NewScientist The Last Word - Tag 'animals' details

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Some garments made of 100 per cent cotton will hang-dry on the washing line without creases, while other pure cotton items end up covered with stubborn creases that only a steam iron will shift. Why is this? Is it the quality of the cotton, or perhaps the species of cotton plant it comes from?And while we're on the subject, some cotton towels never really absorb the moisture from your body however many times they are washed, while others - initially resistant while new - age into the job perfectly well after visiting the washing machine. What's going on?Diana Ball, by email, no address supplied

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Asked by Michael Marshall
on 2008-09-10 18:00:02

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Categories: Domestic Science.

Tags: animals, domestic science.

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Turtle trauma My 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, left). What would explain this anomaly?Larry Schaeffer Guelph, Ontario, Canada
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Asked by Michael Marshall
on 2008-09-03 18:04:00

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Categories: Animals.

Tags: animals.

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Snakes alive

On 22 September 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?Dave Parker, Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, UK

Editorial status: In magazine.

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Asked by Michael Marshall
on 2008-09-03 18:00:01

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Categories: Animals.

Tags: animals, unanswered.

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High-fibre mousse

I found a strange substance growing between a pile of plastic sacks containing bark mulch and a wall in my garden (see photo, left). It was July and the sacks had been piled against the wall for some weeks. At first I thought it was a piece of foam plastic, but when I touched it the stuff had the consistency of mousse. You can see the reddish mark where I prodded it.The second photo is a close-up of one of the holes and the surrounding fibrous structure. The patch was about 17 centimetres long and during the course of the day it dried, went crumbly and turned more pink. Does anyone know what it is?Alistair Scott, Gland, Switzerland

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Asked by greenknees
on 2008-08-27 18:01:00

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Categories: Plants, Unanswered.

Tags: animals, unanswered, plants.

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Foil attack

I get two bottles of milk delivered to my house each day. One, containing whole milk, has a silver foil top, whereas the other, containing semi-skimmed milk, has a silver top overprinted with red stripes. Based on observation over several years, the local magpie population will often try to peck at and remove the striped top but hardly ever attack the plain silver foil top. Have other readers observed magpies or other birds being so discerning, and is there a scientific explanation for it?Barry Chambers, University of Sheffield

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Asked by Michael Marshall
on 2008-07-09 17:58:29

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Categories: Animals.

Tags: human body, animals.

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On the trail I wonder whether anyone knows what this pattern is that I found on my north-facing window sills earlier this year? It looks like some kind of footprint and seems to come in two sizes. A few months on, it's still there...Andrew Rolph, Horley, Surrey, UK
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Asked by Michael Marshall
on 2008-06-25 18:36:20

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Categories: Domestic Science, Animals.

Tags: animals, unanswered, domestic science, weather.

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Dune bug I found this insect, and others like it, in my friend's home near Stamford, Lincolnshire, in eastern England. It looks as if it is covered in sand but this is clearly a form of camouflage. Interestingly, there were no obvious sand deposits nearby. What is it? And why does it look like this?Ian Richardson, London, UK
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Asked by Michael Marshall
on 2008-06-18 19:40:41

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Categories: Animals.

Tags: human body, animals, unanswered.

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All alone Do polar bears get lonely? I'm not being flippant, just attempting to find out why animals such as humans or penguins are gregarious while others, such as polar bears and eagles, live more solitary lives.Frank Anders, Amsterdam, The Netherlands(Image: stock.xchng, carnaya_00)
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Asked by Michael Marshall
on 2008-06-04 19:00:01

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Categories: Animals.

Tags: human body, animals.

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Shell suit One of my solar-powered garden lights has become home to a colony of snails. Typically about 20 congregate there every day, mainly on the north face of the light (see Photo), but none on the solar panel. Are they adapting to 21st-century technology and using solar power to extend their periods of access to warmth and light?Roger Bloor, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, UK
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Asked by Michael Marshall
on 2008-05-28 19:01:01

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Categories: Animals, Technology.

Tags: human body, animals, technology.

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Stumped!

I recently noticed a white growth had appeared on an old tree stump in my back garden. On closer inspection I found it was made up of what looked like very small eggs (see Photo, top). The next day I saw that the "eggs" had turned into a purple slime (see Photo, bottom). The day after that the slime had dried up and disappeared. No pesticides are used in my garden.Can anyone shed light on what this substance is?Adil Hussain, Birmingham, UK