askscience

Title	Upvotes	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
Many people seem to instinctively fear spiders, snakes, centipedes, and other 'creepy-crawlies'. Is this fear a survival mechanism hardwired into our DNA like fearing heights and the dark, or does it come from somewhere else?	4200
What have the social sciences taught us about why lower-income-area schools seem to perform poorly despite additional funding and federal/state aid?	1
During the pandemic, health authorities have recommended a number of public health measures to slow the spread of COVID. What does the data say about how effective these measures are if people in a population generally follow them vs. if people in a population generally don't follow them?	1
China appears to be implementing very strict and mandatory mass quarantine + testing in their approach to COVID, a strategy that isn't really politically possible in most democratic and federal states. From a public health standpoint, how well is China's strategy working?	1
I have a free sample of fertilizer supposedly designed for cultivating commercial cannabis plants. Based on its composition (in description), can I also expect this to help out my tropical houseplants and garden-variety vegetables grow bigger and faster? Why or why not?	1
Why has almost every desert plant (at least in American SW) evolved to be prickly, thorned, or serrated, even in cases where the plant itself is not very edible and grazing herbivores are scarce?	1
This mosquito trap I found online says to ferment hay or straw in water to attract mosquitos. I don't have any hay/straw and I'm unfamiliar with both fermentation and mosquito behavior - could someone explain why this would work, and what alternatives I could use instead of hay/straw?	1
Why do my jaw and ears get a lingering throbbing pain when it's cold out, or when I do cardio, or (worst of all) do cardio in the cold? It's weirdly specific and I've always wondered.	1
Can I get my own culture of plastic-eating bacteria? What's stopping me (or anyone else) from keeping their own bacteria for getting rid of their plastic waste?	1
I've been told that one of the reasons smoking is bad for you (besides the damage done to lung cells) is that it increases blood pressure and puts strain on your heart/circulatory system. That makes sense, but wouldn't intense exercise also be bad for you for the same reason?	1

« < > »