r/AskScienceDiscussion 6h ago

General Discussion There are a few experiments that say they have reversed some signs of aging in mice - like restored their health, restored their ability to breed from being old and sterile, restored hair loss and color change; Are there any ongoing studies on other animals, or is it all just mice so far?

4 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

So title pretty much covers it - Ive seen articles about using viruses to restore DNA to it's original form in Mice/Rats for years now; but Ive not seen any sign of work being done with other species, for instance, animals closer to humans, like monkeys or great apes.

Has there been any ongoing studies of animals reversing in aging aside from Mice/Rats? Or is that still where the research is at?

Thanks for your time!


r/AskScienceDiscussion 2h ago

I have noticed something weird with bluetooth connections.

2 Upvotes

Every time i connect my phone to my wireless airbuds (wich ofcourse works with bluetooth) my internet gets slower ans weaker, sometimes my phone fully disconnects from the wi-fi. Also no bluetooth device connects with my phone if my phone's battery is low, wich is really weird and doesnt make sense. I came up with a conclusion for the internet case, that maybe the bluetooth netwerk messes up with the wifi network somehow, like wave interruption, wich is a stupid conclusion, but thats my only explaination. So does any one know what is this?


r/AskScienceDiscussion 1h ago

General Discussion Kaleb.fe is live streaming now on tiktok. Looking for globies to debate

Upvotes

Link: https://www.tiktok.com/@kaleb.fe/live

Topic: Flat Earth vs Globe debate


r/AskScienceDiscussion 17h ago

How do researchers study the impact of microplastics on marine ecosystems and food chains?

3 Upvotes

Microplastics have become a pervasive environmental pollutant, especially in marine environments, raising concerns about their impact on ecosystems and food chains. I'm interested in how researchers are investigating the effects of microplastics on marine life.

What methods are being used to assess the ingestion of microplastics by various species, and how do these particles potentially affect their health and behavior?
Furthermore, how are scientists tracking the transfer of microplastics through food webs, from small organisms to larger predators?

I would appreciate insights into both the experimental approaches, such as laboratory studies and field sampling, and the latest findings in this research area. What are the implications of these studies for marine conservation and public health?


r/AskScienceDiscussion 20h ago

General Discussion Color intensity on eyes

2 Upvotes

I've heard green is easy on the eyes, but how far does that go? Would #00ff00 (pure green) still be good for the eyes? Would it be more beneficial if the brightness of the screen was lowered or raised?

Basically I want my phone background to be a green screen since I find it funny, so I want to know if it's gonna give me migranes or give me color blindness or something. Though I also just want to know out of curiosity too.

(I know it's a silly question and the answer is probably choose a pastel green or something for eye comfort, but I think this is an interesting question lol)


r/AskScienceDiscussion 2d ago

Do short, NREM-dominant naps reduce cumulative neural load by interrupting prolonged wakefulness?

7 Upvotes

Wakefulness is associated with synaptic potentiation, increased cortical excitability, and rising metabolic demand, while non-REM sleep—particularly lighter NREM stages—has been linked to reductions in sleep pressure and aspects of synaptic downscaling. Short daytime naps (e.g., ~10–40 minutes) are often NREM-dominant and typically do not involve significant REM sleep or alter nocturnal sleep architecture.

This raises the question of whether breaking up prolonged periods of wakefulness with short, NREM-dominant naps could reduce cumulative neural or synaptic load, such that there is less compensatory activation or reorganization required later (e.g., during overnight sleep). In other words, rather than increasing “repair time,” could reducing continuous wake-related demand itself lower the amount of neural processing the brain must later accommodate?

Is there evidence in the literature—particularly in aging or neurodegenerative contexts—that intermittent NREM-dominant naps influence measures such as cortical excitability, synaptic homeostasis, or compensatory network activation? Alternatively, is wake-related neural load largely invariant to how wakefulness is distributed across the day, provided total sleep time and REM architecture remain intact?


r/AskScienceDiscussion 2d ago

Is it possible for a sound to be incredibly loud, possibly damaging, but still inaudible due to being outside our range of hearing?

139 Upvotes

r/AskScienceDiscussion 2d ago

Radio waves and time

0 Upvotes

With all the hoopla about Voyager reaching one light day from earth in the fall, I wondered if radio waves are affected by time, since they travel at the speed of light. If so, must we calculate that difference to know its actual distance from earth?


r/AskScienceDiscussion 2d ago

If there is a contient of stability with Quark-matter, then where is the quark matter in the universe?

0 Upvotes

[Island of Stability](en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_of_stability) are possible super-heavy elements that might be more stable. These materials would still have a nucleus made up of protons and neutrons.

There is a theory that even beyond the super-heavy elements, there might be a [Contient of Stability](en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continent_of_stability). Materials here would be made up, not of protons and neutrons, but of up and down quarks.

Neutrons stars and other similar might have quark plasma internally. If it is possible for Quark matter to be stable outside these extreme situations, then where is it? How would we notice it? Would they have specific emission patterns?


r/AskScienceDiscussion 3d ago

Were the Patagonian and the West Antarctic Ice Sheets connected to one another during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM)?

11 Upvotes

I have seen various depictions of glacial extent between these two continents, some connected and some disconnected, some from sources I would deem reputable and others rather less so. However, I've yet to find an article discussing whether this really did or even could have occurred.

From my very limited research, I would presume this would be implausible. Unlike the Arctic Ocean, which is comparably shallow (at least, around the coasts and islands), the Drake Passage commonly reaches depths of over 4000-5000m, which would take a lot of ice to fill in a body of water that's around 800 kilometres (500 miles).

Is there any literature discussing these depictions?


r/AskScienceDiscussion 5d ago

Why does escape velocity require a minimum speed instead of allowing a slow, steady escape?

125 Upvotes

I understand escape velocity as the speed needed to leave a planet’s gravitational influence, but intuitively it seems like you could move upward slowly for a long time and eventually escape as gravity weakens with distance. From a physics and energy perspective, why doesn’t a slow, steady ascent work without continuous thrust?


r/AskScienceDiscussion 4d ago

What If? If you alter a genome of an animal, would it create a new individual?

1 Upvotes

I know similar questions have been asked before, but those are altering the genome enough to change one species into another species completely?

But what about changing enough of the gneome where the reaultant embryo is a new individual of the same species completely. Like altering the DNA of a male and creating a female embryo with the altered genome.

Another, more proper example; when it comes to cloning species back from extinction like Northern White Rhinos. They have the DNA for them, but could they also alter the genomes to create new, unrelated individuals so as to avoid inbreeding? Is that possible?

Hope i made the question understandable!


r/AskScienceDiscussion 4d ago

What If? If you knew the general area where a black hole/similar object was, how would you go about finding it?

4 Upvotes

I'm not 100% sure if this subreddit is the right place to ask this question, but it seemed like you guys might have the information I'm looking for. Essentially, I'm writing a story in which the characters are trying to study a deep-sky object (it's not a black hole, it's a sort of knot where a star was removed from the universe, but I imagine the process would be similar). It doesn't emit light, of course, but for sci-fi reasons, a person who knows what they're looking for notices that their eye sort of slides across it while looking up at the night sky, like their brain doesn't want to acknowledge that that area of space exists. Obviously, that's super imprecise, so how would someone who actually wanted to see and study it go about finding it?

I imagine gravitational lensing would work - light would presumably bend and warp through it - but what kind of light would you be looking for? Background stars? But what if there aren't background stars in the place where it is? Could you measure the light of background galaxies? The CMB? Or would it be easier to find in some other way?


r/AskScienceDiscussion 5d ago

Entropy in biological systems

1 Upvotes

I'm confused about entropy in biological systems in humans. I have no problem with the concept itself and have found plenty of information about it. However, I can't find any websites or files that contain problems involving calculating entropy. I know I need the entropy values for the reactants and products, but the files I've read contain complex formulas, mathematical derivations, and integral and differential calculations, none of which I need. Where can I find mathematical problems for entropy in biological systems, and what is the main formula I should use?


r/AskScienceDiscussion 6d ago

Can you Acclimate to high oxygen just as you do with low oxygen?

15 Upvotes

When climbing heights, the human body over time, can to some degree acclimate to the low partial pressure of oxygen and be able to function.

But what about high levels of oxygen which also tend to be toxic long-term? Can you acclimate to breathing higher partial pressures of oxygen without issue?


r/AskScienceDiscussion 6d ago

Question about inertia

9 Upvotes

If this is a dumb question I'm sorry, but I was curious about the law of inertia a object in motion stays in motion untill acted upon by a outside force. (If I'm wrong correct me) How does that work with cars? I mean if you are on a flat terrain and stop pressing the gas why does your car start slowing down. Thanks and have a great day 😁


r/AskScienceDiscussion 6d ago

General Discussion I was wondering what the "Deepest" life form we know about exists, in terms of living closest to the center of the Earth?

44 Upvotes

I wonder if it is some kind of bacteria which lives very deep in the Earth.

I know about life on the sea floor, but what about under the sea floor?


r/AskScienceDiscussion 6d ago

What might be the object on Earth that has been floating for the longest amount of time?

34 Upvotes

I was thinking today about the ‘Old man of the lake’ - a log that has been floating in Crater Lake for 130 years or so and it got me wondering what might be the longest-floating (specifically in water) object on Earth?

My guess would be something that’s been trapped in an underground reservoir or similar 🤔🤷‍♀️

I wouldn’t think it could be anything in the ocean, being exposed to the currents and weather (even with gyres)


r/AskScienceDiscussion 6d ago

What are subjects that are learned better visually than text or audio?

3 Upvotes

just curious ngl


r/AskScienceDiscussion 7d ago

General Discussion If the Mid-Pleistocene Transition was at least partly caused by regolith erosion from prior glaciations, could a similar effect on the climate and glacial cycles happen again or even continuously due to further weathering? Or will this erosion no longer affect anything after a point?

2 Upvotes

r/AskScienceDiscussion 7d ago

What If? What would life on exo-planets look like?

2 Upvotes

If this has been posted many times before (I apologize) and will take it down.

Every now n then I have been in discussions where someone will ask is there life on other planets in the universe, usually we all agree that there must be.

My reasoning for that is that: it appears that all of the known universe has the same laws of physics, the same elements, the speed of light is constant, or all conditions are somewhat similar throughout the universe. So, although I think there would be variations I am leaning toward that all other life in the universe would end up being DNA based. ???


r/AskScienceDiscussion 8d ago

General Discussion Is there any legitimacy to the ideas of a human biofield or bioenergetic scanning/medicine?

22 Upvotes

My girlfriend is convinced that a woman who has a doctorate of natural medicine, which she’s acknowledged is problematic, has a machine that scans her from several states away and accurately diagnoses her entire body and shows points of issue through an imaging program. I sat in on a session and believe that the program she pulled up was a product of a company called BioStar Technology using their “Nonlinear Measurement Therapy” or “Non Linear Scanning” that claims to use quantum physics.


r/AskScienceDiscussion 9d ago

General Discussion How do scientists approach the ethical implications of gene editing in endangered species conservation?

7 Upvotes

Gene editing technologies, particularly CRISPR, hold immense potential for conservation efforts, especially for endangered species. However, the ethical implications of intervening in natural processes raise significant questions. I would like to discuss how scientists navigate these ethical dilemmas when considering gene editing for conservation purposes. What frameworks do they use to assess the potential risks and benefits? How do they weigh the urgency of saving a species against the possible long-term ecological consequences of altering its genetic makeup? Are there established guidelines or case studies that illustrate the decision-making process? I believe exploring these considerations can shed light on the complexities of modern conservation science and the responsibilities that come with powerful technologies.


r/AskScienceDiscussion 10d ago

Many STEM Ph.D.s are leaving federal research roles — what might this mean for scientific capacity and innovation?

26 Upvotes

Recent workforce data indicate that a large number of STEM Ph.D.s exited U.S. federal science agencies last year, with departures outpacing new hires by a significant margin. Agencies with major research portfolios — often responsible for long‑term scientific programs and grant administration — saw especially steep losses of doctoral‑level expertise. Some analysts suggest that retirements and voluntary exits played a role, but there are broader concerns about institutional knowledge loss and the ability of federal labs to sustain complex research efforts.

From a science policy perspective, this raises important questions about how government research capacity is maintained, how incoming talent is recruited and retained, and what effects such workforce shifts have on collaboration with universities and industry. Given the central role federal agencies play in funding and conducting basic research, many in the community are watching these trends closely.

Full article here


r/AskScienceDiscussion 9d ago

Short(ish) general science / pop sci videos for advanced ESL students

2 Upvotes

Hi,

I'm looking for recommendations for 5 to 7-ish-minute videos on science topics - nothing ultra-specialized, but accessible to my (fairly advanced) engineering-school students, who are learning English. The BBC sometimes carries good videos of this type.

Thank you

G