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Q&A's: New Scientist's Last Word sectionDextrous dilemmaWhy are some people left-handed and others right handed? Snakes aliveOn 22 September 2007 my wife and I were on the shingle beach at Dunwich in Suffolk, UK, when we spotted a snake wriggling along the water's edge. It was about 50 centimetres long and light olive-brown. Behind its head was a bright yellow, delta-shaped marking which pointed forwards. As we watched, it entered the water and swam strongly out to sea. Is this how a grass snake might behave - albeit one with atypical markings - or has climate change brought a sea snake north of its usual habitat? The weather was windy and it was neither warm nor sunny. Is it relevant that this occurred about 2 kilometres north of the warm water outlets of the Sizewell B nuclear power station? Wound lickingI know that some animals treat simple injuries by licking them. Are there any animals that, like humans, treat each other's injuries, and do any animals have more sophisticated forms of "medical treatment"? Visit the Last Word blog, where you can post your answers online and explore all the unanswered questions
ANSWERS PLEASEThe writers of all published answers receive £25 ($40)
The birdsIn New Zealand one of our radio stations broadcasts native birdsong each morning. It is obvious that seabirds have a much harsher screeching sound than the more melodious bush and land-based birds. In fact, I can usually tell a bird's habitat simply by the sound it makes. Why is there such a difference, and is it the same throughout the world? Turtle traumaMy wife and I were driving near Oshkosh, Wisconsin, alongside a river when we spotted a soft-shelled turtle with a hump on its back (see photo, right). What would explain this anomaly? QUESTIONS PLEASEDo you have a scientific enquiry about everyday phenomena?
HUMOUR: New Scientist's Feedback ColumnAre you sitting precisely?BUYING a Verilux HappyLite Sunshine Simulator, reader Humphrey Evans hoped it would make him... well, happy. The idea is that on dark mornings you sit close to what is essentially a small array of daylight-spectrum fluorescent tubes for up to 2 hours. He has, however, instead become somewhat distressed by the exacting demands the instructions make when he's matching exposure times to his distance from the unit. For a half-hour blast, the instructions say to position yourself 228.6 millimetres from the unit - moving to 685.8 mm if you are planning a 2-hour session. What happens if you move 0.1 mm is not specified... and Evans is failing to see the bright side. GIZMOSOUNDBITES"Healthy debate is so important and valuable in our schools. I am a proponent of teaching both."Sarah Palin, who was this week selected as Republican candidate for US vice-president, talking two years ago about whether intelligent design should be taught in schools alongside evolution (Anchorage Daily News, Alaska, 27 October 2006) |
