I just need a clarification.  If I am to talk about the physiological function of the CFTR gene product? Then what should I do research and talk about?  The only physiological function that I can think of is the control of the thickness of mucus.  Is there any other ones?  On top of that, if i am to search for research paper for this topic. Do I just search for comparative study that compare the gene product in normal individuals and CF individuals in terms of mucus thickness?  Thanks
122528
I am a senior in high school and I am studying cystic fibrosis.   I don't quite get the function of the CFTR gene as this is my first time dealing with this type of heavy scientific  info.  I had searched up its function on a website like this:    By reading the gene functions section, I learned that CFTR regulate the formation of a chloride channel, changes the regulation of other transport pathways (i.e increase sodium ion absorption in sodium ion absortion). At the same time it also regulate the chloride-coupled bicarbonate receptor. And that is about all I got from that section.    I would greatly appreciate if someone can summarize all the functions of the CFTR gene listed in layman terms (i.e grandma language)  and also explain to me why decreased  chloride channel leads to thicken mucus or increase sodium ion absorption leads to CF Symptoms. In addition I would also appreciate it if someone can tell me does decreased CFTR gene function also lead to other diseases on top of Cystic fibrosis.  Thanks
30303
This came up in a talk with a friend. I wanted to clear this doubt. I've read about it before and did again after her remark (my thoughts didn't change: her concept is Lamarck's, not Darwin's), but wanted to clarify.  Regarding Evolution, nothing, absolutely nothing, that a person does to herself in life can be genetically inherited. It does not matter how much this person drinks, the changes they do to their body,  how dark their skin gets over life etc. Such changes can not be transmitted to their offspring in any way, correct?  *Summary:*Is the assertion "You can not change in life what will be genetically inherited in any possible way" true?
13577
It is commonly told that, hydrophobic/ lipophilic/ nonpolar molecules can quite easily pass phospholipid bilayer, and hydrophilic (polar or ionic) molecules can't pass (when no protein aid that); because hydrophobic nature of the lipid.  But in the same logic, hydrophobic molecules shouldn't pass through the bilayer. Because there are 2 hydrophilic layers in the membrane. i.e.      A and A' .  Then how the hydrophobic molecules can pass through A and A'?   I guess, it is due to thin diameter of A and A' . Is that?
77904
I am aware of the basics of evolutionary theory, however I don't understand how mutations can add genes over time.   Am I correct in thinking that creatures within the same species who mutate to have an additional gene in their genome would normally be infertile?  Or am I misunderstanding that?  Can someone explain the process of the creation of genetic material through evolution?  Citation to a decent academic paper or book on the matter would be appreciated too.
118973
Let's get technical here. Have you ever seen Pikachu excrete? What about Charizard? Or Greninja? No! Well, I don't think anyone has. Is that a sign of them not being actual animals? Let's recall the seven vital characteristics for life: .    Movement Respiratory Sensitivity Growth Reproduction Excretion Nutrition   We've seen Pikachu move (obviously), breathe, touch, and eat.  Does Pikachu grow? Does he excrete?  I am missing one thing out here: reproduction. But we all know Pokémon reproduce, if not by normal means.   Throughout the series, we haven't seen Pikachu grow at all, or other Pokémon. Does evolving count?  We've never seen a Pokémon excrete.   Therefore, can we say they are animals?  Let me make it clear that this is only out of interest, and I have not gone basukas!
104393
Can I put the name of my baby as one of the co-authors of a scientific paper?  I know it sounds disturbing, but it's a way of mine to protest against co-authors that haven't made any contribution (they haven't even read it or are part of the research area) to a paper, but they are part of the research group.  What are the legal / ethic concerns?  So technically I was writing the paper with my baby in my hand and the baby was talking with me in its own language. The baby even wrote a few characters in the paper when it managed to get near the keyboard while I was holding it.
102015
Is Stack Overflow talking about their period? I sure don't want to share it with people.  See for yourself:        Appears below questions without answers on the main site.
83068
I was using this spray meant to hasten recovery from the common cold. , sponsored by the pharmaceutical company that produces the spray, stated it reduced virus by 92%, and so shortens the duration of the common cold.  Meanwhile a doctor told me that these kinds of things don't work.  Does someone have some perspective on this? Is this a believable study? Was it well designed, and has it been duplicated?   If so, why wouldn't the pharmaceutical produced a certified and expensive drug instead of a no-prescription drug?
49566
Please forgive my ignorance on the topic and I hope this is a "on topic" question here. It was a toss up between this SE and Physical Fitness SE but I want a more scientific answer.    I came at a impasse in a conversation with another fitness enthusiast. They stated that if you are targeting your water intake during the day then drinks with a diuretic effect (tea/coffee) count negatively towards that water intake total.  So, is it true that one should over-compensate if drinking these diuretics? Or does the water content of drinks like coffee and tea balance out or even positively hydrate you?
73494
Given that the mechanism of natural selection is sensitive, how do species survive in an evolutionary midway? The ability to breath in air requires complex protein systems. An animal that is developing these organs would not be able to utilize its function until it fully evolves. While it doesn't, wouldn't the wasted resources used in growing half-developed lungs be.. wasted? Or is all evolution continuous?
120007
I have a medical research in which I have two sets of data    Control group: People who have no ailment. Study group: People who have some particular ailment.   Within each category there are subgroups like age, gender, blood pressure ranges, cholesterol ranges, etc.  Now I got a few observations (around 50) for both control group and study group. I have observation of various parameter like blood pressure, cholesterol level etc. I want to prove statistical significance of these parameter (Blood pressure/cholesterol) in study group. What is the best way to do it? Should i use $t$ distribution or normal distribution?  Also when I calculate the $p$-value, should I compare each subgroup in study group (based on range) with corresponding subgroup in control group or calculate $p$-value as a whole for study vs control group?
35342
I have question on the methods of performing meta analysis. I have data that consists of multiple Randomized Control Trials (RCT) with different dose levels and observational studies with different dose level as well.  The responses are brain pressure measured as continuous random variable.  So my understanding is that I have to perform meta analysis on the studies that share same level of treatment (same dose) and I can include both RCT and observational studies in that treatment level analysis.  Is there any thing I can do as a whole study? What kind of answer should I provide to my client?
57595
Im an engineer by education and i program a lot, so the question sounds weird to people from other disciplines.  Im trying to better understand the human biological clock. Yet i do not really know what it is. I read about clock genes, endogenous cycles, and other observed phenomena that is time sensitive or cyclical in nature. But is there a centralized model of what the circadian rhythm is or how itis exhibited within the human body?   For example an electrical clock can be modelled with feedback loops or electrical flip flops that control the timing. Ive seen the heart modelled as Van Der Pol oscillator.  Does modern science have some notion of how the "master" clock within the human body work? Is there a feedback or an oscillator model of the master clock?  Thank you for any articles or keywords that ican use to research this question!
49921
How do mRNA vaccines work? To my intuitive understanding, for an mRNA vaccine to work, the mRNAs injected into the patient need to first enter a cell and get translated into proteins. Those proteins must then somehow exit the cell so that they can be seen by T cells. An mRNA vaccine hence appears considerably more complex than a traditional/protein vaccine. I envision these three steps as critical  mRNAs get in cells mRNAs get translated proteins exit cells  Am I right to think that such vaccine must go through these steps (or is there some other way around)? I failed to find anywhere explanations about these three steps? Could you give some explanations what exactly we inject to ensure these three steps will happen? What are the advantages of mRNA vaccines over traditional vaccines? I was thinking of potential advantage of such a complex vaccine and thought that maybe it has the advantage of inputting proteins into the bloodstream at a rate (rate that decreases over time with the half-life of the mRNA) while a traditional/protein vaccine makes a single large input of protein into the bloodstream. I am thinking, that might reduce risks of strong inflammation caused by the vaccine. Would it be true? I read from   RNA vaccines can be produced faster, more cheaply, and in a more standardized fashion (with fewer error rates in production), which can improve responsiveness to serious outbreaks.  Can you please explain why this is true?
10120
Lots of useful information for human beings, especially in academia. But, what is actually underlying the TeX engine? How does it really work? Does it parse everything and just put the stuff together? Or any special spec info?! Or even any good resources for further reading? How is it possible to write some modules and how to develop something more for the community?
53689
I'm an undergraduate statistics student looking for a good treatment of clinical trials analysis. The text should cover the fundamentals of experimental design, blocking, power analysis, latin squares design, and cluster randomization designs, among other topics.   I have an undergraduate knowledge of mathematical statistics and real analysis, but if there's a fantastic text that requires a bit higher level of statistics or analysis, I can work up to it.
45718
In this figure out of the two heteroduplexes formed one is considered to be non-recombinant product(left) and the other recombinant product(right). My question is despite the exchange of middle DNA segment why is the right heteroduplex considered a non-recombinant product or patch. I've been reading two books:    By Nancy Lynn Craig, Rachel Green, Orna Cohen-Fix, Carol Greider, Gisela Storz, Cynthia   By Burton E. Tropp   both had the same illustration and descrpition.