Biology
Exploring "Why" questions about Biology
482 articles
Why do diseases only do bad things to us? Why are there no diseases/viruses that are actually GOOD for us?
Yes, there are good diseases. For instance, retroviruses and bornaviruses account for 8-9% of the human genetic code, and the same is true for most mammals and birds. One pretty useful thing retroviru
why do most cleaning products kill 99.9% of bacteria instead of 100%
It’s a marketing gimmick where they ensure that they can’t get sued on grounds of someone falling sick even after using their product.
Why can’t the US (or any country in general) alleviate their external debt by collecting their external credit?
Debts are to be paid on a schedule. My bank can't show up on my doorstep and tell me they've decided they want all the money for my mortgage right now. Loans and credit *can't* work like that; it woul
Why do some credit cards consider your rewards “points” instead of just considering them cash, since they then (generally) give them a fixed value of $.01?
Because they often aren't simply 1 for 1. I have a card that's 1.25 points/dollar. Some cards offer different amount of points for different categories, ie.
Why do many viruses that can kill you are hard to catch while less harmful ones are easy to catch but don’t kill you
Because doctors and scientists have focused a great deal of effort making sure that viruses that can kill/debilitate you AND are easy to catch do not spread. This is mostly done through vaccines that
Why are antibiotics completely ineffective against viruses?
Bacteria are tiny animals. They eat, they breathe, they have a metabolism that turns food into energy, they do all the normal animal things. Antibiotics work by interrupting some part of that process
Why do people make viruses that just puts pop-ups on your computer?
Some pages get money by showing ads. The problem here is, ads often only pay for unique visitors. Now if you get to visit such a page, you are a unique visitor and the page gets revenue.
Why are bakeries, and fresh non-fast food in general, more prevalent in France than the U.S?
What other people say is generally true, but also n the specific case of French bread, because it goes stale very quickly. Breads made from soft wheat, and breads with a very open texture, go stale al
Why does our mucus turn colors when we’re sick? What biological process causes this?
*When you have a cold, your immune system sends white blood cells called neutrophils rushing to the area. These cells contain a greenish-colored enzyme, and in large numbers they can turn the mucus th
why can cancer cells keep on dividing?
> Doesnt a normal cell die and stop dividing when the telomeres run out Not exactly. Fraying of telomeres can result in the cells stopping performing their function properly but that doesn't really