I learned this today. Porcupines don’t actually shoot their quills. The quills just detach very easily and stick in the predator. Porcupines are members of the rodent family. Males can grow to be almost a meter long and weigh up to 16 kg. They are not very fast, but they don’t need to be because […]
#233 How does a porcupine shoot its quills? Read More »
I learned this today. Sloths move so slowly because they have an extremely low metabolic rate. There are six species of sloth that are divided into two different types of sloth: three-toed sloths and two-toed sloths. Both of these groups of sloths are from different families that are very distantly related. They have both evolved
#231 Why do sloths move so slowly? Read More »
I learned this today. Many animals can run quickly because they have four legs, run on their toes, and have bodies designed for speed. There are three types of animals when it comes to the shape of feet. There are plantigrades, digitigrades, and unguligrades. We are plantigrades. Along with rodents, rabbits, hedgehogs, kangaroos,
#224 Why can animals run so fast? Read More »
I learned this today. Deep sea fish can survive because they don’t breathe in the same way that we do. However, even they cannot survive at the very bottom of the ocean. Pressure at sea level is 14.7 psi (pounds per square inch). If someone weighing 14.7 pounds stood on you, you would
#219 Why don’t deep sea fish get crushed by the pressure? Read More »
I learned this today. FOXP2 is known as the language gene. FOXP2 stands for Forkhead box protein P2. Forkhead box proteins bind to a specific DNA sequence to control the rate of information. They are important for cell growth, proliferation, differentiation, and longevity. They, and all of the forkhead box proteins, have a
#213 What is the language gene, FOXP2? Read More »
I learned this today. We all age and there are nine problems that aging causes in humans. These are DNA mutations, faulty gene expressions, shortening telomeres, the build up of faulty proteins, worn out cells don’t die, mitochondria become faulty, metabolism becomes faulty, stem cells become exhausted, and cells lose the ability to communicate with
#210 What problems does aging in humans cause? Read More »
I learned this today. Statins work by blocking a substance that our bodies need to make cholesterol. What is cholesterol? Cholesterol is a waxy, whitish-yellow fatty substance that our bodies use to build cells, make vitamin D, and make hormones, and fat dissolving acids. It is an essential part of our bodies. A 68 kg,
#209 How do statins work? Read More »
I learned this today. Cows combine nutrients from their blood, sugar, fat, and water in their udders to produce milk. All mammals, except for monotremes (like the duck billed platypus) produce milk. In all but one case the milk is produced by the female mammal. The only male mammal that produces milk is the Dayak
#208 How do cows produce milk? Read More »
I learned this today. Different things have different tastes because the taste buds in our mouths can react to different chemicals in different ways. There are basically five tastes. Those are sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and umami. Umami is another word for “savory” and the fact that we can taste for it was discovered
#206 Why do things taste different? Read More »
I learned this today. A pacemaker works by using electrical stimulation to make the heart muscles contract and the heart pump blood. A pacemaker is used to alter the rhythm of a heart. It is usually implanted to help with a slow or an irregular heartbeat. There are many reasons why a heartbeat could become
#203 How does a pacemaker work? Read More »
