Posts tagged biology
I have a species with mostly avoidant and introverted personalities. They prefer to stay in small, nomadic groups and flee when the surrounding population becomes too large. The criterion for "too...
Imagine a spaceship constructed for merfolk and it is completely filled with oxygenated water instead of air. Since they can swim around effortlessly in the water, do they even need artificial gr...
I am writing a story (well, developing one) in which a humanoid intelligently genetically engineered species is effectively immortal. The creature maintains its lifespan through a thick-shelled see...
My world - basically Earth all along, unless told otherwise - is populated by humans and few fantasy-based "races" (actually, species - any interbreed offspring, if possible, is infertile): elves, ...
The Scenario: A technologically advanced mother culture wants to manage mass outbreaks of virulent disease in its technologically regressed colonies, who are inclined to resist most of what the mot...
My question is about unusual hereditary traits in humans. I'm new here and this is my first question - apologies in advance if I've accidentally messed this up or covered existing ground. I'm writ...
I want to design a creature capable of surviving long periods without drinking water, but I am not sure how that creature could store water. These are my ideas but I am looking for something more e...
In my world there are humans who have undergone a mutation from being exposed to a certain kind of magic. They have not realized they have been mutated until they start noticing that they have the ...
The Resident Evil franchise is obviously the last place you want to take away any lessons on biology, pathology or virology from. However the new(-ish) Molded enemies from Resident Evil 7:Biohazard...
In some science fiction and fantasy settings (mostly fantasy) there are sometimes things like rock giants or rock golems. Basically, what I'm getting at is rocks forms with, sentience in some cases...
Whenever people discuss mammalian-type merfolk, I usually see them be modeled after cetaceans like dolphins and whales. This is perfectly serviceable, but there is one piece of anatomy that I canno...
In my world, there are underground ruins from an ancient civilization. There are giant insect creatures living in these underground cave-like ruins, ranging from the size of a large dog to the size...
Not long ago I asked about pH indicators and their use in making fantastical skin colors (pH Indicators and Fantastical Skin Colors) In that question, I listed bromothymol blue as a type of indica...
What, if any, survival advantages could a testudine gain from evolving a bipedal stance, either permanently or temporarily? Essentially, is there a factor that would have to be introduced for this ...
Ever since reading through the creative answers in this question (How can I explain alien skin being different colors?) I've been thinking about the logistics behind fantastical skin colors. Howe...
I have been designing a species of elves with blue skin as one of their most striking features. I'm drawing inspiration from primates that also have blue skin. Think the scrotum of a vervet monkey,...
Most species of animal, especially mammals, have a special skin cell the produces melanin, which is responsible for the color of their skin, but orcs are generally depicted as green creatures and, ...
Apparently these lizards have loads of Biliverdin in their blood making their blood green! Besides a defense against parasites I figure this is also an effective defense against predators. I woul...
On my world a jellyfish type of animal exists, it's an aquatic animal of course and extremely dangerous as it consumes anything organic it touches. It's thin and wide, like a fleshy transparent bl...
Spiders produce silk, a protein fibre able to construct webs and dens. But is there an existing animal (preferably a vertebrate) that would be able to evolve a similar ability of producing a silk-l...
I'm working out the back story of a flying castle run by a king who has a squadron of 200 air cavalry. All the knights ride hippogriffs: head and wings of large eagles, bodies of horses. Horses ea...
I've been considering the term 'redneck', which is described by Google's info engine as coming "from the back of the neck being sunburned from outdoor work." As I've grown more involved with the Re...
I have a race of people who have silver blood. Thing is, I'm really trying to keep it as realistic as possible despite this being a fantasy world. The blood has raw magic energy in it as well, but ...
I have a world which is (nearly) a single-biome planet; it is mostly covered in shallow, ice-choked seas. There are few continents, but many archipelagos. Think northern Canada or Alaska as this ...
The ground shakes as a colony of Triopticpelorovenatorius Baromassobrachiosaurus (T.B.) shamble across the forest floor. A glorious mix of blue, purple, and green colors shift under the treetops as...
A caveat I will begin this question with is this: this system MUST be entirely organic. In fact it must be EVOLVED. Therefore Ghost in the Shell or Metal Gear-style nanocomms or cranial implants ar...
Bamboo, horsetail and many grasses incorporate silicates into their tissues to protect themselves from grazers. Diatoms use it to build a glassy outer shell. Carbon is still the choice for metaboli...
What would cause the temporary migration of a carnivore/scavenger avian species, normally inhabiting a temperate to tropical region, to a much colder one. It's a seasonal migration, but also a r...
Could a human's DNA be altered so that in every skin cell they would have a chloroplast organelle? How would this affect the rest of the body?
Imagine a child of mixed race, one parent is human and one is an alien who has some ability humans do not have, for the sake of argument telepathy. I'm assuming there is some advanced medical assis...
I was wondering... If only we could make a GMO plant that could produce electricty thanks to bioelectricty. How could that be done, how could it produce a lot of energy, Also, how could we har...
There was a culture I read about that understood human biology to be very different from what we know today. This was a matrilineal culture which believed that men did not pass on their genes, but ...
We have a pretty good idea of what attributes a planet would need to sustain life and one can imagine how life might develop on a planet, even in difficult environments. I find it extremely diffic...
In a world where torch ships sometimes will accelerate over 10Gs for hours, maybe sometimes days on end. Is there any way to keep the crew alive and preferably fully functional in during such hars...
So, the end-point I want to work towards is a creature that lives on a high-gravity planet that has some sort of adaptation that neutralises the effects of that high gravity, ideally in a way that ...
I have a sapient (alien) species that behaves more or less similarly to humans, and that includes their romantic interactions. However, although they court/date each other much like we do, there is...
I believe there are precious few questions relating to the concept in general, but I was wondering if the concept of an organism absorbing large amounts of CO2 from blood seemed reasonably plausibl...
In my world, wood elves use magic charms and illusions to ensnare their prey. They have a very opportunistic diet as they eat anything that walks into their forest. After consumption they sleep for...
In my setting, every humanoid creature in our worlds mythology is part of a different species that branched off from humans millions of years ago. I'm trying to devise a way to prevent crossbreedin...
Obligatory Premise In the year 2201, Diego OfeAde has been in control of Mars for 50 years. He has moved mankind into Valles Marineris and his aggressive population expansion program has seen t...
In the future the technology to reverse one's age exists. We can make people younger but not older. One day there is an accident, and someone is reverted to a ten year old, instead of reverting t...
In this medieval world, I want to set up a clan system that builds up every kingdom. Every kingdoms will have at least 3-4 big clans/families, each is unique to the theme of the magic they use. For...
In one of my fictitious planets, there are large cells that reside in the ocean and are 3 feet (almost 1 metre) in diameter. The cells themselves are aggregates of many amoeboid cells, have only on...
Disclaimer: This question is the second of a new series of questions of mine about introducing hexapeds to the fauna of my conworld. There are/will be other questions addressing i.a.: characteristi...
Imagine a species (the cause is largely irrelevant - could be alien meddling for all I know) that is Homo sapiens in all except one detail: they have additional organ which is kind of like gills - ...
If a parasitic creature was discovered, how would officials determine whether that parasite was a new species or an existing parasitic species? How long would that process take? Assume the specie...
In my world the characters find themselves in a new land. They do not understand the locals nor do the locals understand them. How could these characters learn to understand the locals withing a mo...
A common trope in cyber punkish sci-fi is the ability to upload a human mind to some storage device or AI. This of course grants practical immortality but it is also the main hurdle for tropes like...
Voidcrawler (Mycocelium Nocturnis) is a voracious invasive species, most similar to a fungus but much hardier and with some singularly unique properties: Firstly it absorbs not only light, but als...
I know that birds like crows and parrots can use basic tools, and some questions on the site have stated that re-evolving hands isn't worth the trouble/is outright impossible. However crows don't ...
