Biology
Exploring "Why" questions about Biology
483 articles
Why do we humans grow hair around our rectums? What evolutionary purpose did/does it serve?
Since no one else has given a serious answer, I will try to explain even though I'm not very knowledgable on the subject. Pubic hair (including the hairs in the vicinity of your rectum) are useful for
Why do white people generally have naturally straight hair and black people generally have naturally curly hair?
Structurally the shape of the hair is different. Straight hair has a roundish cross-section. Flatten it a bit and you get wavy hair.
Why do journalists say the word Latino, and Hispanic names with a Latino accent? They don’t say BBC correspondent Katty Kay with a British accent, or Chancellor Angela Merkel with a German accent. …
They over-pronounce things to seem smarter and more cultured. Unfortunately, the trend I've noticed for the past couple years is that the browner the topic (meaning the people's skin color), the harde
Why does Google’s search engine do such an excellent job of correcting typos/spelling mistakes but Google Chrome’s spell checker is horrible at recognizing seemingly obvious typos?
First of all, they're completely different algorithms. Google search relies on user input to suggest correct spellings. So people have searched posive, got it wrong, then typed positive.
Why are homosexual acts in straight women generally more socially acceptable/passable than vice versa?
It's fetishized. Queer women still can't get married in a lot of states, can't go to prom together, can't pursue their relationship without stigma and judgment and (in some countries) the threat of de
Why do some animals leave their offspring before or when they are born/hatch? Wouldn’t it be better for the species chance of survival if all the offspring were given time to grow and mature?
There are two main strategies. Have lots of offspring and hope some survive. Have a few and invest time and energy to make sure they survive.
Why are some NFL teams generally better than others over extended periods of time? Aren’t new teams drafted every season?
New players are drafted not teams. The teams with the best draft strategy over several years normally end up being better. Many players that are drafted are not as good as hoped and others are better
Why is the Zika virus not affecting Chile?
The same reason it isn't impacting Canada. Different regions of the world have different environments, where different species thrive. The mosquitos that pass the virus need a warmer climate - like Br
Why do most of the dangerous viruses like Marbrurg, HIV, Ebola and now ZIKA spread from Africa?
I'll start off with some: 1.lack of infrastructure in some african countries (hospitals, clean water) 2.tribal burial practices (ebola) 3.proximity to wildlife that acts as a disease reservoir (bush h
Why can organisms lift more than their body weight?
Because we don't use weight to lift. We use a force. Chemical energy in our muscles is converted into a force that pushes up on the object being lifted.