askscience

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Why is consuming activated charcoal harmless (and, in fact, encouraged for certain digestive issues), yet eating burnt (blackened) food is obviously bad-tasting and discouraged as harmful to one's health?	8772
Are there any internal mechanisms of trees from S. Hemisphere (ex. Australia) that make them go “out of whack” when introduced in the N. Hemisphere?	3
Is it possible and/or observed where a Down's individual on the extreme upper end of their distribution has intelligence equal to the general human average or even above-average?	1
Can you increase the risk of someone getting a heart attack through gradual, “chronic” doses of small jump-scares rather than one single extremely overstimulating scare?	1
What's the science behind getting sick of eating something to the point that one's can potentially reject that food for the rest of one's life?	1
I used to really love eating something and ate it frequently. One day, I suddenly get nauseous and become sick. After I recover, smelling or even imagining the food makes my stomach turn and almost gag, and I am never able to enjoy it again. What is the biological/physiological basis for this?	1
Why are certain pathogens able to be killed off by the human immune system, others can completely overpower the immune system (especially without medical intervention), and yet others can resist the immune system and permanently remain in the body?	1
Two people of near-identical body proportions eat the same type and amount of food. One person noticeably becomes chubbier while the other gains almost no weight -- all because of genetics. What's actually going on?	1
As far as we know, if you're COVID-positive but an asymptomatic carrier, does the disease still hurt you but you just can't "feel" it, or are you completely immune?	1
When food rots, why is it mold, not bacteria, that predominantly overtakes the food (at least visually)?	1

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