What is botulism? Botulism is an illness caused by a toxin that the Clostridium botulinum bacteria produces. Clostridium botulinum is a very strong bacteria. They are usually found in the soil in spore form, but they grow very rapidly on the surface of fruit, vegetables, seafood, meat, and any kind of food. They like a […]
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What is the immortal hydra? It is a tiny, freshwater creature that doesn’t appear to age. Hydra are very small invertebrates that live in freshwater ponds, lakes, streams, and rivers. They are about 10 mm long and have a tubular body. At one end of their body they have a mouth surrounded by twelve thin
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How can giraffes have such long necks? Giraffes have jointed vertebrae in their neck, a large amount of ligament, and an enormous heart to get the blood to their head. Interestingly, giraffes used to be called camelopards, because they were kind of shaped like a camel and spotted like a leopard. That word came from
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What causes Parkinson’s disease? It is caused by a loss of nerve cells in the basal ganglia part of the brain. Parkinson’s disease is a disease that gets progressively worse with time. It is more common in men than women and it generally starts when people are over 60, although 10% of cases start when
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How do cactuses survive in the desert? They have adaptations in their roots, leaves, and stems that help them retain water and survive in desert conditions. There are about 2,000 different types of cactus. All types of cactus are native to the Americas, except for the mistletoe cactus, which is found across Africa. The main
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What are bruises? They are where blood vessels near the skin’s surface are broken after an impact. There are three layers in the skin: the epidermis, dermis, and hypodermis. The outer layer of our skin, the epidermis, doesn’t have any blood vessels. All of the blood vessels are in the dermis. New skin cells grow
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Why do Greenland sharks live so long? Partly because of their very slow metabolism. Greenland sharks are large sharks that live in the northern parts of the Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. They live near Greenland, hence the name. They can grow up to 7 meters in lengths and they can weigh up
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What causes the “wall” when running? It is caused by your liver and muscles running out of glycogen. All of the chemical processes in our bodies only work if we can supply them with energy. We get that energy from the food we eat. Whenever we eat anything, it is broken down in our intestines
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Why do hyenas have long necks? To give them more strength and leverage for when they eat their food. There are four types of hyena. These are the brown hyena, the aardwolf, the spotted hyena, and the striped hyena. The hyena we most closely associate as a hyena is the spotted hyena. They all vary
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Is cryosleep possible? In theory, yes, but not for the length of time needed to travel anywhere decent in space. The idea behind cryosleep is to put astronauts into a state of suspended animation for the length of time it would take for them to reach wherever they are going. The advantages of this are
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