Why do peacocks have such long tails? A peacock’s tail is so long because it confers a large advantage when trying to find a mate. A peacock’s tail (which is also called a train) is a good example of the balance that means evolution sends a species one way or another. Large tails in peacocks […]
#1123 Why do peacocks have such long tails? Read More »
Why do some fish create their own light? Some fish create their own light to attract prey or, surprisingly, to hide from predators, and many other reasons as well. Being able to create light is called bioluminescence and it is not limited to just fish. The most common organism that creates light on land is
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Do larger animals have a faster metabolism? No, bigger animals don’t have a faster metabolism. It tends to be the exact opposite. Let’s look at what metabolism is. The metabolism of an organism refers to all of the chemical processes that go on within the cells to keep that organism alive. There are three main
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Why do teeth have nerves? We have nerves in our teeth to provide us with feedback on what we are eating and how much pressure we are applying. Teeth appear to have nerves for three reasons. The first reason is because the inside of the tooth is living tissue with a blood supply and where
#1101 Why do teeth have nerves? Read More »
How good is an elephant’s sense of smell? Elephant’s have a better sense of smell than any other animal on Earth. We know that our sense of smell is pretty basic when we compare it to a lot of other animals, but that makes sense because we have evolved for more of our brain to
#1100 How good is an elephant’s sense of smell? Read More »
What is a syrinx? It is the organ that birds use to produce sounds and their birdsong. Birds make sound in a different way to us. We use our larynx and they use their syrinx. Both of these words have come from Greek and larynx means “upper windpipe” and syrinx means “pan pipe”. The larynx
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How can a salamander regenerate? They can repurpose skin cells to become any other kind of cell, similar to a stem cell. There are many different types of salamander, about 760, but they all share several common traits. They are all amphibians, which means they are comfortable both in and out of the water. They
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What is the fastest insect? The fastest flying insect is the dragonfly and the fastest running insect is the Australian tiger beetle. The Australian tiger beetle is the fastest insect on land. It can run at 2.5 m per second, which works out to 9 km/h. That doesn’t sound terribly fast and most of us
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How do snakes use their tongues? They flick them in and out to pick up chemicals off the ground and from the air. Snakes are not the only reptiles that use their tongues to detect things. Lizards have the same kind of tongue that they use to monitor the environment around them. A lot of
#1083 How do snakes use their tongues? Read More »
Why don’t army ants make nests? Army ants can clear an area of insects and food in a few days, so they have to keep on the mood to find more food. Most species of ants build complex nests that have interlocking tunnels and chambers for different purposes. They have places to keep their larvae,
#1073 Why don’t army ants make nests? Read More »
