Why do zebras have stripes? Nobody knows the actual reason, but the main theory is that they deter biting flies. Other theories are that they could also be for camouflage or thermoregulation. There doesn’t have to be one single reason, and it could easily be a combination of all of these. There are three different […]
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Does vitamin C prevent colds? No, vitamin C doesn’t prevent colds, but it can reduce the length of time people are sick by about 8 to 10%. Many of us believe that taking a lot of vitamin C will help to keep off colds, or cure us if we are sick. Research shows that such
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What is GM food? GM food stands for Genetically Modified food, and it means any food that is produced using some kind of genetic engineering to alter its DNA. Generally, GM food refers to either taking a gene from one plant and inserting it into another or removing a gene that a plant already has.
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Are animals conscious? Yes, many animals are conscious, but they have a different level of consciousness to us, and animals differ in their level of consciousness. Consciousness in animals is usually taken to mean that they show awareness, emotions, sensations like pain, and they can adapt their behavior. They don’t have language like ours, human-style
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Why did we evolve consciousness? We evolved consciousness because it gave us a greater chance of survival. Evolution is a chance machine, and it generally works in three ways. Every time creatures reproduce, there is a chance that a mutation will appear in the genes of their offspring. This change could help them in some
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What is consciousness? According to Merriam-Webster, consciousness is “the quality of state of being aware especially of something within oneself, the state of being characterized by sensation, emotion, volition, and thought, the upper level of mental life of which the person is aware as contrasted with unconscious processes.” An often quoted way to describe consciousness
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Do goldfish really have a short memory? No, goldfish don’t have a short memory. Although it depends on what we mean by memory. The idea that goldfish only have a very short memory seems to be widespread. It may stem from wishful thinking because we keep them in tiny tanks, and if they have long
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Can sharks really smell blood from a mile away? Sharks do have an incredibly sensitive sense of smell, but they can’t smell blood from a mile away. The basic problem with the myth that sharks can smell blood from a mile away is that the chemicals required for scent don’t travel that far, even in
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What is the difference between brown eggs and white eggs? There is no difference in the egg itself, but brown eggs come from a different breed of hen and are usually larger than white eggs. As with brown and white pasta and brown and white rice, many of us think that brown eggs must be
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Why can’t we walk in a straight line with our eyes closed? We can’t walk in a straight line with our eyes closed because our brain depends on visual cues, and without an external reference point, small random errors in the body’s sense of “straight ahead” build up over time, and the brain has nothing
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