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Why do scientists use Latin when they name organisms? – Arielle, New York

February 11, 2015 rcwebber

Dear Arielle,

Language changes all the time. Words get new meanings. New words get made up.

I talked about it with my friend Rich Zack. He’s an insect scientist at Washington State University. He does taxonomy. That’s the science of naming and classifying living things.

The way language changes is amazing—and skibidi. It’s neat that language morphs as we use it. But that can limit how well we understand each other. Some readers might see “skibidi” and think I passed out and hit random keys.

That’s the main reason scientists use Latin or ancient Greek to name things. They’re dead languages. Nobody uses … » More …

Will I ever like Brussels sprouts? - Susan

February 4, 2015 rcwebber

Dear Susan,

Cats aren’t usually big veggie-eaters. But working with humans means that I get to taste all kinds of new delicacies—like Brussels sprouts.

I talked about food preferences with my friend Carolyn Ross. She’s a chemist and food scientist at Washington State University.

She told me that some people are extra sensitive to how foods taste. They’re called supertasters.

“Supertasters actually have more taste buds,” Ross said. “We’ve found that people who are supertasters are particularly sensitive to bitterness.”

Bitterness really strikes at a supertaster’s fungiform papillae. Those are the mushroom-shaped lumps on your tongue that house your taste buds. Because of … » More …

What was the largest dinosaur? – Carlos, California

February 4, 2015 rcwebber

Dear Carlos,

Your question almost stumped me. I don’t really have dinosaur scientist pals. So, I turned to an expert on finding answers.

My friend Emily Cukier is a science librarian at Washington State University. She helps students and scientists find information. I asked her what dinosaur is the largest—and how she figures that out.

Cukier told me that I should think hard about my question. Are we looking for the tallest dino? The longest? The heaviest? Those might be different answers.

Then it’s time to ask the internet.

“I’m a librarian, but the first thing I would do is put it into … » More …