NewScientist The Last Word - Tag 'animals' details

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Does anything eat wasps? In a recent conversation about food chains, a colleague wondered if anything ate wasps. Someone suggested "very stupid birds". Does anyone know any more about this?Tom Eastwood, London, UK
(no votes) There are 19 answer(s) for this question. View answers \| Submit an answer

Asked by Michael Marshall
on 2009-03-11 17:00:00

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Categories: Animals.

Tags: human body, animals, unanswered, domestic science.

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The hole truth I have always been fascinated by evolution, and while I can usually see why and how certain characteristics evolved in different species, I'm confused by whales and dolphins. How did their breathing holes evolve, bearing in mind their ancestors were land mammals?Joe Bilsborough, Tarbock, Merseyside, UK
(no votes) There are 28 answer(s) for this question. View answers \| Submit an answer

Asked by Michael Marshall
on 2009-03-04 17:01:00

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Categories: Animals.

Tags: human body, animals, unanswered, domestic science.

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Why do geese need so much fat? As part of Christmas dinner this year I cooked a tasty goose. I was astounded at the amount of fat that poured off it during cooking. Why do geese need so much fat? Debora MacKenzie, Brussels, Belgium (Image: markmiller, stock.xchng)
Editorial status: In magazine. (no votes) There are 14 answer(s) for this question. View answers \| Submit an answer

Asked by Michael Marshall
on 2009-02-11 18:01:02

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Last edited on: 2009-09-29 11:23:55

Categories: Domestic Science, Animals.

Tags: animals, technology, domesticscience.

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Dexterity dilemma Why are some people left handed and others right handed?Leila Gabasova (aged 12), Moscow, Russia
(no votes) There are 42 answer(s) for this question. View answers \| Submit an answer

Asked by damian
on 2009-01-28 18:02:00

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Categories: Human Body.

Tags: human body, animals.

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Wound licking I 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"?David Taub, Karlstad, Sweden
(no votes) There are 37 answer(s) for this question. View answers \| Submit an answer

Asked by Michael Marshall
on 2009-01-28 18:00:00

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none

Categories: Animals.

Tags: human body, animals, unanswered.

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Does low air resistance at altitude help athletes run faster?

A number of athletics and cycling world records have been set at high-altitude venues, for example during the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City.

Presumably the air is thinner so there is less resistance, enabling them to run or cycle faster. But surely oxygen uptake at altitude is more difficult, so there must be a point at which altitude no longer favours athletes.

What is this point and why? And which tracks or velodromes come nearest to it?

Carlos Loeb, Madrid, Spain

(Image: Wikimedia Commons)

Editorial status: In magazine.

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Asked by Michael Marshall
on 2009-01-21 18:00:00

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Last edited on: 2009-09-30 14:39:07

Categories: Human Body, Planet Earth.

Tags: animals, humanbody, planetearth.

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Can't face it Why do we grimace when we eat sour or bitter food?Laura Offer, London, UK
(no votes) There are 9 answer(s) for this question. View answers \| Submit an answer

Asked by Michael Marshall
on 2009-01-14 18:02:00

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Categories: Domestic Science, Human Body.

Tags: human body, animals, domestic science, plants.

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Black heads

After a while I find the shower heads in my bathrooms become clogged by black flecks of what is obviously some kind of organic material. A similar material accumulates in my cold-water taps if they have not been used for some time, but in this case it is in the form of a black ribbon.I recall from visits made to water-treatment plants in my student days that the passage of water through a filter leads to the build-up of a zoogloea - a translucent jelly-like layer of organic matter. But if something similar to this process is taking place in the shower, why is the material black and exactly what is it?David Payne, Penarth, Glamorgan, UK

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Asked by Michael Marshall
on 2009-01-14 18:01:00

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Categories: Domestic Science.

Tags: animals, domestic science, plants.

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Fooled in Blackpool? From the top of Blackpool Tower (approx 150 metres) on the UK's west coast, can you see the curvature of Earth along the Irish Sea horizon? I thought I could, but my friend disagreed. If I'm wrong, how high would we have needed to be?Mark Ford, Bolton, Lancashire, UK
(no votes) There are 18 answer(s) for this question. View answers \| Submit an answer

Asked by damian
on 2009-01-14 18:00:00

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Categories: Planet Earth.

Tags: animals, plants, planet earth.

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Fly trap?

When my family returned from a two-week holiday during the summer, we found a cluster of dead flies stuck to our porch window. Each was surrounded by a hazy mist on the glass.

We have lived in our house for 20 years and we have never seen this before. Even after two weeks, when the photograph was taken, nothing had changed. The flies hadn't moved and no predator had come to eat them.Can anyone explain what has happened?

Stephen Ryder, UK