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I'm interested in harvesting natural clay for a number of projects and have questions about Southern Indiana and geology resources. [more inside]
posted by Tchad at 1:29 PM - 5 answers

This is the best magnified picture I could get, it's stuck on blue painter's tape. It's between 2 and 3 millimeters long. [more inside]
posted by mareli at 2:11 PM - 6 answers

For my capstone master's project, I'm trying to do something with air pollution and asthma rates/deaths and I'd like to look at some countries outside of the US as well as inside for this, preferably in south, east and southeast Asia. Does anyone know where I can look? (I'll also happily take outside of Asia, it's just that's where I'm hoping to find data.) [more inside]
posted by Hactar at 8:23 AM - 3 answers

And also, are they "good enough" that if a large enough population is given them, that covid will "go away"? I guess on that last one, are any of the vaccines (including the "more effective" other vaccines)? [more inside]
posted by wooh at 6:51 AM - 4 answers

My soon-to-be 9-year old daughter wants to be an astronaut. What are some books about space and/or space travel that I can read aloud at bedtime? [more inside]
posted by nandaro at 7:20 AM - 15 answers

I was never good at astronomy, obviously. But since the moon circles the earth shouldn't it rise and set in the same place in the sky night after night? [more inside]
posted by Vatnesine at 4:54 PM - 6 answers

I’m writing something up about Qanon researchers competencies and skills. I don’t know what kind of research they are trying to do, but I need to identify the closest type to tie it to relevant skills. My first instinct is investigative journalism but I think that’s a stretch. Historical research focusing primarily on primary sources, secondary, tertiary, quaternary and beyond as well? Bonus if you can suggest a book or resources to understand the relevant suggested research methodology. [more inside]
posted by Che boludo! at 3:14 AM - 36 answers

Is it possible that my recurring problems with fleas all stem from an initial infestation in 2018? [more inside]
posted by thesmallmachine at 12:42 PM - 15 answers

I'm no astronomer, so my description might be lame. But in the opening sequence of the Big Bang Theory, the viewer enters the solar system from the outer orbits, after traveling through the cosmos and beyond several other galaxies. They pass Saturn, Jupiter, the Sun, Mercury and Venus before coming upon the Earth. [more inside]
posted by CollectiveMind at 7:44 PM - 9 answers

This is a question for I guess planetologists or geologists? I am not asking "how to change it", but rather what would a slight change either + or - in Earth's axial tilt do to the planet, in broad strokes? [more inside]
posted by Meatbomb at 10:00 AM - 10 answers

Curious if any neuroscience people might know why I process material aurally better when I'm doing some mindless activity. [more inside]
posted by coffeecat at 3:17 PM - 18 answers

How can I ensure maximum safety while travelling on transit, shopping at grocery stores and pharmacies, and visiting a vulnerable family member for 6 hours at a time? Step by step if possible. [more inside]
posted by cotton dress sock at 10:43 AM - 13 answers

Help a biologist trying to do math and in over their head. I'm trying to do some modeling and would like to find the inverse of the equation f(x) = ln(|x|)/u - (ln(|vx-p|))/kv + C when 0<x<p/v. Is this possible? Can anyone point me to a solution or a resource where people good at math answer these types of questions? Stuck and really not sure who to ask. Thanks!
posted by 12%juicepulp at 10:22 PM - 10 answers

Is there any substance which will neither crystallized nor vitrify nor boil at all of the following temperature and pressure regimes, and which is neither extremely toxic nor highly corrosive to metals? 80kPa @ 277K, 100kPa @ 238K - 310K, 700MPa @ 238K - 330K, 2.3GPa @ 330K - 360K [more inside]
posted by pjbw at 7:02 AM - 4 answers

I want to build my own tiny natural history museum. In this fantasy, my living room has a display case filled with coins and trinkets from antiquity, fossils, minerals, crystals, petrified wood, arrowheads, etc. [more inside]
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 11:38 PM - 19 answers

I love the Mediterranean climate. What other climates might I enjoy and why? [more inside]
posted by aniola at 8:39 AM - 15 answers

Last night I found a few bugs on a sock somewhere in my daughter's room. Can anyone identify this bug? How do I best check for more and how do I get rid of them? (The coin in the image is a Euro, for size, my guess is the bug is about 3.5 mm/0.14 inch?)
posted by Ms. Next at 3:30 AM - 7 answers

I have an advanced degree in an applied social psychology, work psychology. I have training in research methods/design and statistical analysis using R and SPSS, relevant subjects such as attitude, knowledge and learning theory, and some consumer behavior theory as well as real-life marketing experience. (marketing and consumer behavior seem like it might be pretty generalizable to understanding the epistemic crisis we are in). I'd like to help in any way I can and it sounds very interesting. [more inside]
posted by Che boludo! at 2:30 AM - 5 answers

All the news articles about the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine say that we still need to wear masks, keep distance, etc., because we don't know yet whether being vaccinated stops transmission of the virus. Well, when are we likely to know the answer to this?
posted by medusa at 12:34 PM - 6 answers

In this article by Dr. William Haseltine, "The Moderna Vaccine’s Antibodies May Not Last As Long As We Hoped" [more inside]
posted by DMelanogaster at 9:01 AM - 5 answers