Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

Posts tagged biology

This tag doesn't have any usage information yet.

This tag doesn't have a detailed wiki yet.

50%
+0 −0
Q&A Neurotoxic Bioaccumulation in Land Vertebrates

Bioaccumulation and Biomagnification are common concerns in marine environments, with natural examples like Ciguatera being a well known example caused by an algae that grows on coral that is th...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by NixonCranium‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by NixonCranium‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A Would Game Driving be a viable strategy for dragons?

The Game Drive system, perhaps best exemplified by the "Buffalo Jump" of the North American Plains Indians is a hunting strategy in which large animals are chased into a preselected kill zone, su...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by NixonCranium‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by NixonCranium‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A Would a large and venomous mammalian predator be viable?

There are several mammals that are actually venomous. Several species of shrews, Solenodon and the Platypus are all venomous. While the platypus is the largest of these, it uses it in self defense...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by NixonCranium‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by NixonCranium‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A Fictional Space Plague - Pandemic - Does this timeline make sense?

For a book that I'm working on I am plotting out various points in time to make sure my plot is following accordingly. I apologize in advance for the lengthy post. It is a fungus-like infection tha...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by Nick Quillin‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Nick Quillin‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A adaptations for land-based octopuses

This is a follow up question to: How realistic is the Swampus? What adaptations would current octopus have to evolve, to become land based, meaning that they spend at least 1/3 of their time on la...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by Jonathan Böcker‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Jonathan Böcker‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A How did the Booze-Rat evolve its defensive mechanism?

In a specialised organ, the Vesica Spirite, which in function and makeup resembles a cross between the Ventriculus and the Vesica Biliaris, the animal creates and stores potent spirits by the me...

6 answers  ·  posted 7y ago by dot_Sp0T‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by dot_Sp0T‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A Defensive adaptations for lagomorphs

We all know how rabbits and hares escape ending up being a meal to a fox or a hawk, with long ears to hear danger coming, burrowing, long and powerful hind legs for speed and also living a social l...

5 answers  ·  posted 7y ago by Alexander R. Hunt‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Alexander R. Hunt‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A Hair as an olfactory organ: Feasible or dumb?

Within my setting, insects, due to a rather long (millions of years) and convoluted (gods suffering from empty nest syndrome) series of events, have evolved their exoskeletons into an endoskeleton ...

5 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Seraphim‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Seraphim‭

Question biology evolution
50%
+0 −0
Q&A Pharbohydrates vs Carbohydrates

Question: Are there are any serious biological or evolutionary plausibility issues with separating the energy storage/production function from the production of structural/regulatory biomass? Back...

3 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by rumguff‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by rumguff‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A Science Fiction Fungal Disease - Spore Germination Through Coughing

So I'm working on this new novel with a fungal-like disease that is alien in nature and I have a question pertaining to spore germination. Some background - the disease is fungal-like, but not nec...

3 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Nick Quillin‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Nick Quillin‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A How realistic is the Swampus?

In the 2002 documentary the future is wild, numerous biologists and other scientists speculated about the future evolution of various species. In the '100 million years in the future' segment, the...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Jonathan Böcker‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Jonathan Böcker‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A Realistic spinal structure for large headed aliens?

The Grey Alien trope almost always features a disproportionately large head, which often comes in unusual shapes to boot. There's nothing wrong with the trope, large brains are cool but what baffle...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by System‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A What sort of world would help prevent an intelligent species from discovering evolution?

I'm working on a first contact story set in the near future where an advanced alien species arrives at Earth and reveals itself to humanity, but is utterly baffled by the diversity of life that it ...

19 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Slarty‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Slarty‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A How does the ecosystem of the Underdark/underground world work?

The Old Ones build continent-sized bunker complexes to protect themselves from the enemy, which followed through the cosmic ocean. The Hunter succeeded easily despite their efforts and their corpse...

3 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by TheDyingOfLight‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by TheDyingOfLight‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A Would giving human-like sentience to a bird make the bird too energy expensive to fly?

If hawks or eagles (or any creature that can fly like a hawk) had the same ability to pronounce words as parrots but also had consciousness (what I mean by that is that they can scout and describe ...

3 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Hasan Alsudani‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Hasan Alsudani‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A Biological Coolant System for Massive Organisms

The larger an animal, the harder it is to cool down. Ignoring the problem of bone/muscle strength vs size/weight and saying an animal could get to outlandish sizes, would a second cardiovascular sy...

3 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Aezyc‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Aezyc‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A Could you make Bat wings shaped like the different kinds of Bird wings?

I've been designing an an intelligent, bat-inspired avian race, and I've been struck with a question that I need answered. Now, I want to have these bats to fulfill different types of ecological n...

6 answers  ·  posted 6y ago by Lot-Of-Malarkey‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Lot-Of-Malarkey‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A What Purpose Would a Unicorn's Horn Serve in the Wild?

This famous tapestry shows all the "modernized" traits of a unicorn--basically just a pale-colored horse with a single horn on its head. Of course, single-horned animals do and did exist: ...

19 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by JohnWDailey‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by JohnWDailey‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A How big can Europan fish get?

Assumptions: Jupiter's moon Europa has a salty subsurface ocean in contact with a rocky mantle. The ocean is populated by hydrothermal vents produced by tidal heating. Global heat flow is similar...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Zxyrra‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Zxyrra‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A Penguins in the Not-Arctic, how would this affect the poor seals

In a not so different fantasy world, whose physics and thus are similar to our own how would including penguins affect the look and function of a typical arctic ecosystem. For the purposes of this...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by The Imperial‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by The Imperial‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A How big and numerous do ticks needs to be to threaten human life?

A world has grassy plains infested with larger-than-normal (perhaps even giant) blood-sucking ticks. Ignoring their main diet for the time being: They should be dangerous enough to threaten humans ...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by David Hambling‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by David Hambling‭

Question biology parasites
50%
+0 −0
Q&A Would an alien race with diffused organs be viable?

The purpose of this question is to get an alien race with a diffused set of organs, which makes any part of their body interchangeable. Why would a species need this? Well for one it might be becau...

4 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by System‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A Feasibility of the Spore Mantis

In the movie, Kong: Skull Island, there is a species called the Spore Mantis. When stationary, the Spore Mantis looks like a giant, dead log. When active, it looks like a giant insect - a giant,...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by RotNDecay‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by RotNDecay‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A How can a large creature be deceptively fast?

So as I was creating a variety of creatures I wondered if speed is exclusive to smaller creatures or if a large organism could move deceptively fast to take prey or predator by surprise. This is as...

4 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by System‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A An alien race without the concept of "time"

In my narrative I have these aliens that don't experience time, they don't remember and don't predict events, which makes them completely reactionary. This is supposed to make them alien and diffic...

5 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by System‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

50%
+0 −0
Rigorous Science What improvements in the human body will allow it to withstand critically low or high pressure?

My question: What is it that needs to be improved or added to the human body so that it can withstand critically (fatally) low and high (if, my genetically modified person is underwater or a very d...

5 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by French Thompson‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by French Thompson‭

50%
+0 −0
Rigorous Science How to speed up the perception of a person? ( more than 25 frames per second )

The response time of the human visual channel in a relatively quiet state is approximately 40 milliseconds, which provides a" frame rate " of 25 frames per second. At the same time, it is not just ...

5 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by French Thompson‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by French Thompson‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A The Heptapods from ( The Arrival )

In the movie, Arrival, there is an advance alien race that arrives on are planet, with a few landing in specific places. The aliens species are called "heptapods" (by our standards). They have 7 a...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by RotNDecay‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by RotNDecay‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A What is the highest concentration of oxygen a human being can reasonably survive?

Writing a story in which a human is trapped on an alien planet with an average temp of 6 Celsius, and I want to have the atmosphere be too rich in oxygen, but not to the point where an air tank is ...

5 answers  ·  posted 7y ago by DomineSatanas‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by DomineSatanas‭

Question biology humans oxygen
50%
+0 −0
Q&A If prey and predator switched places how would this shape the ecosystem?

As the tittle says what would the ecosystem look like if predator and prey were to switch places? The cause of this change is either handwavium or a very unlucky sorcerer. The transformation is mai...

6 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by System‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question biology
50%
+0 −0
Q&A Is it possible to create an organism that is completely immune to radiation?

Radiation is the ultimate bane of all organic life. Its particles punch holes in our DNA, causing mutations and giving us cancer. But, is there a way to make an organism that is unable to get radia...

3 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Cobbington‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Cobbington‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A Post- Nuclear Holocaust. Radioactive wastelands vs eco-system and chances of human survivability?

I'm attempting to flesh out the history to a sci-fi novel I'm currently writing, which is set in the future. Several hundred years prior to the beginning of the story, lack of resources lead to s...

5 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Nicky Pritchard‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Nicky Pritchard‭

50%
+0 −0
Rigorous Science The creation of Superman? (Bone fracture)

This question asks for hard science. All answers to this question should be backed up by equations, empirical evidence, scientific papers, other citations, etc. Answers that do not satisfy this req...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by French Thompson‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by French Thompson‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A How can an amorphous creature change viscocity at will?

In my fantasy setting, slimes are a species of giant (about eight cubic feet), single-celled amoeba. They have the ability to freely change their state and viscocity, being able to "melt" into a sl...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Cobbington‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Cobbington‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A Flipped over through fourth dimension. When do I start to notice biological problems?

In the middle of the night, while J. Random Human is sleeping, A. Hypersphere picks him hyper-up extremely carefully (so that none of his matter falls out in a direction he doesn't have), flips him...

6 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by notovny‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by notovny‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A Creating a scientifically semi-valid super-soldier, part 4: respiratory system

Previous parts here: Creating a scientificly semi-valid super-soldier, part 1: Skeleton Creating a scientificly semi-valid super-soldier, part 2: nervous system Creating a scientificly semi-valid ...

7 answers  ·  posted 6y ago by Demigan‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Demigan‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A Could a Flying Alien Species Develop Fire Usage?

I've got an intelligent, stone-age species that looks a bit like an Azhdarchid pterosaur. It is around the size of a large eagle. They have a proboscis and a finger on each wing used for manipulati...

3 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by 299 Neandertal Variants ‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by 299 Neandertal Variants ‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A Would this dragon-rider combo be physically plausible?

Taking into account the some limitations of the square-cube law, biology, and aviation, I have tried to make a dragon-like creature and a hominid that participate in a symbiotic relationship. For ...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Cas‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Cas‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A How to prevent this micromachine swarm from doing anything besides what it was intended to?

So, there is this entity in my story, Slenderman, who's ultimate technique is the Blackout. Blackout causes electronic devices and light-based communication to fail within a 5 km radius of a chose...

4 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Mephistopheles‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Mephistopheles‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A The penguin man? Engineering humans to survive below -30 deg C

my question is as follows: How cold temperatures can withstand a genetically modified person who has the opportunity for a long time (more than a day ) at low temperatures (below -30 ° Celsius ) t...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by French Thompson‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by French Thompson‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A Could a creature carry its own biome and be self-sustaining?

Could a creature carry its own ecosystem around with it? What traits would it need to make this viable? These self-sufficient creatures are native to planet which is for the most part frozen and ...

6 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by System‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A Can a horse-sized flying creature grab and carry a human's weight while flying?

As you know, mythical animals like the gryphon, dragon, wyvern, roc, etc can carry things as they fly. For a big creature to fly, it either needs to massively increase the spread of their wings or...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Li Jun‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Li Jun‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A How large can a flying insect get and still be able to walk upside down?

Given the perfect environment, denser atmosphere, oxygen rich, maybe lower gravity, how large can a flying insect get and still be able to walk upside down on a surface? This question starts to ta...

3 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by RandySavage‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by RandySavage‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A How would a tripedal animal walk?

Animals on Earth have 2 or 4 legs they use for walking. On another world, however, animals have 3. I want to know how these animals will walk. How will their legs be placed and how will they move t...

19 answers  ·  posted 5y ago by Mike Nichols‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Mike Nichols‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A Could a unicorn species have the horn as its male genital?

I want to make my unicorns use the horn as their male genital. Is it biologically possible to put the genital on their head? I know there are many strange genital locations for animals, for example...

5 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Li Jun‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Li Jun‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A Feasibility of the rotten vale

I recently asked a question about' "The feasibility of the coral highlands", which come from a game called "Monster Hunter World". In the game, there is another place, called, "The Rotten Vale", wh...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by RotNDecay‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by RotNDecay‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A How could fungi evolve intelligence sufficient enough to develop a civilization

In Stellaris fungoids are, well, intelligent funguses; some Earth-like, two looking like intelligent species infected by funguses, and the rest looking alien. Let's get into the actually basics an...

4 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by RotNDecay‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by RotNDecay‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A Could an organism formed from a tumor be viable?

What properties and side effects would an organism have if it were formed entirely from cancerous cells? Scientists collected a sample of a tumor from a patient for studies. Once cultivated the ce...

1 answer  ·  posted 4y ago by System‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question biology mutants
50%
+0 −0
Q&A Anatomically Correct Diggy Diggy Dwarfs

The song Diggy Diggy Hole makes some questionable assertions about dwarven anatomy. Specifically: Born underground Suckled from a teat of stone Raised in the dark The safety of o...

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Logan R. Kearsley‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Logan R. Kearsley‭

50%
+0 −0
Q&A Is it possible for a race of man-eating shape shifters to live in secret on earth unnoticed by humans?

This is for a story I'm working on. These creatures are what the Native American myth of the Wendigo originated from. Their origins are a mystery, but they need to feed on human flesh at least once...

6 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Enesi Majebi‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by Enesi Majebi‭