r/biology • • 16h ago

discussion The lungs of a 52 y.o. organ donor after 30 years of smoking NSFW Spoiler

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255 Upvotes

r/biology • • 1h ago

question Slightly silly question, why are some taxonomy names cool and others are just, the latin word for the animal repeated?

• Upvotes

Homo sapiens meaning it's "wise man" which it's cool and does tell you the biggest characteristic of humans

Rattus rattus it's just rat in Latin twice

And I don't know what's going on whit the gorilla one

So, What exactly determined that some animals get the "biggest or most noticeable characteristic on them as their scientific name, while others just get the latin animal name of them?


r/biology • • 1h ago

fun [OC] I made a free interactive 3D brain atlas: zoom from lobes to synapses to ion channels, with live simulations

• Upvotes

Disclosure: I'm the developer. It's free, open source (MIT), no ads, no sign-up.

NeuroAtlas lets you zoom across scales: brain → hippocampus/basal ganglia → 6 cortical layers → pyramidal neuron (action potential, saltatory conduction) → chemical synapse (glutamate, GABA, dopamine, serotonin, ACh, plus ketamine, benzodiazepines, SSRIs, cocaine) → membrane (Na⁺/K⁺ channels, pump, TTX/TEA/ouabain, live Hodgkin–Huxley).

I tried to avoid myths and to label where the visualization simplifies scale or timing. The code and texts were written with AI assistance, so I'd really appreciate corrections from people who know the field.

Live: https://dominik881-creator.github.io/neuroatlas/

Code: https://github.com/dominik881-creator/neuroatlas

UI is in Polish; structure names switch to English/Latin.


r/biology • • 9h ago

question A question on krebs cycle

5 Upvotes

Im currently in 11th grade and have biology as one of my subjects. We were taught about krebs cycle ofcourse not in depth but i was really confused in one step. We know that gdp is produced during krebs cycle. My teacher told me gdp is converted to gtp and broken down to gdp to make atp. My question is that why is gdp converted to gto in the first place if in the end gdp is used to make atp?


r/biology • • 5h ago

Careers Job hunt

2 Upvotes

Hi I’m a 22 M that has recently graduated and I’m currently looking for a job that will pay 55,000 a year. I have a bs in biology, and just need overall help on what to look for. I have some lab experience and I’m currently working for a well known clinical company but am only accessioning. Any help would be much appreciated. Currently in the United States and want a job in the Charlotte NC area.


r/biology • • 1h ago

question Shark datasets or any marine life datasets

• Upvotes

Howdy all. I'm not sure if this will even come across as clear. But i am a computer science student who loves sharks and marine life, and for my capstone, we have to use a dataset along with machine learning.

I want to do something with sharks because I really love them. But am having a helluva time finding good datasets. There are a ton on Kaggle for shark attacks. But i don't want to focus on that. I was thinking along the lines of something regarding conservation. So maybe a model predicting shark populations based on bycatch and how many sharks were kept. Or something regarding shark finning x population. However, datasets with that information ready are hard to find. I have looked at the NOAA fishery reports and there's a lot of info for bycatch! However, I'm weary of creating my own dataset.

Does anyone have any advice on some good resources? Or any other ideas that may bring some more fruitful results? Any marine life studies or datasets would be welcome. Honestly I do love all animals so if anyone has an animal that would bring more results, let me know! If anyone knows of a better place to post this too, let me know :)

*I'm waiting for this to be approved on marine biology as well


r/biology • • 2h ago

discussion Career changer, loving it, looking towards whats next

1 Upvotes

Hey y'all! Pretty sure this is my first time ever posting on Reddit, so bear with me. US 28F here. Sort of a ramble.

I originally graduated with a BA in English in 2021. To this day I don't regret it, I love writing and language, and minored in Spanish as well. I still write to this day, but i chose English with a communications track thinking i'd work in an office, perhaps journalism/content writing, go into teaching, or law, and i'd do my writing on the side. Well, by graduation i tried everything except law and hated every single thing (besides teaching, i like helping others learn, but the career itself was just not desirable to me at the time). I tried comp sci classes for a bit and enjoyed programming but knew the career was not right for me. I got accepted into law school on a whim, even got a scholarship, and realized i didnt want anything to do with law for the time being. I worked in an office as an admin assistant in a blue collar field for a few years, staying at home to save most of my paychecks.

During this time, i finally got medicated for an underlying anxiety disorder, did foreign language exchanges online and basically helped people learn english in casual discord settings while i improved my spanish, wrote a couple books (yay) but theyre not ready for publishing yet, even got back into art and taught myself painting. I did some pet sitting too for extra cash, and saved almost all of it. I knew i wanted to go back to school but i had no idea what to do. AI had made it even harder to consider going back for a masters or phd, and i love English, but not enough to go back for those degrees and paying for it.

What i learned about myself during this time, was that i spent too long letting anxiety rule over me and the medication was so necessary; i love being creative; i love knowing ive helped others; and i love to LEARN. I began reading nonfiction books like crazy because dammit i missed learning new things!

A year of being medicated, i started reevaluating things. Based on finances and my privilege of staying home with family, i decided i should probably go back to school and see if any healthcare fields like nursing would be worth a shot without draining my savings. I quit my job and enrolled in a cc to start taking prereqs. It was risky but i was in a good place to rebound in case i changed my mind.

I realized very quickly i love biology. Like, so much. I always loved the sciences but due to my anxiety and fear of math, I was never brave enough. I ended up excelling in statistics and all my biology classes. I kept asking questions because i just wanted to know more, and i'd get giddy watching science tiktoks and reading science-centered nonfiction books realizing i understood most of the language used. By second semester, a professor from one of my bio classes approached me and told me she strongly believed i had what it took to go into research or med school, and encouraged me to go towards that direction.

I never had any professor intentionally come to me and tell me i was meant for something like this. It really struck me. I sat on what she said for a week or so after the semester ended. I researched career paths and what they'd look like. Med school called to me and it still does but i knew i'd need more time to commit to it. I looked at the types of research careers there were. But ive learned the best way to find out is to just try it. So i emailed her and brought up what she said and asked if she had advice for any way to get research opportunities.

Long story short, she got me a paid part time job at a university lab! just from me asking for advice. She connected me with my current pi, we talked, i started working, and now im on track to get at least a year of tuition towards a BS fully funded because i was eligible for that program. And it turns out, i LOVE research. The lab is micro/molecular focused with immunology applications. I've already attended an event with that lab and thoroughly enjoyed it, got business cards, talked to professionals. I dont even care im now 28 and back in undergrad. I'm loving everything! I planned out my coursework and i could potentially graduate by fall of 2028 with most of the coursework fully funded. What the hell! 2017 year old me would have an aneurysm if she found out this was gonna be her life 10 years later.

So now i have to figure out what the plan is for after graduation. I'm going to check out any clinical experiences/shadowing whenever i can just to see if i'm still leaning towards MD. Clinical research has been piquing my interest. I'm also looking at what it means to get an MS or PhD and if it would be worth it. Science communications might also be fun to check out but unfortunately i worry AI might take that over too. There's a science career fair coming up on campus so i plan to go there and at least chit chat with somebody and see if there's anything to check out.

Sorry for the long ramble. I appreciate any advice or suggestions :)


r/biology • • 2d ago

video Face Mites Under the Microscope!

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2.3k Upvotes

Right now, while you read this, tiny animals are tucked into the pores on your face. Don’t worry, they found you first. 🔬

Our friend Chloé Savard, also known as tardibabe on Instagram, zoomed in on Demodex, the microscopic mites that live on nearly every adult human. Two species call us home: Demodex folliculorum settles into hair follicles, while Demodex brevis burrows a little deeper into the oil-producing sebaceous glands. At just 0.2 to 0.4 millimeters long, they’re far too small to see without a microscope, with stubby legs up front and a long tapered body trailing behind.

They’re not alone, either. Our bodies host roughly as many bacterial cells as human ones, plus yeasts and other microbes, making each of us a walking ecosystem.

Face mites keep a strict schedule. During the day they stay tucked inside their follicles, and at night they crawl out across the skin to find mates and feed on sebum, the natural oil our skin produces. For years, scientists thought they had no anus at all, but a 2022 genetic study proved otherwise. They do poop, just in very small amounts.

For most people with a healthy immune system, Demodex are harmless roommates. Problems usually only show up when their numbers climb too high, and dermatologists have effective ways to treat that.

We aren’t the only ones playing host. Plenty of mammals have their own Demodex species, from Demodex canis on dogs to Demodex musculi on mice and Demodex bovis on cattle. 🐮

All of that, quietly happening, every night while you sleep.


r/biology • • 21h ago

discussion Academic struggles

5 Upvotes

I'm a prehealth undergrad struggling in biology. I got a B (above average) in intro gen bio but sadly a D in cell bio. Next spring I'm taking anatomy & physiology and I'm worried right now. What're some study tips? How to succeed in biology?


r/biology • • 6h ago

article The latest K-beauty craze is made from dead Americans' skin. Now it's aiming for the US.

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0 Upvotes

r/biology • • 23h ago

academic Feeling so overwhelmed by college introductory biology

3 Upvotes

I'm losing my motivation to keep studying, because everytime I think I have studied enough and feel confident, theres so much more information i should have memorized. I know people say to look at the big picture but this is genuinly the first time I have needed to study for critical thinking rather than just pure memorization.

My study methods are to watch videos or read small bits of the textbook and write everything i remember in either a bullet point or as part of a diagram on a whiteboard in my room until i think ive got it somewhat. I thought this was pretty good but it hasnt helped. What is the amount I actually should be doing? I do 7 to 10 hours a week, my teacher only reccommends 7.

Is it supposed to be this hard? Everyone in my class failed the midterm, which implied every single person now has a c or lower. My grade is currently 75 and i already know im about to fail the next test in 6 days.

Everytime i think i enjoy this subject and science in general i get slammed with the idea that i shouldnt be going into it. But if im not in the field of biology/zoology i dont know what i would do.


r/biology • • 1d ago

question What sharks are found near British Columbia?

13 Upvotes

Ive seen from info about how biodiverse British Columbia is, especially its marine life such as the orcas, sea lions, and giant octopuses. But what about sharks?

As a shark enthusiast, could you tell me what species of sharks reside on the coasts and seas of British Columbia?


r/biology • • 1d ago

discussion How can experiments distinguish cryptochrome-based magnetic sensing in birds from other possible mechanisms?

2 Upvotes

I’m taking a required course for one of my majors, and I ended up reading about quantum biology while looking into how animals sense their environments. My physics background is pretty limited, but I’m particularly interested in the proposed role of cryptochrome in birds’ magnetic navigation.

My question is: if disrupting cryptochrome changes a bird’s ability to orient itself, how do researchers establish that this is specifically because they disrupted a radical-pair magnetic compass? How would they rule out effects on vision or other processes that could also affect the bird’s behaviour?

Are there experiments that isolate the proposed magnetic-sensing function while leaving those other functions intact? I’d appreciate an explanation of what a convincing control would look like, or a paper that tackles this.


r/biology • • 1d ago

question Could a fungus ever evolve to infect humans and manipulate our behavior like in The Last of Us?

9 Upvotes

I love The Last of Us game and series, and it got me wondering about how scientifically possible its premise actually is.

In real life, some fungi, like Ophiocordyceps, can infect insects and manipulate their behavior. Could a fungus theoretically evolve to survive inside the human body and affect our brains or behavior in a similar way?

I know humans are very different from insects, especially in terms of body temperature, immune systems, and brain complexity, but I'm curious about whether this is biologically possible in principle, even if it's extremely unlikely.

What evolutionary changes or biological conditions would a fungus need to overcome for something like this to happen? And are there fundamental biological barriers that would make the The Last of Us scenario essentially impossible?


r/biology • • 1d ago

other Just to vent: I realized I’m a failure

17 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I’m just feeling frustrated and just lost with where to go and what to do. I currently have an RA job and am struggling to find a role that pays more and that’s proving to be difficult even with a masters degree. Like I know it’s rough all around for employment, but I just can’t help but feel like I’m a failure and went to college and decided on a profession that I enjoy and thought was safe when I should’ve been choosing a profession to be miserable in but prob wouldn’t have these feelings and prob would have some more money.
Nonetheless here I am feeling dumb for choosing to work in science, it almost feels like in the current climate that i went to school for art, and that what we do doesn’t matter, or seem to have any benefit for society. I feel like a failure that I went to school for a degree and am out here debating and trying to find a a job to work early in the morning before my full time lab position because it feels that in this day and age I might as well never should’ve bothered to chase an education if I was going to end up having to work in the service industry anyways because what I have isn’t enough. Applying to jobs emailing recruiters, to be ghosted completely, and in this day and age as if it wasn’t bad enough with this job market having to debate how many bots are applying to a job like me, vs scrutinizing every job listing to be sure it’s not fake…
One day I might just be okay with accepting Im a failure and am stupid to have gone into something I love


r/biology • • 1d ago

Careers Should I terminate my contract because my career-building job doesn’t pay the bills?

0 Upvotes

I’m (22) working part time at an independent field work position that requires me to be available 24/7, and I don’t know when I work until the night before, and sometimes I get called in ASAP.

It pays $38/hour, but I get taxed almost 1/3, and the hours I work are totally unpredictable, it could be 4 hours a week or 30, and I can’t ask for more work. My bills alone is $2k a month, and I’m in debt that I need to pay off. I also support my girlfriend and an iguana.

This job is a builder for my biology career (fisheries observer and catch monitor, so independent field work). I want to be an animal behavior and ecology professor. Having a good recommendation from the company is crucial as this is one of my first science jobs out of college and independent field work looks EXCELLENT on a resume. However, since starting this job, I’ve realized marine science isn’t my specific forte, and I’d rather something mammal or reptile based.

I signed a year contract that ends in May ‘27. I want to finish the contract, but if I can’t support myself, I’ll need to quit and do something else. People terminate their first contracts all the time and there’s no penalty, but it doesn’t look too good on paper I suppose.

I got a job at a grocery store recently, but it’s only 2 days a week at $17/hour, so like dogshit nothing pay. But I don’t even know if I can sustain that job, since I’d need to call out every time I get called into my main job.

I also have an interview for an independent rodent pest control position. Totally not my style, but it pays $70-$80k per year and has insane benefits and lots of PTO. It is still independent work, but really not related to the sciences very much. If I land this job (which I’m confident I can), it would totally save me and my girlfriend from financial crisis.

I asked a senior employee at the company what to do. She said jobs related to my field look best on a resume. She sent me a government position that’s over an hour away, and I just quit smoking weed yesterday and it’ll take over a month for my system to clear. It pays $4k a month and mainly deals in catching wild salmon and collecting data. This would also look great on my resume, but I’d be driving for almost 3 hours a day, and that’s if I can even pass the drug test.

TLDR:
- current job doesn’t pay the bills, can’t get a second job, but finishing my contract will give a better referral
- could do pest control for great pay, but not really related to my career, although it would save my ass until I can find something else
- could do DFW work in another state, but far away and drug test

Any advice is appreciated


r/biology • • 1d ago

article Chytrid fungus threatens amphibian biodiversity hotspot in Colombia

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5 Upvotes

Research from Trier University (Germany) shows that the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (SNSM) in Colombia is one of the last refuges from the amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis that has already caused severe amphibian biodiversity loss worldwide.

SNSM is isolated because of the climatic conditions in lowland regions surrounding it, but Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis has been identified in nearby regions and endangers many of the 48 amphibian species in SNSM, 25 of these species exist only there.

The researchers highlight the urgent need for proactive conservation action and the strict implementation of biosecurity to safeguard the unique and vast amphibian diversity of the SNSM.


r/biology • • 2d ago

fun Why is the statement “Mitochondria is the powerhouse of cell” so popular and memed?

123 Upvotes

Been hearing this for decades after learning in like class 6 science class. What makes it so popular and memed?


r/biology • • 1d ago

question Differences in Campbell 12th and 13th editions?

2 Upvotes

Are there any meaningful differences between the newest edition of Campbell and its predecessor? I’ve started my bachelor’s in biology this fall, aiming for master’s in neuroscience. The newest Campbell is hard and expensive to come by in Europe, so I’m wondering if I should get the older edition or wait for when the new one is available.


r/biology • • 2d ago

article How Animals Experience Time

11 Upvotes

Does a fly experience time in slow motion – and does an elephant experience it differently from a mouse?

In biology and psychology, our understanding of time goes beyond the way physics describes it. What can we know about how animals experience time in this context? One thing is clear: they perceive certain events differently than we do, and their behavior is influenced by time intervals, seasons, or the duration of absences.

But do animals also have a subjective sense of time comparable to that of humans? (Text in German).

Have fun reading,

Jens

https://www.weltwissen.online/post/wie-tiere-die-zeit-erleben


r/biology • • 2d ago

question What are the global problems in biology?

5 Upvotes

I'm searching for a global problem in biology to make something that will help.

I need it for a school project.

I'm going to help it by making some technology on Arduino that will for example water the plants or recognise patterns.

I need a problem that's global and actual right now.

It also can be any problem in biology, I just need some ideas on what to do.


r/biology • • 1d ago

video How Ozempic Accidentally “Solved” Addiction (Effects of GLP-1 on the brain)

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0 Upvotes

Hey everyone, I made a video about how GLP-1 agonists affect the brain. Thought ya'll would be interested in this. Feedback is appreciated :)


r/biology • • 2d ago

question Would extraterrestrial life inevitably compete with terrestrial life?

2 Upvotes

Can we draw conclusions from life on Earth about how extraterrestrial organisms might behave if they encountered terrestrial life?

On Earth, survival, reproduction, and adaptation are fundamental aspects of evolution. Wouldn’t similar evolutionary pressures likely exist in extraterrestrial life?

If two completely unrelated forms of life encountered each other, would the outcome primarily depend on which had more effective survival mechanisms, reproductive strategies, or biological defenses?

What I’m ultimately asking is:
Would extraterrestrial life inevitably compete with, displace, or even destroy terrestrial life simply because of evolutionary pressures?

Or is there no biological reason to assume that self-preservation necessarily leads to competition or aggression between unrelated forms of life?


r/biology • • 2d ago

question Good extracurriculars for Bio students.

2 Upvotes

So Im an IT student and I've been lately suggesting plans for some extracurriculars in our scientific faculties in an attempt to try and advance accademic output. Ive been thinking for our Bio faculty to add an "applied evolution" extracurricular to work in tandem with our theory heavy syllabus using modern SW and data. Aside from that, I have been bouncing the idea of bio expos similar to our hackathons and more interdisciplinary work with our health faculties. What suggestions would you bring to the table?


r/biology • • 2d ago

Careers Online Student Seeking Career/Internship Advice

4 Upvotes

Hello everyone! I am approaching my final year of my Bachelors in Biology (Concentration in Biomedical Science) and i’m seeking advice about next steps/how to better prepare for a career after undergrad.

I am an online student, attending the University of Arizona’s Global Campus. Being an online student has been great, as it’s flexible, and i’ve been able to work close to full time the majority of my program. My biggest concern lately has been internships/how to prepare for graduation. All of my courses are asynchronous and expedited, so I haven’t been able to build rapport with professors in the same way that I would’ve liked to (especially if I were in-person). I need letters of recommendation, but since I am online, and my courses are so brief, I don’t feel like any of my professors would be able to give me an honest recommendation.
Also, most of the undergrad internships near me are very competitive and have over 100+ applicants.

I am a good student, have a 4.0 gpa, and am very passionate about biology and biomedical research (especially research that pertains to pathogenic microorganisms/ their effect on human body systems).

I just started 2nd quarter, should I preemptively email professors stating that I’d like to meet with them on occasion as I am seeking letters of recommendation? How am I supposed to make myself stand out for internships/undergrad research if I don’t have a lab at my university that I can just go to?

This is causing me a great deal of stress, so any advice would be much appreciated.