don't plan to) because snakes scare me.
TheRealDanBiss
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Why don't McDonald's fries decompose?
So I was cleaning out my car and found a McDonalds French fry. as I don't eat anything in my car I know exactly who and when this fry is a result of. The when is + 10 months old and it could pass off as one just prepared. How could this be?
rhill45
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11
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3 answers
What causes feeling of feet falling asleep to be delayed?
This answer explains the sensation of extremities "falling asleep" as a result of sustained pressure on a nerve. The answer links to an external web page that says that the feeling "quickly goes away once the pressure is relieved."
In my…
Daniel
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11
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2 answers
How was birth control realized in ancient days?
In ancient days, there were no birth control methods like condoms or contraceptive pills available. How did they control pregnancy?
user10246
11
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1 answer
Why does A pair with T and G with C?
DNA is made up of pairs on AT and GC base pairs.
I know that A only pairs with T and G only with C. Does this apply just to humans, or are there animals where T will pair with G?
Also, surely there would be more possible combinations if A could pair…
Tim
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