The name game
rcwebberWhy do scientists use Latin when they name organisms? -Arielle, New York
See you in a while, crocodile
rcwebberWhat’s a baby crocodile called? -Alexandra, Wisbec, England
Mindless zombies
rcwebber
Dear Dr. Universe, I hate sleeping. Do I really need to sleep? -Diedrich
Dear Diedrich,
You’ve got to sleep to know you’re awake.
» More …
Taste buds for brussel sprouts
rcwebberDear Dr. Universe,
Will I ever like Brussel sprouts? – Sincerely, Susan
Dear Susan,
Before I answer this question, I must ask that you abandon your normal eating routine over the next three days in favor of Brussels sprouts.
Yes, for every meal.
Do you like them yet?
Black holes
rcwebberDear Dr. Universe,
If there were a black hole between the Earth and moon, what would we see?
-Steven Raabe
Dear Steven,
Donuts in the sky. That’s the easy answer. The more difficult, and probably much more painful, answer depends on your view.
» More …
Do bats have habits?
rcwebber
Do bats have habits? -Elliot
Dear Elliot,
You are onto something. Quick, to the bat-lab! That’s where I met up with my friend Christine Portfors, a scientist at Washington State University who studies fruit bats.
Portfors explained that while bats don’t quite have habits like humans, they do have behaviors.
Bats are nocturnal. They sleep during the day and wake up in the early evening. The first thing they’ll do when they wake up is fly around and around their caves for a while.
We eat well because bees have hair
rcwebberWhy do bees have stuff that looks like hair? The hair on their legs looks like a real hassle, what with all the crud that sticks to it.* -Elliot
That crud is their food, Elliott. That’s what I learned from Steve Sheppard. He studies bees here at WSU. » More …
A lightning suit
rcwebberDear Dr. Universe,
I wanted to know if there is something lightning won’t come near. I just wanted to know so I could protect myself against lightning. –Thanks, Philip
Dear Philip,
If you’re thinking of making a suit of rubber, forget it. It won’t work. There is nothing lightning won’t come near. It is unpredictable and very powerful, so just get that rubber suit out of your head.
Dinosaurs
rcwebberWhat was the largest dinosaur? -Carlos, Visalia, California
About 85-feet long (half a football field) and 65 tons (about 7 T-Rexes), the largest dinosaur scientists know about is Dreadnoughts. She was a plant-eater and with her 37-foot-long neck probably had no problem reaching the leaves at the top of trees.
Bug hearts and ganglia
rcwebber
Take a look inside a bug and you’ll find one brain in its head and other little brains called “ganglia” along its whole body. These tiny control centers help insects see, taste, and smell. They also help them quickly escape threats, like other bugs.
“If you had little brains everywhere else, you would also be much quicker,” says bug expert Laura Lavine. » More ...
“If you had little brains everywhere else, you would also be much quicker,” says bug expert Laura Lavine. » More ...