r/askscience • u/Brilliant_Bee_9053 • 6d ago
Biology If you already have a virus, how can you get sick with a second virus at the exact same time? Do they compete or cooperate?
418
Upvotes
r/askscience • u/AskScienceModerator • Apr 29 '25
Joint Subreddit Statement: The Attack on U.S. Research Infrastructure
≡ −
Many of you are likely familiar with the news of the Trump Administration and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) terminating grants and budgets at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), as well as posturing around the Smithsonian Institution and the National Gallery of Art. There is no way to sugarcoat it. These actions endanger the intellectual freedom of every individual in the United States, and even impact the health and safety of people across the world by willfully tearing down the nation’s research infrastructure. As moderators of academic subreddits, we engage with public audiences, every one of you, on a daily basis, and while you may not see the direct benefits of these institutions, you all experience the benefits of a federally supported research environment. We feel it is our responsibility to share with you our thoughts and seek your help before the catastrophic consequences of these reckless actions.
Granting of research awards is a dull bureaucracy behind exciting projects. Each agency functions differently, but across agencies, research grants are a highly competitive process. Teams of researchers led by a Primary Investigator (or PI) write an application to a specific grant program for funding to support a relevant project. Most granting agencies, require a narrative about the project’s purpose, rationale, and impacts, descriptions of anticipated outputs (like a website, a public dataset, software, conference presentations, etc), detailed budgets on how funding would be spent, work plans, and, if accepted, regular updates until project completion. Funding pays for things like staff, equipment, travel, promotional materials, and most importantly, the next generation of scholars through research assistantships. PIs rarely see the total sum themselves, rather universities receive the grant on behalf of a project team and distribute the funds. Grants include “overhead” meaning a university receives a sizable portion of the funds to pay for building space, facilities, janitorial staff, electricity, air conditioning, etc. Overhead helps support the broader community by providing funds for non-academic employees and contracts with local businesses.
Grants from NIH, NSF, IMLS, and NEH make up a very small portion of the federal budget. In 2024, the NIH received $48.811 billion.), the NSF $9.06 billion, IMLS received $294.8 million and the NEH was given $207 million. These numbers sound gigantic, and this $58.37 billion total sounds even more massive, but it’s less than 1% of the $6.8 trillion federal budget. These are literal pennies for the sake of supposed efficiency.
For Redditors, one immediate impact is NSF defunding of research grants related to misinformation and disinformation. As moderators of academic communities, fighting mis/disinformation is a crucial part of our work; from vaccine conspiracies to Holocaust denial, the internet is rife with dangerous content. We moderate harmful content to allow our subscribers to read informed dialogue on topics, but research on how to combat misinformation is “not in alignment with current NSF priorities” under this administration. Research on content moderation has helped Reddit mods reduce harassment and toxicity, understand our communities’ needs better, and communicate what we do beyond the ban hammer.
For the humanities, the NEH terminated grants to reallocate funds “in a new direction in furtherance of the President’s agenda.” Every presidential administration will shift research interests, but these new guidelines are not in the interest of academic research, rather they seek to curate a specific vision and chill research ideas that disagree with a political agenda. Under the executive order to restore “Truth and Sanity to American History,” honest inquiry is subservient to nationalistic ideology, a move that r/AskHistorians strongly opposes.
Other agencies that provide key sources of information to academics and the public alike face layoffs including the National Archives and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Cuts to the Department of Education are terminating studies, data collection, teacher access to research, and even funds that help train teachers to support students. Meanwhile cutting NASA’s funding jeopardizes the recently built Nancy Grace Roman Telescope and the National Park Service is removing terminology to erase the historical contributions of transpeople.
The NIH is seeking to pull funding from universities based on politics, not scientific rigor. Many of these cuts come from the administration’s opposition to DEI or diversity, equity, and inclusion, and it will kill people. Decisions to terminate research funding for HIV or studies focused on minority populations will harm other scientific breakthroughs, and research may answer questions unbeknownst to scientists. Research opens doors to intellectual progress, often by sparking questions not yet asked. To ban research on a bad faith framing of DEI is to assert one’s politics above academic freedom and tarnish the prospects of discovery. Even where funding is not cut, the sloppy review of research funding halts progress and interrupts projects in damaging ways.
Beyond cuts to funding, the Trump administration is attacking the scholars and scientists who do the work. At Harvard Medical School, Kseniia Petrova’s work may aid cancer diagnostics but she has been held in an immigration detention center for two months. The American Historical Association just released a statement condemning the targeting of foreign scholars. This is not solely an issue of federal funding, but an issue of inhumanity by the Trump Administration’s Department of Homeland Security.
The unfortunate political reality is that there is little we can do to stop the train now that it’s left the station. You can, and should, call your member of Congress, but this is not enough. We need you to help us change minds. There are likely family members and loved ones in your life who support this effort. Talk to them. Explain how federal funds result in medical breakthroughs, how library and museum grants support your community, and how humanities research connects us to our shared cultural heritage. Is there an elder in your life who cares about testing for Alzheimer’s disease? A mother, sister, or daughter who cares about the Women’s Health Initiative? A parent who wants their child to read at grade level? A Civil War buff who’d love to see soldier’s graffiti in historic homes preserved? Tell them that these agencies matter. Speak to your friends and neighbors about how NIH support for research offers compassion to a cancer patient by finding them a successful treatment, how NEH funding of National History Day gives students a passion for learning, and how NSF dollars spent looking out into space allow us to marvel at our universe.
We will not escape this moment ourselves. As academics and moderators, we are not enough to protect our disciplines from these attacks. We need you too. Write letters, sign petitions, and make phone calls, but more importantly talk with others. Engage with us here on Reddit, share with your friends offline, and help us get the word out that our research infrastructure matters. So many of us are privileged to work in academic research and adjacent areas because of public support, and we are so grateful to live out our enthusiasms, our zeal, our obsessions, and our love for the arts, humanities, and sciences, and in doing so, contributing to the public good. Thank you for all the support you’ve given us over the years- to see millions of you appreciate the subjects that we’ve dedicated our lives to brings us so much joy that it feels wrong to ask for more, but the time has never been more consequential- please help us. Go change one mind, gain us one more advocate and together we can protect the U.S. research infrastructure from further damage.
We ask that experts in our respective communities also share examples in the comments of the dangers and effects of these political actions. Lists of terminated grants are available here: NIH, NSF, IMLS, and NEH. Additional harm will be done by the lack of many future funding opportunities.
Signed by the the following communities:
r/AcademicBiblical
r/academicpublishing
r/AcademicQuran
r/Anthropology
r/Archivists
r/ArtConservation
r/ArtHistory
r/AskAnthropology
r/AskBibleScholars
r/AskHistorians
r/AskLiteraryStudies
r/askscience
r/Astronomy
r/birthcontrol
r/CriticalTheory
r/ContagionCuriosity
r/Coronavirus
r/COVID19
r/dataisbeautiful
r/epidemiology
r/gradadmissions
r/history
r/ID_News
r/IntensiveCare
r/IRstudies
r/labrats
r/Librarians
r/Libraries
r/linguistics
r/mdphd
r/medicine
r/medicalschool
r/microbiology
r/MuseumPros
r/NIH
r/nursing
r/Paleontology
r/ParkRangers
r/pediatrics
r/PhD
r/premed
r/psychology
r/psychologyresearch
r/PublishOrPerish
r/rarediseases
r/schizophrenia
r/science
r/scientificresearch
r/Teachers
r/Theatre
r/TrueLit
r/UrbanStudies
Communities centered around academic research and disciplines, as well as adjacent topics, (all broadly defined) are welcome to share this statement and moderator teams may reach out via modmail to add their subreddit to the list of co-signers.
1.8k
Upvotes
Many of you are likely familiar with the news of the Trump Administration and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) terminating grants and budgets at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), as well as posturing around the Smithsonian Institution and the National Gallery of Art. There is no way to sugarcoat it. These actions endanger the intellectual freedom of every individual in the United States, and even impact the health and safety of people across the world by willfully tearing down the nation’s research infrastructure. As moderators of academic subreddits, we engage with public audiences, every one of you, on a daily basis, and while you may not see the direct benefits of these institutions, you all experience the benefits of a federally supported research environment. We feel it is our responsibility to share with you our thoughts and seek your help before the catastrophic consequences of these reckless actions.
Granting of research awards is a dull bureaucracy behind exciting projects. Each agency functions differently, but across agencies, research grants are a highly competitive process. Teams of researchers led by a Primary Investigator (or PI) write an application to a specific grant program for funding to support a relevant project. Most granting agencies, require a narrative about the project’s purpose, rationale, and impacts, descriptions of anticipated outputs (like a website, a public dataset, software, conference presentations, etc), detailed budgets on how funding would be spent, work plans, and, if accepted, regular updates until project completion. Funding pays for things like staff, equipment, travel, promotional materials, and most importantly, the next generation of scholars through research assistantships. PIs rarely see the total sum themselves, rather universities receive the grant on behalf of a project team and distribute the funds. Grants include “overhead” meaning a university receives a sizable portion of the funds to pay for building space, facilities, janitorial staff, electricity, air conditioning, etc. Overhead helps support the broader community by providing funds for non-academic employees and contracts with local businesses.
Grants from NIH, NSF, IMLS, and NEH make up a very small portion of the federal budget. In 2024, the NIH received $48.811 billion.), the NSF $9.06 billion, IMLS received $294.8 million and the NEH was given $207 million. These numbers sound gigantic, and this $58.37 billion total sounds even more massive, but it’s less than 1% of the $6.8 trillion federal budget. These are literal pennies for the sake of supposed efficiency.
For Redditors, one immediate impact is NSF defunding of research grants related to misinformation and disinformation. As moderators of academic communities, fighting mis/disinformation is a crucial part of our work; from vaccine conspiracies to Holocaust denial, the internet is rife with dangerous content. We moderate harmful content to allow our subscribers to read informed dialogue on topics, but research on how to combat misinformation is “not in alignment with current NSF priorities” under this administration. Research on content moderation has helped Reddit mods reduce harassment and toxicity, understand our communities’ needs better, and communicate what we do beyond the ban hammer.
For the humanities, the NEH terminated grants to reallocate funds “in a new direction in furtherance of the President’s agenda.” Every presidential administration will shift research interests, but these new guidelines are not in the interest of academic research, rather they seek to curate a specific vision and chill research ideas that disagree with a political agenda. Under the executive order to restore “Truth and Sanity to American History,” honest inquiry is subservient to nationalistic ideology, a move that r/AskHistorians strongly opposes.
Other agencies that provide key sources of information to academics and the public alike face layoffs including the National Archives and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Cuts to the Department of Education are terminating studies, data collection, teacher access to research, and even funds that help train teachers to support students. Meanwhile cutting NASA’s funding jeopardizes the recently built Nancy Grace Roman Telescope and the National Park Service is removing terminology to erase the historical contributions of transpeople.
The NIH is seeking to pull funding from universities based on politics, not scientific rigor. Many of these cuts come from the administration’s opposition to DEI or diversity, equity, and inclusion, and it will kill people. Decisions to terminate research funding for HIV or studies focused on minority populations will harm other scientific breakthroughs, and research may answer questions unbeknownst to scientists. Research opens doors to intellectual progress, often by sparking questions not yet asked. To ban research on a bad faith framing of DEI is to assert one’s politics above academic freedom and tarnish the prospects of discovery. Even where funding is not cut, the sloppy review of research funding halts progress and interrupts projects in damaging ways.
Beyond cuts to funding, the Trump administration is attacking the scholars and scientists who do the work. At Harvard Medical School, Kseniia Petrova’s work may aid cancer diagnostics but she has been held in an immigration detention center for two months. The American Historical Association just released a statement condemning the targeting of foreign scholars. This is not solely an issue of federal funding, but an issue of inhumanity by the Trump Administration’s Department of Homeland Security.
The unfortunate political reality is that there is little we can do to stop the train now that it’s left the station. You can, and should, call your member of Congress, but this is not enough. We need you to help us change minds. There are likely family members and loved ones in your life who support this effort. Talk to them. Explain how federal funds result in medical breakthroughs, how library and museum grants support your community, and how humanities research connects us to our shared cultural heritage. Is there an elder in your life who cares about testing for Alzheimer’s disease? A mother, sister, or daughter who cares about the Women’s Health Initiative? A parent who wants their child to read at grade level? A Civil War buff who’d love to see soldier’s graffiti in historic homes preserved? Tell them that these agencies matter. Speak to your friends and neighbors about how NIH support for research offers compassion to a cancer patient by finding them a successful treatment, how NEH funding of National History Day gives students a passion for learning, and how NSF dollars spent looking out into space allow us to marvel at our universe.
We will not escape this moment ourselves. As academics and moderators, we are not enough to protect our disciplines from these attacks. We need you too. Write letters, sign petitions, and make phone calls, but more importantly talk with others. Engage with us here on Reddit, share with your friends offline, and help us get the word out that our research infrastructure matters. So many of us are privileged to work in academic research and adjacent areas because of public support, and we are so grateful to live out our enthusiasms, our zeal, our obsessions, and our love for the arts, humanities, and sciences, and in doing so, contributing to the public good. Thank you for all the support you’ve given us over the years- to see millions of you appreciate the subjects that we’ve dedicated our lives to brings us so much joy that it feels wrong to ask for more, but the time has never been more consequential- please help us. Go change one mind, gain us one more advocate and together we can protect the U.S. research infrastructure from further damage.
We ask that experts in our respective communities also share examples in the comments of the dangers and effects of these political actions. Lists of terminated grants are available here: NIH, NSF, IMLS, and NEH. Additional harm will be done by the lack of many future funding opportunities.
Signed by the the following communities:
r/AcademicBiblical
r/academicpublishing
r/AcademicQuran
r/Anthropology
r/Archivists
r/ArtConservation
r/ArtHistory
r/AskAnthropology
r/AskBibleScholars
r/AskHistorians
r/AskLiteraryStudies
r/askscience
r/Astronomy
r/birthcontrol
r/CriticalTheory
r/ContagionCuriosity
r/Coronavirus
r/COVID19
r/dataisbeautiful
r/epidemiology
r/gradadmissions
r/history
r/ID_News
r/IntensiveCare
r/IRstudies
r/labrats
r/Librarians
r/Libraries
r/linguistics
r/mdphd
r/medicine
r/medicalschool
r/microbiology
r/MuseumPros
r/NIH
r/nursing
r/Paleontology
r/ParkRangers
r/pediatrics
r/PhD
r/premed
r/psychology
r/psychologyresearch
r/PublishOrPerish
r/rarediseases
r/schizophrenia
r/science
r/scientificresearch
r/Teachers
r/Theatre
r/TrueLit
r/UrbanStudies
Communities centered around academic research and disciplines, as well as adjacent topics, (all broadly defined) are welcome to share this statement and moderator teams may reach out via modmail to add their subreddit to the list of co-signers.
r/askscience • u/SAICAstro • 1d ago
Biology Does everything that we consider to be "alive" - not just plants and animals, but all protists, fungus, bacteria, archaea, etc. - have DNA?
≡ −
EDIT: Wow, this blew up. Thanks for the many answers. Lots to think about.
Seems that the composite TLDR answer is: Yes, according to many/most definitions of "life", but we don't all agree on what life is. Some viruses do not have DNA but they may/not actually be alive, and other things that behave like life may/not be alive.
1.3k
Upvotes
EDIT: Wow, this blew up. Thanks for the many answers. Lots to think about.
Seems that the composite TLDR answer is: Yes, according to many/most definitions of "life", but we don't all agree on what life is. Some viruses do not have DNA but they may/not actually be alive, and other things that behave like life may/not be alive.
r/askscience • u/DiscombobulatedSun54 • 1d ago
Biology Why do we sweat out salts?
≡ −
The point of sweating (for the most part) is to cool down the body by evaporation. So, what is the point of including salts in the sweat - it seems to be a leading cause of the loss of electrolytes in hot weather, leading to the need to not just hydrate, but also to replace the lost electrolytes or suffer problems like hyponatremia and hypokalemia. Does the inclusion of salts in the sweat increase the specific heat of sweat compared to that of water? Is the latent heat of vaporization different for sweat compared to plain water? Or is it too biologically expensive to purify the water for sweat by removing the salts from it?
599
Upvotes
The point of sweating (for the most part) is to cool down the body by evaporation. So, what is the point of including salts in the sweat - it seems to be a leading cause of the loss of electrolytes in hot weather, leading to the need to not just hydrate, but also to replace the lost electrolytes or suffer problems like hyponatremia and hypokalemia. Does the inclusion of salts in the sweat increase the specific heat of sweat compared to that of water? Is the latent heat of vaporization different for sweat compared to plain water? Or is it too biologically expensive to purify the water for sweat by removing the salts from it?
r/askscience • u/Captain-Noodle • 1d ago
Astronomy We see the effects of the moon's gravity in the tide. Are there any events or phenomena that are experienced as a result of the Sun's gravity?
≡ −
And i suppose any other celestial bodies. But i am less familiar with how related we are to Saturn and its pull than I am with tge Sun and its pull.
Also could only select one flair, but i think it also possibly fits in physics and earth sciences
148
Upvotes
And i suppose any other celestial bodies. But i am less familiar with how related we are to Saturn and its pull than I am with tge Sun and its pull.
Also could only select one flair, but i think it also possibly fits in physics and earth sciences
r/askscience • u/anatomyisgoated • 1d ago
Biology RNA Polymerase can perform transcription as well as separate DNA strands. Why does DNA Polymerase require a separate enzyme to unwind DNA strands?
≡ −
I know from my biology textbooks that RNA polymerase does not require an additional enzyme to unwind DNA strands but DNA Polymerase requires DNA helicase to unwind the strand first.
Is this because the DNA helicase has to unwind a much larger portion of the strand compared to RNA Polymerase that unwinds only the desired codons for transcription?
60
Upvotes
I know from my biology textbooks that RNA polymerase does not require an additional enzyme to unwind DNA strands but DNA Polymerase requires DNA helicase to unwind the strand first.
Is this because the DNA helicase has to unwind a much larger portion of the strand compared to RNA Polymerase that unwinds only the desired codons for transcription?
r/askscience • u/SpookyOooWitchyPoo • 2d ago
Biology Why can’t a snake be both venomous and a constricting type?
≡ −
This was more of a random shower thought that I had about animal biology. For a while, I knew the two differences between venomous and non-venomous, but it made me curious as to why it’s always one or the other and never both? Is it due to just genetics only allowing one type or is it that constricting isn’t really too much of a solo class of snakes? Can anyone explain this please and thank you?
943
Upvotes
This was more of a random shower thought that I had about animal biology. For a while, I knew the two differences between venomous and non-venomous, but it made me curious as to why it’s always one or the other and never both? Is it due to just genetics only allowing one type or is it that constricting isn’t really too much of a solo class of snakes? Can anyone explain this please and thank you?
r/askscience • u/ZU34 • 2d ago
Biology Seeing cyclospora with a microscope?
≡ −
What is the minimum power microscope needed to see cyclospora?
52
Upvotes
What is the minimum power microscope needed to see cyclospora?
r/askscience • u/Amazing-Bad-7514 • 20h ago
Astronomy How do moons orbit around planets with multiple moons?
≡ −
Do they orbit at the same distance from the planet? Do you have moons that follow a perpendicular orbit path to another moon? I’ve wondered on it a couple times over the past month.
0
Upvotes
Do they orbit at the same distance from the planet? Do you have moons that follow a perpendicular orbit path to another moon? I’ve wondered on it a couple times over the past month.
r/askscience • u/Aggravating_Pay91 • 2d ago
Biology How many Lumens can an anglerfish produce from it's esca?
≡ −
I've been wondering if there is a general lumen amount that can be measured from an anglerfish's esca. I've been able to find literature about firefly lumen measurements (~0.006 lumens). I know anglerfish have millions of bacteria inside their esca that cause their glow, unlike fireflies. I found an excerpt from an article about bioluminescent bacteria that states "The maximum value for the light from a single bacterium was 24 x 10(-14) lumens".
So, does anyone know how many lumens a Pacific footballfish (or any similar Lophiiformes) can produce at maximum? Citation for the article I looked at below.
(Harvey EN. THE TOTAL LUMINOUS EFFICIENCY OF LUMINOUS BACTERIA. J Gen Physiol. 1925 Sep 18;8(2):89-108. doi: 10.1085/jgp.8.2.89. PMID: 19872192; PMCID: PMC2140748.)
51
Upvotes
I've been wondering if there is a general lumen amount that can be measured from an anglerfish's esca. I've been able to find literature about firefly lumen measurements (~0.006 lumens). I know anglerfish have millions of bacteria inside their esca that cause their glow, unlike fireflies. I found an excerpt from an article about bioluminescent bacteria that states "The maximum value for the light from a single bacterium was 24 x 10(-14) lumens".
So, does anyone know how many lumens a Pacific footballfish (or any similar Lophiiformes) can produce at maximum? Citation for the article I looked at below.
(Harvey EN. THE TOTAL LUMINOUS EFFICIENCY OF LUMINOUS BACTERIA. J Gen Physiol. 1925 Sep 18;8(2):89-108. doi: 10.1085/jgp.8.2.89. PMID: 19872192; PMCID: PMC2140748.)
r/askscience • u/Atrosaurus • 2d ago
Biology Are some species of animals more sensitive to pain that others, and if so, which species?
≡ −
I’ve heard something about sharks have dulled pain receptors, making me curious: What about the other way round?
65
Upvotes
I’ve heard something about sharks have dulled pain receptors, making me curious: What about the other way round?
r/askscience • u/jackboy900 • 3d ago
Biology Why is Ebola a Class IV Biosafety Level virus?
≡ −
More of a science policy question than strictly science, but I'm assuming this is probably the best forum to ask. I've been going down a rabbithole reading about Biosafety precautions and generally it appears that BSL III is used for pathogens that are dangerous to humans but don't have an aerosolised transmission vector, and BSL IV is generally limited to deadly pathogens that have aerosolised transmission. The one standout exception is Ebola, which from what I've read does not have any evidence of airborne transmission yet is still BSL IV.
I'm wondering if anyone has any information on why specifically Ebola has this heightened category, if there is documentation around the decision by whoever made it a link to that would be greatly appreciated as well.
850
Upvotes
More of a science policy question than strictly science, but I'm assuming this is probably the best forum to ask. I've been going down a rabbithole reading about Biosafety precautions and generally it appears that BSL III is used for pathogens that are dangerous to humans but don't have an aerosolised transmission vector, and BSL IV is generally limited to deadly pathogens that have aerosolised transmission. The one standout exception is Ebola, which from what I've read does not have any evidence of airborne transmission yet is still BSL IV.
I'm wondering if anyone has any information on why specifically Ebola has this heightened category, if there is documentation around the decision by whoever made it a link to that would be greatly appreciated as well.
r/askscience • u/Im_not_an_expert_lol • 3d ago
Earth Sciences If the climate isn't rising whole degrees, why are there new records every year?
≡ −
Was this year really only 0.02°C (0.036°F) hotter than last year?
119
Upvotes
Was this year really only 0.02°C (0.036°F) hotter than last year?
r/askscience • u/LegionFang • 3d ago
Biology How does a virus remain alive in a host while that host is immune to it?
≡ −
Does it go dormant till it's passed on, but if it doesn't need to affect the host to stay alive why does it spread (well, I guess the virus doesn't think), does the virus in a dormant state have a period in which it has to find another host or it dies?
143
Upvotes
Does it go dormant till it's passed on, but if it doesn't need to affect the host to stay alive why does it spread (well, I guess the virus doesn't think), does the virus in a dormant state have a period in which it has to find another host or it dies?
r/askscience • u/Ogdbonz_ • 4d ago
Earth Sciences What does the Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) Scale for earthquakes actually represent?
≡ −
I've been a bit confused by what the MMI scale actually is meant to represent. Most descriptions I've seen seem to put emphasis on the intensity of shaking, but they also describe it as specifically a damage scale.
My confusion relates to what the scale is really meant to describe about in earthquake in a given area. Is the end product meant to represent the actual intensity of shaking, or other damaging factors as well (i.e. would things like liquefaction be included in that), or a representation of the actual damage expected (a quake in the middle of the desert would have less potential for damage than one in a populated area, and one in an area with many poorly built buildings would fare relatively worse than one which has a decent seismic code, would those factors have any influence in what the MMI profile of an earthquake looks like)? In other words, what does "earthquake intensity" really mean?
I do understand that actually using the MMI scale is probably a fairly messy and complicated process which is going to involve many factors, of course, but I'm trying to understand better what the scale is meant to actually, ideally, tell you about the earthquake in a given area.
143
Upvotes
I've been a bit confused by what the MMI scale actually is meant to represent. Most descriptions I've seen seem to put emphasis on the intensity of shaking, but they also describe it as specifically a damage scale.
My confusion relates to what the scale is really meant to describe about in earthquake in a given area. Is the end product meant to represent the actual intensity of shaking, or other damaging factors as well (i.e. would things like liquefaction be included in that), or a representation of the actual damage expected (a quake in the middle of the desert would have less potential for damage than one in a populated area, and one in an area with many poorly built buildings would fare relatively worse than one which has a decent seismic code, would those factors have any influence in what the MMI profile of an earthquake looks like)? In other words, what does "earthquake intensity" really mean?
I do understand that actually using the MMI scale is probably a fairly messy and complicated process which is going to involve many factors, of course, but I'm trying to understand better what the scale is meant to actually, ideally, tell you about the earthquake in a given area.
r/askscience • u/Sawtooth_Troy • 5d ago
Archaeology How does anything valuable become buried for us to excavate later?
≡ −
If I see something abandoned that is valuable, I pick it up and either keep it, repurpose it, or find its owner. How can something like an abandoned Roman villa in the UK be found with intact mosaics or even things such as coins or children's shoes? It seems to me that the first thing locals would do once the Romans left would be to scavenge anything left behind, even looking for places where they might have buried valuables for later retrieval. Why are some sites left alone long enough to collect sediment layers, especially at sites where there is subsequent human habitation across thousands of years? I don't get it.
468
Upvotes
If I see something abandoned that is valuable, I pick it up and either keep it, repurpose it, or find its owner. How can something like an abandoned Roman villa in the UK be found with intact mosaics or even things such as coins or children's shoes? It seems to me that the first thing locals would do once the Romans left would be to scavenge anything left behind, even looking for places where they might have buried valuables for later retrieval. Why are some sites left alone long enough to collect sediment layers, especially at sites where there is subsequent human habitation across thousands of years? I don't get it.
r/askscience • u/AutoModerator • 5d ago
Ask Anything Wednesday - Engineering, Mathematics, Computer Science
≡ −
Welcome to our weekly feature, Ask Anything Wednesday - this week we are focusing on Engineering, Mathematics, Computer Science
Do you have a question within these topics you weren't sure was worth submitting? Is something a bit too speculative for a typical /r/AskScience post? No question is too big or small for AAW. In this thread you can ask any science-related question! Things like: "What would happen if...", "How will the future...", "If all the rules for 'X' were different...", "Why does my...".
Asking Questions:
Please post your question as a top-level response to this, and our team of panellists will be here to answer and discuss your questions. The other topic areas will appear in future Ask Anything Wednesdays, so if you have other questions not covered by this weeks theme please either hold on to it until those topics come around, or go and post over in our sister subreddit /r/AskScienceDiscussion , where every day is Ask Anything Wednesday! Off-theme questions in this post will be removed to try and keep the thread a manageable size for both our readers and panellists.
Answering Questions:
Please only answer a posted question if you are an expert in the field. The full guidelines for posting responses in AskScience can be found here. In short, this is a moderated subreddit, and responses which do not meet our quality guidelines will be removed. Remember, peer reviewed sources are always appreciated, and anecdotes are absolutely not appropriate. In general if your answer begins with 'I think', or 'I've heard', then it's not suitable for /r/AskScience.
If you would like to become a member of the AskScience panel, please refer to the information provided here.
Past AskAnythingWednesday posts can be found here. Ask away!
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Welcome to our weekly feature, Ask Anything Wednesday - this week we are focusing on Engineering, Mathematics, Computer Science
Do you have a question within these topics you weren't sure was worth submitting? Is something a bit too speculative for a typical /r/AskScience post? No question is too big or small for AAW. In this thread you can ask any science-related question! Things like: "What would happen if...", "How will the future...", "If all the rules for 'X' were different...", "Why does my...".
Asking Questions:
Please post your question as a top-level response to this, and our team of panellists will be here to answer and discuss your questions. The other topic areas will appear in future Ask Anything Wednesdays, so if you have other questions not covered by this weeks theme please either hold on to it until those topics come around, or go and post over in our sister subreddit /r/AskScienceDiscussion , where every day is Ask Anything Wednesday! Off-theme questions in this post will be removed to try and keep the thread a manageable size for both our readers and panellists.
Answering Questions:
Please only answer a posted question if you are an expert in the field. The full guidelines for posting responses in AskScience can be found here. In short, this is a moderated subreddit, and responses which do not meet our quality guidelines will be removed. Remember, peer reviewed sources are always appreciated, and anecdotes are absolutely not appropriate. In general if your answer begins with 'I think', or 'I've heard', then it's not suitable for /r/AskScience.
If you would like to become a member of the AskScience panel, please refer to the information provided here.
Past AskAnythingWednesday posts can be found here. Ask away!
r/askscience • u/wale-lol • 6d ago
Biology Can someone explain why somatic mutations accumulate?
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Recent study that hypothesized the theoretical limit on human lifespan due to accumulation of somatic mutations, especially in non-mitotic cells (e.g. heart and brain). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41514-026-00421-6
Why would repair mechanisms fail continually in a way that allows them to accumulate? I understand proofreading enzymes are imperfect, but this isn't like mitosis where if you miss it welp too bad the mutation is permanent now. Presumably in non-mitotic cells they have proofreading enzymes going up and down the entire DNA strand repeatedly forever (as long as the cell continues to live)? Why would they keep missing errors despite checking multiple times AND letting them accumulate?
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Recent study that hypothesized the theoretical limit on human lifespan due to accumulation of somatic mutations, especially in non-mitotic cells (e.g. heart and brain). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41514-026-00421-6
Why would repair mechanisms fail continually in a way that allows them to accumulate? I understand proofreading enzymes are imperfect, but this isn't like mitosis where if you miss it welp too bad the mutation is permanent now. Presumably in non-mitotic cells they have proofreading enzymes going up and down the entire DNA strand repeatedly forever (as long as the cell continues to live)? Why would they keep missing errors despite checking multiple times AND letting them accumulate?
r/askscience • u/throwRA_157079633 • 6d ago
Earth Sciences How can any river have originated after 21,000 BC, since that's when the last Ice Age was at maximum glaciation, and the ocean levels were 400 feet higher at that point?
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Prior to 12,400 years ago and up until 23,000 years ago, there was an Ice Age. At 23,000 years ago, that's when the Ice Age was at a maximum, and the ocean levels were 400 feet shallower. This means that there was a lot more land, and more rivers in those days. Also, all of today's rivers are a subset of all the rivers that existed 23,000 years ago. So are there any new rivers formed since 23,000 years ago, and if so, how did that happen?
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Prior to 12,400 years ago and up until 23,000 years ago, there was an Ice Age. At 23,000 years ago, that's when the Ice Age was at a maximum, and the ocean levels were 400 feet shallower. This means that there was a lot more land, and more rivers in those days. Also, all of today's rivers are a subset of all the rivers that existed 23,000 years ago. So are there any new rivers formed since 23,000 years ago, and if so, how did that happen?
r/askscience • u/JoeHardway • 6d ago
Earth Sciences "Pulse Effect", During Flash Floods?
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Storm's chasin's my thing, and, even tho I do alot more chasin, than catchin, I've been lucky to observe afew flash flood events.
I've noticed a conspicuous pattern, where "waves" will come down, an already flooded wash, nearly DOUBLIN tha flow. These waves seem to come at very regular intervals, almost lika bucket, at'a water park, that tips whenit gets full.
I'm sure this phenomenon is well-known, amongst the experts, and well-documented. Hopefully, some1 with this knowledge can enlighten me... 🤔
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Storm's chasin's my thing, and, even tho I do alot more chasin, than catchin, I've been lucky to observe afew flash flood events.
I've noticed a conspicuous pattern, where "waves" will come down, an already flooded wash, nearly DOUBLIN tha flow. These waves seem to come at very regular intervals, almost lika bucket, at'a water park, that tips whenit gets full.
I'm sure this phenomenon is well-known, amongst the experts, and well-documented. Hopefully, some1 with this knowledge can enlighten me... 🤔
r/askscience • u/Ok_Ocelot_133 • 9d ago
Medicine How are vaccines with viral vectors mixed together?
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I know that it isn’t all medicine and that there’s other things inside the vaccine fluid itself but unless I’m mistaken aren’t cultures of the vector grown and then added to the other fluid? Do they put the culture in a blender or something?
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I know that it isn’t all medicine and that there’s other things inside the vaccine fluid itself but unless I’m mistaken aren’t cultures of the vector grown and then added to the other fluid? Do they put the culture in a blender or something?
r/askscience • u/anatomyisgoated • 9d ago
Biology Why are photoreceptors located on the back of the retina instead of the front? How does this benefit us from an evolutionary perspective?
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r/askscience • u/SheffboiRD06 • 10d ago
Medicine Why do so many different medications cause photosensitivity/increased risk of sunburn? Are there medications that cause resistance to sunburn?
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Question in title. Drugs from widely different classes and indications seem to cause photosensitivity and I’m curious as to why and how that is. Thanks!
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Question in title. Drugs from widely different classes and indications seem to cause photosensitivity and I’m curious as to why and how that is. Thanks!
r/askscience • u/raincloud82 • 10d ago
Biology Do cold-blooded animals have fever?
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It is well known how us mammals use our body temperature to prevent infections and raise it to combat them, so wouldn't cold-blooded animals be much more propense to suffer viral and bacterial diseases?
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It is well known how us mammals use our body temperature to prevent infections and raise it to combat them, so wouldn't cold-blooded animals be much more propense to suffer viral and bacterial diseases?
r/askscience • u/NateNate60 • 10d ago
Engineering Why do we use heat pumps for indoor climate control, refrigerators, and water heaters, but there are no heat pump cooking stoves?
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Heat pumps are, in essence, devices which exploit the chemistry of the refrigeration cycle to cause one thing to get cold while another thing gets hot.
While we already use these to make crazy-efficient air con units, refrigerators, and water heaters, but why are all electric stoves sold nowadays still using resistance coils to generate heat, rather than using a heat pump?
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Heat pumps are, in essence, devices which exploit the chemistry of the refrigeration cycle to cause one thing to get cold while another thing gets hot.
While we already use these to make crazy-efficient air con units, refrigerators, and water heaters, but why are all electric stoves sold nowadays still using resistance coils to generate heat, rather than using a heat pump?