What is a mycorrhizal network? A mycorrhizal network is a web of fungal organisms that spread underground and connect trees together. When we think about fungus, mushrooms and toadstools spring to mind, but these are only the fruit of the fungus and are produced so that the fungus can spread its spores. The main part […]
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How does our night vision work? We have night vision because our eyes can use their rods, which are more sensitive to light. Night vision is technically called scotopic vision, which comes from the Greek skotos, which means darkness, and opia, which means sight. Our eyes have two ways of detecting light. We have rods
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Is there such a thing as true altruism? It depends on how you look at it. You could say no because people benefit through feelings of pleasure, and animals benefit by furthering the gene pool. You could say yes because people and animals make sacrifices that don’t benefit them personally. This is a very difficult
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How would a brain machine interface work? A brain machine interface would work by reading the brain’s electrical signals and converting them into a signal that a machine can use. They could be worn on the head or implanted in the brain. At its simplest level, the brain machine interface is just reading the electricity
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What is a tadpole shrimp? It is a species of crustacean and is actually one of the oldest known animal species. It is called a living fossil because it is so old. The Latin name for the tadpole shrimp is Notostraca, and their genus is triops, which means three eyes because they have two compound
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Does the placebo effect work? The placebo effect works for things that are directly affected by the brain, but not for actual illnesses. Nobody understands exactly the mechanism behind the placebo effect, but there are some pretty good theories. The word “placebo” comes from Latin, and its origins give a clue to what it does.
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How can a person control a bionic limb? There are generally four ways a person can control a bionic limb. They can use a special harness that can open or close hooks. They can have sensors that read electrical signals through the skin. They can attach directly to the nerves. They can have sensors that
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Why can’t the immune system kill all bacteria or viruses? The immune system can’t destroy all of the bacteria and viruses it comes across because some of them can deflect our immune system and some of them are able to hide. Others multiply far too quickly for the immune system to get on top of
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What is vegetable oil? Most vegetable oil is oil extracted from the seeds of plants, and sometimes from the plants themselves. Vegetable oil is an accurate name for the product in that the oil comes from plants, but they are not all technically vegetables. The name was chosen partly because the word “vegetable” conjures up
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Who was Typhoid Mary? She was a chef in the late 19th and early 20th centuries who was a carrier of typhoid and responsible for the deaths of several people. Someone who spreads diseases is often referred to as a “Typhoid Mary”, but many people probably don’t realize that Typhoid Mary was actually a real
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