A Moment of Science
As anyone who’s had a toddler knows, they’re incredibly demanding creatures. Armed with an insatiable desire to eat and/or destroy just about everything in their path, these walking embodiments of unchecked ego can be a handful. Especially when they have colds. There’s nothing quite as trying as a toddler with a head cold, stuffed up [...]
Today on A Moment of Science, another take on sibling rivalry. Sibling rivalry among sharks, that is.
Depo-provera is the brand name of a method of birth control that consists mostly of a hormone much like progesterone, a hormone that works with estrogen to regulate the menstrual cycle.
While in the tube, the worm’s tail end might be immersed in temperatures as hot as 178 degrees Fahrenheit, while its head rests in cooler water, as moderate as 72 degrees Fahrenheit.
Since the charcoal filter can’t absorb all chemicals, the last filter uses chemical reactions to clean the air. Say I’m breathing in chlorine-saturated air, like soldiers during World War I.
Let’s look at an example. Suppose you notice that sometimes the tar in the pavement outside your house is soft and pliable, while other times it’s hard and brittle.
After death, the body begins to dry out as water evaporates from the skin. The skin of a corpse shrinks as a result, and the hair, nails and teeth may appear to lengthen as the skin draws back.
Frogs also aren’t fussy eaters: any live prey will do. Some large species of frogs can gulp up a mouse, bat, or small snake in one mouthful, which is fortunate, because frogs can’t chew. If they have any teeth at all, they’re usually only good for holding onto the prey.
Visionaries began to seriously consider space elevator fantasies in the 1960s. But it was only in the past decade that scientists discovered material strong enough to construct an elevator cable capable of surviving the rigors of supporting a large chamber as it climbs into space.
While the tombs of ancient Egyptian royalty do indeed bear curses calling down death and destruction on all who enter, tombs all over the world hold hidden perils for explorers, like Lord Carnarvon, who discovered King Tut’s tomb only to die suddenly shortly afterward.
The human skeleton offers great insight into a person’s life. It will show the signs of disease, malnutrition, and injuries, as well as aging and sex. Experts can identify a skeleton’s sex by looking at two key areas: the skull and the pelvis.
Find out how naked mole rats are like insects on this Moment of Science.
Ever wonder how Velcro works? Find out more on today's Moment of Science.
Anyone who has quit smoking knows that there is a strong possibility they’ll gain weight. One of the really interesting things about the nicotine in cigarettes is that it works in two ways. When you take a long drag, it acts as a tranquilizer, but when you inhale in short puffs, it acts as a stimulant.
"Little Miss Muffet, sat on her tuffet, eating her curds and whey..." Have you ever eaten curds and whey?
Are onions bad for your cat or dog? What foods should pets avoid?
It’s commonly believed that children are socialized into their respective gender roles. Pink is for girls, blue for boys, right?
For nonlinguistic activities that involve the mouth people tend to open their mouths more symmetrically or on the left side.
One of the difficulties in this research was getting the creatures to bite like they really meant it, despite the fact that the pole was clearly not edible.
Although ants usually communicate through smell, they also use sound to send distress calls and warnings about danger. Since they don’t have ears, scientists believe that they sense sound vibrations in their knees.
When astronauts orbit the earth, they’re still subject to gravity, but they’re moving sideways so quickly that even though they’re being pulled towards the earth, they’re not getting any closer to the center of the planet.
Over 4,000 years ago, the Babylonians were the first to approximate pi, and ever since, mathematicians have come up with ways of figuring it more accurately.
When you have a cold or flu, the doctor (or Dr. Mom) may tell you to drink lots of fluids. But did they ever explain why you need to guzzle all that water and juice?The extra fluid helps prevent dehydration, which can make you feel even worse, and make it harder to get well.
The difference in pain is due to the way each insect obtains blood. Mosquitoes have mouth parts that are highly modified for piercing; they have a sharp proboscis, a prominent tube-like part that extends from their head and houses organs known as stylets which work like hypodermic needles to penetrate the skin and suck up your blood.
Through the years, it’s been a common misconception that being double jointed is a bad thing. Actually, there is no such thing as a “double joint”. While some people can bend their thumb’s back to touch their forearm, it may appear that they are “double jointed, but there is only one joint at each joint, not two.
Wouldn’t it be nifty if there was a way we could see into rocks without having to break them? Just think of it. If we could see inside of rocks without having to slice them open, then perhaps we could see into rocks on other planets like Mars. And maybe then we could detect forms of life inside these rocks.
Have you ever had a bad allergic reaction to wine? If so, you might be allergic to the histamines in the wine, not the sulfites.
The coloring of certain flowers can have motivational effects on bees and caterpillars. Find out how on this Moment of Science.
Find out about pigeons and their noisy reactions when startled on this Moment of Science.
For many health-conscious folks, nuts are on the list of foods to avoid because they’re high in fat. And eighty to ninety percent of the calories in nuts do come from fat. But not all fats are created equal. The fat in nuts is unsaturated fat, which acts differently in the body than the saturated fat found in meat and dairy products
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