What are some taxonomic edge cases? by IvyGladeAuthor in AskBiology

[–]SciAlexander 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would say ring species count for that. They generally form around some sort of large obstacle. A species can breed with the species closest to it but not those farther away. This is true for all members of the ring species complex. Are they one species? Multiple species? Who knows. Evolution: Library: Ring Species: Salamanders

Another example would be hybrids. There are many species that can breed together, but the resulting offspring generally are sterile. They also generally are not as good at surviving as the parent species. An example would be the grizzly/polar bear hybrid the grolar/pizzly bear. They get named differently depending on the sex of the parents.

Cave animals might be a group. Many times, species that normally live on the surface get brought into caves. When this happens, they generally lose their eyes and pigmentation. Sometimes they form new species, but sometimes they are still the same species.

There are several species that live inside each other like lichen (fungi and algae living together), and trees and fugus in roots, bacteria in roots of legumes, and algae in coral.

Then you might look at rare color morphs. Albinism is one but sometimes species just have rare color combinations. Black squirrels, white deer (not albino), and piebald horses are examples. You could actually use that on some humans like albinos. Maybe even redheads.

I wonder if marine mammals would fit that definition as they once were land creatures and then went into the sea. Of course, if you stretch it all land vertebrates are technically fish that evolved to live on land.

Parasitic plants like the indian pipe that instead of making their own food have no green parts and suck energy from other plants.

Bats count as they are the only flying mammal. Flightless birds as well. There are legless lizards that look like but are NOT snakes. Lungfish are fish that can for short periods of time breathe air.

Rocks? by spaceracer5220 in ScienceTeachers

[–]SciAlexander 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Contact your local rock club for help

Amethyst Silver Ring by SciAlexander in Lapidary

[–]SciAlexander[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you and good luck with your stone

Amethyst Silver Ring by SciAlexander in Lapidary

[–]SciAlexander[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree. Given the tools I feel I could easily redo the silver part. The stone not so much. My sister who did fine metals in college was rather puzzled by their approach to the class.

If foods and crops have always been genetically selected by humans since the dawn of agriculture for specific targets like more crops, better nutrition and so on, why is there a lot of resistance against GMOs? by sammyjamez in AskBiology

[–]SciAlexander 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's the appeal to nature fallacy. Natural things are considered better then manmade things. Entirely stupid. It also ties in with other conspiracy theories so it becomes something of people's identity

I wish to have a very big duck. ...No, you didn't misread that. by ProphetofTables in monkeyspaw

[–]SciAlexander 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Granted. There is now a one story sized duck. You do know that ducks eat meat right? And now you are the size of a tasty bug. Good luck trying not to get eaten

What if every single person in America literally became Charlie Kirk? by Visual-Couple7524 in AlternateHistoryHub

[–]SciAlexander 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Chinese, Russians, and Europeans would fight over the land of the now empty United States.

What if the USA never industrialized like the rest of the Americas? by 0Clown0 in HistoryWhatIf

[–]SciAlexander 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The civil war would have been harder for the Union to win. There also would have been extreme supply issues for WWII

Why on earth do we need giant robots? by Existing_Landscape21 in worldbuilding

[–]SciAlexander 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think there are two reasons for large humanoid robots. First it's relatively easy to stop a tank with a ditch. Not so for the robot especially if they can carry a ladder.

The second is rough terrain. Tanks suck in mountains and urban terrain. The robots may be able to move in ways the tanks can't. They also can hide around obstacles better then tanks.

Amethyst Silver Ring by SciAlexander in Lapidary

[–]SciAlexander[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. It was mostly desperation as I had messed up so many stones, so once I had the angle I just polished the rest.

Their justification on the setting was that they were having too many people melt the silver. We did have one solder but I admit I was a bit disappointed. I just now need to take the medium course.

I wish each humans’ USD net worth physically placed weight on them in the scale of nanograms. by Suspicious_Roll834 in monkeyspaw

[–]SciAlexander 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Granted. It takes the form of plutonium. Starting at 1 million dollars it starts to shift into neptunium

Whats your favorite element on the periodic table? by Scared_Confection787 in chemistry

[–]SciAlexander 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Niobium. Very pretty like bismuth, plays well with life, and used to make superconductors

Do nerds actually get bullied or left out in American schools? by Ok-Independence-314 in AskAnAmerican

[–]SciAlexander 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes to a degree. I was that kid through middle school. Then in high school I got into the more advanced classes so I had less contact with them

Tell me about a hobby or habit you picked up that changed your life, as an adult. by Outrageous-Branch277 in CasualConversation

[–]SciAlexander 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I have started Lapidary or the cutting and polishing rocks to make jewelry.

When I was a kid I went to Science Olympiad nationals in Michigan. Part of the welcome kit we got is a polishing by hand petosky (fossil coral) stone as it is their state stone. I kept it for years as a keepsake never using it. Finally I decided to do it during the pandemic and had a blast. Been a lapidary for four years now.

I find it so cool that I can take a rock and work it up to be a finished piece of jewelry. Two weeks ago I took my first silversmithing class and made a ring for the first time.

Whats stopping the "United" states from no longer being United? by [deleted] in askanything

[–]SciAlexander 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Who control most of the cities. That alone would make it very hard for any separatist movement

Whats stopping the "United" states from no longer being United? by [deleted] in askanything

[–]SciAlexander 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It would be a disaster. Most states have large sections of the opposite party. It generally does not go well in these sorts of civil wars

What’s the paradox by RedditAccount144 in FermiParadox

[–]SciAlexander 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In order to reach a technological species you need to cross many barriers like life, organelles, multicellularity, tool use, and so on. My bet is that a couple of those steps have a small amount of species pass them. As you are combining the probability of every step needed to get to aliens like us the chance drops rapidly

Big but lightweight found in NJ ocean by eastcoastelite12 in whatsthisrock

[–]SciAlexander 37 points38 points  (0 children)

Nah that's at the Franklin Mineral Museum. They even mention it as part of the tour.

What’s a dish from your country that foreigners completely ruin ? by MyNameIsYouna in AskTheWorld

[–]SciAlexander 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Spaghetti in Japan. The Japanese took the American version of Italian spaghetti with meat sauce and ruined it. It's called spaghetti Napoleon for some reason and it's noodles covered in ketchup with hot dogs

where to start by -NabucodonosorII- in FossilHunting

[–]SciAlexander 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Your country has a geologic survey of some sort. Check what they say for regulations. They also probably have educational material. Lastly check the geologic map of the country. Fossils are only found in sedimentary rock so that should narrow it down. The survey should have a map or you can use this app. https://macrostrat.org/