Dear Nova,
Nothing says “spring” like frolicking baby animals.
I asked my friend Michela Ciccarelli why so many babies arrive then. She’s a veterinarian at Washington State University. She specializes in animal reproduction.
It turns out lots of mammals are seasonal breeders. That’s a strategy to make sure their babies come at the best time.
“It’s an evolutionary adjustment,” Ciccarelli said. “Spring is the time of year where it’s getting warmer. There’s enough forage to make sure lambs, kids, foals and calves survive.”
If those baby animals were born in the winter, their moms might find less food—and they need that food to … » More …
Read More ...Dear Jake,
Sometimes, when I’m working on a tricky question, I scale the tree outside my office. It helps me focus.
I asked my friend Steve Lampa how cats like me do that. He teaches small animal anatomy in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University.
He told me it’s all about a beefy backside and razor-sharp claws.
“First cats jump and propel themselves with their rump and hind limbs,” Lampa said. “Then they anchor with their claws—which are like grappling hooks. Domestic cats actually have sharper claws than their wild counterparts.”
The jumping part of the climb involves powerful muscles, especially … » More …
Read More ...Dear Izzy,
My coworkers sometimes forget that I’m a cat—until I reach out a paw to shake their hand. At first glance, cat and dog paws seem very different from human hands and feet.
I talked about that with my friend Natasha Hottmann. She’s a veterinarian at Washington State University.
She told me that a dog paw is actually super similar to a human foot. Dogs just walk on their toes—like they’re wearing invisible high heels. That’s called digitigrade locomotion.
“People think, ‘Oh, their knee is backward’ or something—but it’s not their knee,” Dr. Hottmann said. “It’s the point of their heel, which is … » More …
Read More ...Dear Prince,
Germs are tiny organisms—also called microbes. They’re so small you have to zoom in with a microscope to see them. They can be bacteria, viruses, fungi or other teeny things. Some microbes make us sick. Some don’t bother us at all. Some help us out.
I talked about all that with my friend Eric Lofgren. He studies infectious disease at Washington State University.
He said there are two main reasons we have germs on our skin. We pick up some microbes from the environment. Some live on our skin all the time.
“The world is full of microbes,” Lofgren said. “They’re very … » More …
Read More ...Dear Prince,
When I was a kitten, I saw a movie about shark attacks. It made me nervous to go into the water.
I talked about that with my friend Nora Hickey. She’s a fish veterinarian at Washington State University.
She told me that sharks don’t eat people.
Many sharks can’t even bite. They have mouths adapted to sift sand or slurp up plankton.
Sharks that can bite don’t hunt humans. They eat prey with a thick fat layer like seals and sea lions. Muscly animals like birds, cats and people seem to taste bad to sharks.
“Even if they bit you, … » More …
Read More ...Dear Annika,
I’d love to read a creepy science fiction story where people dissolve.
I asked my friend Anders Omsland if that could happen. He’s a biomedical researcher at Washington State University.
He told me a lysosome is a specialized compartment in a cell. It’s like a little sack of digestive enzymes. Those are proteins that break stuff down. Our cells use lysosomes to help destroy germs or recycle old or messed up cell parts.
Lysosomes are basically the cell’s trash and recycling centers.
“I don’t think it’s possible for lysosomes to all pop at the same time,” Omsland said. “They don’t really explode … » More …
Read More ...Dear Zara,
I love visiting the vet. But, like many cats, sometimes I need medicine to keep me calm.
I talked about that with my friend Lais Malavasi. She’s a veterinarian at Washington State University.
She told me about two kinds of calming medicine. Vets and human doctors use them to reduce pain and fear.
Sedatives make patients feel relaxed and sleepy. But they’re mostly aware of what’s going on. When the medicine wears off, they’ll probably have fuzzy memories.
Anesthesia makes patients unconscious. They can’t feel pain or move. They aren’t aware of what’s going on. When they wake up, they won’t … » More …
Read More ...Dear Jonathan,
There’s no doubt that the relationship between humans and dogs is special. But does your best pupper understand everything you tell them?
I asked my friend Cassidy Cordon. She’s a veterinarian at Washington State University.
She told me that dogs understand lots of human words. But dogs also pay attention to their human’s tone of voice and body language to figure out what the human means.
Let say you teach your dog that “walk” means you’re going to take a stroll. Your dog friend might recognize the word “walk.” But they might also notice that you’re picking up their leash or putting on your shoes. They might pay attention to how excited your voice sounds—and whether that matches your tone when you taught them the word “walk.”
Read More ...Dear Dottie,
When I was a kitten, I learned to swim by diving for coins in the pool. It wasn’t easy seeing the coins underwater. It was blurry down there.
I talked about how fish see with my friend Nora Hickey. She’s a fish veterinarian at Washington State University.
She told me that fish eyes don’t work the same way mammal eyes do—even though we have the same eye parts.
Your cornea is the clear, squishy tissue right at the front of your eye. It’s in front of the colored ring in your eye—called the iris. There’s a dark dot in the center … » More …
Read More ...Dear Brayden,
Not to brag, but when I was a kitten, humans would see me and squee. Maybe it was my big, sparkly eyes or my teeny, fluffy paws.
I asked my friend Giuseppe Giannotti why people found me so adorable. He’s a scientist at Washington State University. He studies the brain.
He told me that humans like cute animals because they remind them of babies.
“We’re drawn to find traits in animals that are similar to what we think is cute in humans,” Giannotti said. “The cutest things in humans are babies—you know, big heads, giant eyes, soft cheeks—and we project this to everything around us.”
Read More ...Dear Aurelia,
It’s been almost ten years since someone went viral for recording a cat freaking out about a cucumber. In that video, a human sneaked up behind a cat while it was eating. They silently placed a cucumber behind the cat. When the cat turned around, it jumped super high and ran away. Soon, lots of people were making those videos.
I asked my friend Jessica Bunch why all those cats were scared. She’s a veterinarian at Washington State University.
She told me that cats can be surprised by new things. That’s especially true if the new thing shows up without warning. Or while the cat has its guard down. Like when a cat is eating, and a human sneaks up with a cucumber.
Read More ...Dear Lara,
Sometimes I get an overwhelming urge to rub my face on things I love—like my microscope. Other times I’m so happy to see my tortoiseshell roommate that we bump our heads together.
I talked about why I do that with my friend Dr. Jessica Bell. She’s a veterinarian at Washington State University.
She told me that cats rub their cheeks on things when they’re happy or want to say that thing belongs to them.
Read More ...Dear Kaylee,
I purr all. the. time. I purr when I get a good question like yours. I purr when I finish answering a question. I even purr when I’m struggling to find an answer.
Luckily, Dr. Sarah Guess says that’s normal. She’s a veterinarian at Washington State University. She told me that cats purr when they’re content and when they’re stressed out. It can be a little confusing for humans.
Scientists have two ideas about why cats purr. It could have come from the way mother cats care for kittens. Or it could keep their bones and tissues healthy.
But experts don’t agree on the answer yet.
Read More ...Dear Zelezina,
I love how humans use figures of speech about animals to describe their behavior. An early bird is someone who likes to get up early. A night owl is someone who loves to be awake late at night—like an owl.
I talked about why owls stay up all night with my friend Dr. Marcie Logsdon. She’s a wildlife veterinarian at Washington State University.
She told me that for many owls, the dark is a good time to catch a meal.
“Owls are just taking advantage of a time when they can excel at finding prey because there are a lot of other things that are active at night, too—like rodents,” Logsdon said.
Read More ...Dear Bailey,
My best friend is a golden retriever. When I get home, she greets me with a goofy smile and a big wag of her fluffy tail.
I talked about why she has a tail with my friend Jillian Haines. She’s a veterinarian at Washington State University.
She told me dogs use their tails for lots of things. Tails help dogs balance while running, jumping or swimming. Tails help dogs communicate with each other and other animals. Some dogs in the Arctic—like sled dogs—use their tails to stay warm. They curl up and cover their noses with their fluffy tails.
Read More ...Dear Copper,
All living things need water. It’s how life works on Earth. But do animals that swim in water drink water?
I talked about that with my friend Nora Hickey. She’s a fish veterinarian at Washington State University.
She told me it depends on the kind of fish. Saltwater fish constantly drink water. Freshwater fish drink hardly any water.
It’s all about the salts inside their bodies. Those salts make their muscles and nervous systems work.
Read More ...Dear Marshall,
Sometimes I get x-rays at the veterinarian. They work by sending a small amount of powerful energy—called radiation—through my body. X-rays only contain a small amount of radiation. Too much radiation would harm my cells.
The organisms most likely to survive extreme radiation might be microbes. These creatures are so tiny you need a microscope to see them.
To learn more, I talked with my friend Cynthia Haseltine. She’s a microbiologist at Washington State University. She studies extremophiles. These microbes love intense environments. Boiling heat? Freezing cold? Blistering acid? Yes, please.
Haseltine told me the amount of radiation an organism can survive is measured in grays. Just 5 grays of radiation will kill a human. Here are five organisms that can survive way more than that.
Read More ...Dear Neely,
As a science cat, I handle going to the veterinarian better than most. I see it as a meeting of scientific minds. But I had no idea some veterinarians specialize in fish.
I learned all about fish medicine from my friend Nora Hickey. She’s a fish veterinarian at Washington State University. She works in the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory. She helps fish at zoos and hatcheries stay healthy.
Hickey told me you can watch a betta's behavior to see if it's happy. Happy bettas swim around. They interact with things in their tanks and act interested when you come close.
Read More ...Dear Tanveer,
Everyone who heard your question agreed that it’s a sophisticated one. To get my paws around the answer, I talked with my friend Phil Mixter. He’s an immunology professor at Washington State University.
He told me all living things need to protect themselves from microbes that could make them sick. These are called pathogens. They can be bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites.
“Almost every organism I can think of—from plants to animals and beyond—has a defense system to handle the possibility that another organism might sneak in,” Mixter said.
Read More ...Dear Cameren,
Humans have kept dogs as pets for more than 14,000 years. That close friendship inspires scientists to explore questions like yours.
I talked about how dogs age with my friend Ryan Baumwart. He’s a heart doctor for dogs. He teaches in the veterinary hospital at Washington State University.
I asked Baumwart if a dog year is equal to seven human years.
“I think it's a good general rule,” he said. “But some larger breed dogs like bullmastiffs and Great Danes have a shorter lifespan of 6 to 8 years. So if you do the math, they get shorted. Then some small breed dogs like Chihuahuas seem to live forever.”
Read More ...Dear Katelyn,
Maybe you dream of pointing your telescope toward distant galaxies. Or zooming in on microscopic life on Earth. Being a scientist is an amazing job. You can also do science for fun—no matter your age or anything else about you. It belongs to everyone.
I talked about science training with my friend Kalli Stephens. She’s earning her bachelor’s degree in genetics and cell biology from Washington State University. WSU has a strong undergraduate research program. So, Stephens has been working as a scientist while going to school.
Read More ...Dear Trystan,
One of my favorite things to do is look at pond water with a microscope. I love to see all the teeny tiny critters zooming around in a single drop.
I talked about microorganisms, also called microbes, with my friend Claire Burbick. She’s a microbiologist at Washington State University. She told me the key trait for microbes is size. Microbes are micro—which means extremely small.
Read More ...Dear Jonathan,
Some people get nervous when they go to the doctor. Maybe you’re one of them. You may not enjoy all of the visit, but you understand the doctor wants to help you. (And that a treat might await you at the end.)
But if an elephant gets sick, they can’t understand a doctor’s words. They may get confused and scared, until it’s too dangerous to help them.
That’s why sleeping darts—also known as tranquilizer darts—help so much.
“It’s safer for both the humans and the elephant because the humans aren’t right next to a wild animal, and the animal isn’t being chased to try to catch it,” Dr. Tamara Grubb said. She is a veterinarian at Washington State University who specializes in anesthesiology, drugs that make animals calm, sleepy, or unable to feel pain.
Read More ...Dear Bailey,
Our planet is home to all kinds of lizards. Maybe you’ve seen one climbing up the wall, scurrying through the grass, or at the pet store. Just the other day I saw a big green iguana when I visited the Washington State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital in search of an answer to your question.
Read More ...Dear Jarrett,
Animals can get through winter in all kinds of ways. Us cats like to curl up on a cozy couch. Some penguins huddle in groups to create heat. A lot of birds fly south to warmer weather. Perhaps you put on mittens and a coat.
Read More ...Dear Jacob,
The quick, little sting of a vaccine shot can provide us with some big protection from germs that cause disease.
Read More ...
Dear Shanyu,
Cheetahs are in really good shape. Not only are they good runners, but the actual shape of their body helps them move at incredible speeds.
Read More ...Dear Sara,
Pain is unpleasant, but we need it for survival. Just the other day I was out exploring when I stubbed my paw and let out a big meow. My nervous system was doing its job.
Read More ...Dear Elena,
The animal kingdom is full of amazing eyes. And yes, there are actually creatures on our planet that have just one.
Read More ...Dear Lydia,
The short answer is yes, said my friend Leslie Sprunger, a veterinarian and professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University. But, as always, there’s a catch.
Read More ...