How is silk made? It is made from the cocoon of the silkworm. Silk is a natural material that has been around for over 5 thousand years. Silk was first made by the Yangshao culture in China in the 4th millennium BC. One legend has it that an Empress was drinking tea and a silkworm […]
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Why can grasshoppers jump so high? They can store energy in their exoskeleton and release it like a spring. Grasshoppers are not all the same. They are a small group of insects in the Caelifera family, which contains about 12,000 species. Locusts are grasshoppers and they belong to this family, and many other insects that
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How do polar bears find enough food? By having an exceptional sense of smell, a lot of patience, and a very efficient digestion. Polar bears are the largest bear species by far. An adult male can weigh close to 800 kg, and they are about 160 cm at the shoulder. When they stand up and
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How does anthrax kill? Anthrax is an infection caused by a bacterium called Bacillus anthracis. Because it is a bacterial infection, it can be treated with antibiotics if it is discovered soon enough. We may have heard about anthrax from the news, but it is a naturally occurring bacteria that has been around for a
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Why are prunes a laxative? They contain a lot of two different types of fiber, sorbitol, and polyphenols. What is a prune? Prunes are dried plums, although not all plums can become prunes. Plums also have laxative properties, but they are not as effective as prunes. In America, in 2001, some prune producing companies petitioned
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What is a zombie virus? Zombie viruses are ancient viruses that have been frozen in ice, but are being released as the permafrost melts due to climate change. “Zombie” virus is rather a dramatic name. These viruses won’t turn people into zombies and they don’t come from zombies. They are given this name because they
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How does a rattlesnake rattle? They have loose hollow scales on the tips of their tails that strike each other when the rattlesnake rattles its tail. Rattlesnakes are a type of viper and are venomous snakes. There are many different types of venomous snakes, and they are divided by the position of their fangs and
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Why does sunburned skin peel? It peels because the skin cells are dead, and the body is getting rid of them to make way for new cells. When looking at what makes sunburned skin peel, we have to look first at what causes sunburn? It is caused by ultraviolet light that comes from the sun.
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What causes an epileptic seizure? It is caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain. There is not one reason why people have epilepsy and there is not one type of epileptic seizure. Epileptics can suffer from focal seizures and generalized seizures. As their names suggest, focal seizures are focused on one hemisphere of the
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Is moss one plant or many plants? A patch of moss is made up of many plants. There are many types. There are approximately 20,000 species of moss plants and some of them are huge. The Dawsonia moss grows up to 50 cm tall. However, most moss plants are much smaller than that. Mosses have
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