NewScientist The Last Word - Tag 'plants' details

Tag 'plants' details

Be informed on updates to this list by RSS

75 matches found

<< First < Prev [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] Next > Last >>

In black and white While working at a factory that produces carbon powder, I noticed I had made a large black thumbprint on one of my sandwiches. This set me wondering why bread, or for that matter potatoes, rice and sugar, which are mostly carbon, are not black.Douglas Thompson, Holywell, Flintshire, UK.
(no votes) There are 2 answer(s) for this question. View answers \| Submit an answer

Asked by damian
on 2007-10-16 16:47:05

Member status
none

Categories: Domestic Science, Animals, Plants, Unanswered.

Tags: animals, unanswered, domestic science, plants.

Report abuse

Do the twist All the stems of the morning glory plants growing on my balcony coil in the same direction. When I moved some of the plants, I recoiled them by hand onto the strings they creep around. Those that I had coiled in the "wrong" direction started to coil in the "right" direction as soon as they could. Why is this?Judit ZÃ¡dor Budapest, Hungary
Editorial status: In magazine. (2 votes) average rating:3.5 There are 4 answer(s) for this question. View answers \| Submit an answer

Asked by damian
on 2007-10-16 16:35:25

Member status
none

Categories: Plants, Unanswered.

Tags: unanswered, plants.

Report abuse

Shakin all over The leaves of our spider plant, Chlorophytum comosum, which stands in a pot next to our television, move in unison when the TV is switched on. Why?Chris Coleman, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, UK
(no votes) There are 1 answer(s) for this question. View answers \| Submit an answer

Asked by damian
on 2007-10-16 16:35:07

Member status
none

Categories: Plants, Unanswered.

Tags: unanswered, plants.

Report abuse

Closing time Why do some flowers close at night? What is the evolutionary advantage of doing this, and why do only some plants bother to do so?Craig, Christchurch, New Zealand
(no votes) There are 2 answer(s) for this question. View answers \| Submit an answer

Asked by damian
on 2007-10-08 16:16:11

Member status
none

Categories: Plants, Unanswered.

Tags: unanswered, plants.

Report abuse

Shaping the mould

I enclose a sequence of three photos of a pear that started to go bad in my fruit basket. I discovered it one evening with a perfect bullseye pattern of mould, as in the left picture. Sixty hours later it had grown more (partial) rings of mould, as shown in the middle photograph. Another 48 hours later it had grown still more partial rings, always separated by the same gap and all still roughly concentric (right-hand pic). At that point it was getting pretty rotten, so I threw it away. What causes the mould to grow in rings like this?Bob Ladd, Edinburgh, UK

(no votes)

There are 6 answer(s) for this question. View answers | Submit an answer