NewScientist The Last Word - Tag 'plants' details

Tag 'plants' details

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Can anyone explain why a tree would twist itself almost to destruction in the way this one has (see Photo)? It is located at 900 metres above sea level at the north entrance to Yosemite National Park in California. Obviously this isn't an area where there is 24-hour sunlight, which might induce it to chase itself all the way around, yet it appears twisted through three complete rotations.Stewart Brown, Bristol, UK

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Asked by Michael Marshall
on 2008-02-01 18:47:53

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Categories: Plants, Unanswered.

Tags: human body, unanswered, plants.

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Sand islands When walking along a beach in Mallorca in late April, I noticed some unusual patterns being cast on the seabed by small floating patches of sand (see photo, left). What causes the patterns to form and why do their shadows on the seabed have bright fringes around the edges and around the gaps in the middle?Tim Pickles, Brough, East Yorkshire, UK
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Asked by Michael Marshall
on 2008-01-30 17:52:13

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Categories: Plants, Unanswered.

Tags: animals, unanswered, plants.

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Strange fruit Can anyone identify this seedpod (see Photo)? It comes from a small tree that grows at low altitude on the Caribbean slopes of the Sierra Madre Oriental in north-eastern Puebla, Mexico. The seeds are black and solid, and seem not to have much sticky or fibrous material surrounding them.David Beck, Alberta, Canada
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Asked by Michael Marshall
on 2008-01-25 16:19:50

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Categories: Plants, Unanswered.

Tags: animals, unanswered, plants, environment.

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Smells at bay Adding a bay leaf to boiling broccoli or Brussels sprouts is an effective way of reducing the pong. Why is this? And does the trick also reduce the anticancer properties of these vegetables?John Thurman, Norwich
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Asked by damian
on 2007-10-16 18:03:14

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Categories: Domestic Science, Plants, Unanswered.

Tags: unanswered, domestic science, plants.

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Shoal souls

How do large shoals of fish and flocks of birds change direction very quickly without colliding with each other? We humans have the greatest difficulty achieving even two-dimensional travel without walking into each other, yet mass formations of fish and birds seem able to manage it in three dimensions. I have seen that very young fish are capable of this feat, so it would not appear to be a trait that is learned. How do these animals communicate the order to change direction and also the new direction that they are going to take?Ray Wijewardena, Colombo, Sri Lanka

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Asked by damian
on 2007-10-16 18:02:21

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Categories: Animals, Plants, Unanswered.

Tags: animals, unanswered, plants.

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Kiss and tell Kissing is a very enjoyable aspect of human sexual activity. Is it universal among human cultures? Does it occur in other species?Pete Fowler, Southland, New Zealand
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Asked by damian
on 2007-10-16 17:26:59

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Categories: Human Body, Animals, Plants, Unanswered.

Tags: human body, animals, unanswered, plants.

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Pregnant pepper When cutting into what I considered to be an unusually heavy red pepper, I found inside a fully formed green pepper. What is going on?Linda Saunders, Bristol, UK
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Asked by damian
on 2007-10-16 17:10:54

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Categories: Domestic Science, Plants, Unanswered.

Tags: unanswered, domestic science, plants.

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Proto photo

On a beach walk last year in northern Mayo, Ireland, I thought I had found a spectacular fossil seaweed. Close inspection showed that instead it was a kind of photo image of a sargassum-type weed on a Dalradian metavolcanic rock. There were other examples nearby, all at the mean high water level and all of the same species of weed on the same rock type. I took the rock home and, a year on, the image is still crisp (see photo). However, all attempts to imitate the conditions have failed. Do readers have any idea of how the image occurred, and are there any other instances of natural photoetching?Tony Legg, St Martins, Jersey

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Asked by damian
on 2007-10-16 16:52:10

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Categories: Animals, Plants, Unanswered.

Tags: animals, unanswered, plants.

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Veggie violence Occasionally when reheating broccoli and sweet potato in the microwave, what sounds like violent electrical arcing occurs if the two are in contact with each other. This results in blackened sections. What is going on? Stephen Plevier, Hadfield, Victoria, Australia
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Asked by damian
on 2007-10-16 16:50:30

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Last edited on: 2009-08-19 16:52:40

Categories: Plants, Unanswered.

Tags: plants, microwave, sweetpotato, broccoli.

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The colour purple When I make a banana loaf, the bananas turn purple after being baked. Why?Gemma Hopkins, Sheffield, UK
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Asked by damian
on 2007-10-16 16:47:16