Why do we have ears on the sides of our head? Because of the position of our brains and our spines, because it puts the most possible distance between each ear, because we rely on sight more than sound, and because we are not prey animals and we don’t hunt by stealth. Our ears are […]
#830 Why do we have ears on the sides of our head? Read More »
Why can mantis shrimp see so many colors? It turns out that they can’t see more colors than we can. They just process the way they see colors differently. Manis shrimp have twelve to sixteen different types of photoreceptors in their eyes, which lead people to believe that they could see many colors, or shades
#822 Why can mantis shrimp see so many colors? Read More »
What is forensic facial reconstruction? It is the attempt to recreate the face of someone from just their skull. There are several reasons why it might be necessary to try to work out what a person might have looked like from just their skull. One obvious reason is in criminal cases. If an unknown skeleton
#819 What is forensic facial reconstruction? Read More »
Why do birds need to see ultraviolet light? It helps them with foraging, navigation, and signaling to each other. We can only see combinations of three colors: red, green, and blue. We have cones that detect these colors in our eyes. Most birds can also see ultraviolet light. They have four types of cones in
#818 Why do birds need to see ultraviolet light? Read More »
Why did prehistoric insects grow so big? Because there was a lot more oxygen in the atmosphere and there were no birds. The largest insect in the world today is the Phryganistria chinensis, which is a stick insect. It is 64 cm long. The insect with the largest wingspan is the White witch moth, which
#812 Why did prehistoric insects grow so big? Read More »
Do antibiotics kill all of the bacteria in the body? Yes, they do. Antibiotics kill bacteria in the body. They do not work on viruses. We use bacteria when we have an infection and they can be very effective. An infection is caused when we have a wound and bacteria get inside. This is very
#809 Do antibiotics kill all of the bacteria in the body? Read More »
Do cows only eat grass? Wild cows and cows that graze on pasture eat a lot of grass, but they also eat other plants as well. Cows that are kept in dairy farms are often fed a lot of grain and soy. There are not many wild cows in the world. In most developed countries,
#803 Do cows only eat grass? Read More »
Why are some people lactose intolerant? Because their body doesn’t make enough of an enzyme called lactase. Milk is a liquid produced in the mammary glands of most mammals. It is made of 87% water with the remainder made up mostly of fat, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. The proteins act as an emulsifier because
#799 Why are some people lactose intolerant? Read More »
How do weight loss drugs work? They either reduce the appetite, reduce the absorption of nutrients, or increase the amount of fat that the body burns. Obesity is becoming a worldwide problem these days. It used to be only affluent countries that suffered from it, but now there are not many countries that are unaffected.
#795 How do weight loss drugs work? Read More »
How do our organs stay where they are when we stand up? Pieces of tissue called fascia hold our organs in place, along with a membrane called the serous membrane. I need to define this question a little more succinctly because organ has a surprisingly broad definition. The Oxford English Dictionary defines “organ” as “a
#789 How do our organs stay where they are when we stand up? Read More »
