Biology
Exploring "Why" questions about Biology
483 articles
Why are all cells considered to be living structures?
The cells have all the traits we associate with living things. They eat food, they procreate etc. The cells in the human body isn't all that different from the cells of single cell organisms.
Why can a cell tower give me a signal hundreds of yards away, but my WiFi antenna won’t go through my bathroom wall?
Different frequencies have different propagation properties. Some signals are absorbed by wood and plaster board while others will pass right through them. Radio waves are light, and just as you can a
Why do humans have so much individual genetic diversity and other species don’t?
Humans have less individual genetic diversity than most other species, and all other apes. The reason we can tell different appearances with humans is because we do it all the time and our brains are
Why does some fashion shows have such ugly/impractical dresses that is sure to never sell to general public?
That stuff isn't meant to sell to the general public. It's meant to show off how avant garde and creative the designer is. They have other lines of so-called "ready to wear" clothing that is a lot mor
Why is it that when similar species mate they produce infertile offspring?
The number of chromosomes in a horse and donkey are different, and when they combine the mule has an odd number (63, rather than 62 or 64). This means the chromosomes can't match up into pairs so the
Why is there so much innovation & improvement with Cellular technologies & speed(3G, 4G, 4G LTE, 5g), but not with wired speeds?
> What are some of the reasons why cellular internet makes such huge strides while wired internet speeds have hardly budged in most regions? Because with cellular internet, you have to wire a few c
Why does the scent of petrol, cellotape, glue, correction fluid and a few other objects that aren’t used for their scent appeal to people?
A lot of those chemicals contain some amount of benzene. Benzene-like compounds are referred to as "aromatic". They have a fairly strong and often pleasant or sweet odor.
Why do hammer head sharks have hammer heads? What is so evolutionarily favorable about that? (Not trying to argue evolution, I’m a biologist)
I saw on TV that it aids in finding fish. Sharks and other fish can detect electromagnetic fields in water, which are created by an animal's heartbeat, brain, etc. Somehow the hammer shape increase th
Why were people compelled to kill the last wild specimens of now extinct species?
One of the main reasons is so that you can collect and preserve a rare species. Once killed, the animal can be cleaned, stuffed, and mounted on a wall or otherwise preserved in perpetuity. The people
Why is suit and tie still a thing when clothing fashion in general change so often?
The suit has also changed, namely in how the sleeves are trimmed, the lapel size and the width of the tie, as well as the pockets and number of buttons and vents. Formal wear is generally changed less