How do bugs walk on water?
rcwebberDear Annelise,
The other day I was out ice skating when I started thinking about your question. Water strider bugs skitter across ponds almost as if they were skating on ice.
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How long can trees live?
rcwebberWhat kinds of trees are in your backyard? Do they have pinecones? Colorful leaves? Pods with seeds? Tell us more or send a picture to Dr.Universe@wsu.edu.
Dear Jessy,
As I was hiking through the bristlecone pine forests of the Sierra Nevada recently, I stumbled upon a tree barely six inches tall.
Read More ...Why do we get scared?
rcwebberDear Jack,
While our fears might be different, we all get scared sometimes. Vacuums, dogs, and even cucumbers make my hair stand on end. Perhaps for you it’s spiders, the dark, or the thought of monsters under your bed.
My friend Michael Delahoyde is really curious about what freaks us out. As an English professor at Washington State University, he’s even taught a course about monsters.
Read More ...Why does the Earth spin?
rcwebberDear Morven, Judith, and Mara:
No matter how still we stand, or if we’re in Scotland, Malaysia, or the United States, we are always spinning. Our Earth spins at a constant, very fast speed as we make a trip around the sun.
Read More ...How do spiders make silk?
rcwebberDear Johnny,
Spiders can do some amazing things with their sticky, stretchy, and super-strong silk. Us cats are pretty curious about these little silk-spinning machines, too.
Read More ...Cheetahs on the run
rcwebberDear 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 ...The sound of a seashell
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Dear Steve,
Whenever us cats go to the beach, we tend to keep a safe distance from the water and like to explore the shore. I once stumbled upon a big, beautiful pink and white seashell.
Read More ...Why do volcanoes “die”?
rcwebberDear Loretta,
Each volcano’s life is a little different. Many of them are born when big chunks of the Earth’s crust, or tectonic plates, collide or move away from each other. The moving plates force hot, liquid rock, or magma, to rise up from deep within the Earth.
Read More ...Why don’t plants get sunburns?
rcwebberDear Elijah,
That’s a great observation. For as much time as plants spend outside in the sun, we really don’t see too many with a sunburn.
Read More ...How many colors can we see?
rcwebber–
Dear Andrew,
The human eye can see millions and millions of colors. But believe it or not, some colors exist in our world that the human eye can’t see.
Read More ...What is the deepest spot in the ocean?
rcwebberDear Lawrence,
Deep underwater, not too far from Guam, lies a crescent-shaped canyon called the Mariana Trench. It is home to the deepest known spot in the ocean: The Challenger Deep.
Read More ...Why is the sky blue?
rcwebberDear Lanie,
Just the other day I looked up and wondered the very same thing. The sky is certainly blue, I thought. But on second thought, it isn’t always blue. Sunsets burst in pink and orange. The night sky is black.
Read More ...Earwax: Why do we have it?
rcwebberDear David,
The other day I was scratching my ears when I noticed some yellowish-brown gunk on my claw. It was pretty gross, but it also made me very curious.
Read More ...Are we getting lazier?
rcwebberDear Aaryan,
We cats have a reputation for being lazy. We sleep a lot. But the truth is when I got your question, I didn’t know much about laziness. So, I decided to talk about it with a couple of psychologists here at Washington State University.
My first stop was the Psychology of Physical Activity Lab. That’s where I met up with my friend, Professor Anne E. Cox.
Read More ...What causes stomachaches?
rcwebberDear Autumn,
Stomachaches happen for lots of reasons, but they can often be traced back to tiny invaders in the human body: germs.
Read More ...Do spiders have good eyesight?
rcwebberDear Kathryn,
Most spiders have quite a few eyes, but they usually can’t see very well. Then again, seeing isn’t everything.
Read More ...Are animal and human bones the same?
rcwebberDear 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 ...Do animals dream?
rcwebberDear Prahlad,
After a quick catnap and a stretch, I went to visit my friend Marcos Frank, a scientist at Washington State University who studies animal sleep.
Read More ...Can frog babies hear their moms?
rcwebberDear Ella,
Baby frogs go through some pretty big changes to become grown-up frogs. They start out as tiny tadpoles with just a head and a tail to help them swim. They have an inner ear and can hear some sounds.
Read More ...Are aliens real?
rcwebberDear Lily and Heidi,
Well, we don’t know for certain. Looking up to the stars at night, I’ve often wondered if alien cats are out chasing alien mice or taking naps on other planets.
My imagination aside, your questions are like those scientists are asking, too. And it’s no wonder we are so curious.
With billions of planets in our galaxy, including small Earth-like worlds, the possibility of life out there is an exciting thought to many people. So, humans have set out to look for planets that might support life.
In fact, this month scientists announced the Kepler spacecraft’s discovery of … » More …
Read More ...How did the first drop of water ever happen on Earth?
rcwebber?
Dear Ash,
We’ve learned a lot about how water supports life on the blue planet, but the first drop is a bit mysterious. Scientists have a few theories about how it happened.
Read More ...Why do people and animals get cancer more than they used to?
rcwebberDear Michael,
A hundred years ago, human beings only lived to be about 50 years old. Now people are living longer, so there’s more time for cancer to develop in their bodies. That’s what I learned from my friend David Liu who researches cancer at Washington State University.
Read More ...Why do we get jealous?
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Dear Hailey,
Cats love attention, but we don’t get jealous like humans do. It’s one of those emotions that set human beings apart from other creatures in the animal kingdom. But I can’t imagine it’s the most pleasant. The poet William Shakespeare once called jealousy a green-eyed monster. Still, it’s an emotion that can help you navigate the world.
Read More ...Why did people invent movies?
rcwebberDear Danielle,
Movies not only took the ideas and inventions of people, but also the work of a horse. Her name was Sallie Gardner and the debate of her day was whether or not horses ever had all four hooves off the ground during a gallop.
Read More ...Will electricity ever run out?
rcwebberDear Zoe,
Scientists could see and feel electricity in nature long before they discovered how to make it. Maybe you’ve seen it during a powerful electrical storm or felt a little shock from static electricity.
It happens because of tiny parts of atoms. They’re called electrons and they are everywhere.
Read More ...Why are ripe fruits sweet?
rcwebberDear Alexa,
My friend Kate Evans said the answer really depends on whether you want the perspective of a person, a plant, or even a cat. Evans is a plant scientist at Washington State University in Wenatchee, where she investigates fruit in the Apple Capital of the World.
She explained how long ago, wild apples actually grew in forests. Without farmers around to plant them in orchards, trees had to scatter their own seeds to survive.
For some trees, the key to survival is growing sweet, ripe fruit.
Read More ...Can you grow clothing?
rcwebberv
Dear Jay,
We can use all kinds of animal, bug, and plant materials to make cloth. Even some of the tiniest living things on the planet can make cloth, too.
I heard about this from my friend Hang Liu, a Washington State University professor who studies the science of materials we use and wear every day.
Read More ...Where do cheetahs live?
rcwebberDrifting out to space
rcwebber
Our universe would look so different, Kyle. You might not recognize it even if you could be here to see it. Unfortunately, there probably wouldn’t be a whole lot to see.
I learned about this from Washington State University professor and physicist Matthew McCluskey, who studies the material world. He explained how gravity pulls together dust, gas, and little particles floating around space to make massive clumps of matter that form stars and planets.
For example: planet Earth. Every particle in the Earth is pulling on you at this very moment--every single one. Read More ...
Do I really need to sleep?
rcwebberDear Diedrich,
Like most cats, I enjoy curling up for a quick snooze by my sunny office window. But I know that some people don’t love sleeping. They want to go go go without a break.
I talked about that with my friend Greg Belenky. He runs the Sleep and Performance Research Center at Washington State University’s Spokane campus.
He told me that we need to sleep. Without it, we can’t do basic or complex things.
“All you have to do is look at behavior,” he said. “Somebody who’s sleep deprived for 84 hours can hardly do anything. They’re docile and easily led. They … » More …
Read More ...Will I ever like Brussels sprouts?
rcwebberDear 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 …
Read More ...A lightning suit
rcwebber
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.
Read More ...Science Website for Kids
charles.dillon2Dear Dr. Universe: What is venom? -Callum, 9
Dear Callum,
A lot of different animals, like wasps, spiders, snakes, jellyfish, and scorpions, make venom. Animals like the cone snail, the blue-ringed octopus, and centipedes do, too.
Venom is a mixture of different proteins that can be very toxic to animals. While humans don’t make venom, they do carry around proteins. Proteins called keratin are the building blocks of your hair and nails. The red protein hemoglobin in your blood helps deliver oxygen around your body.
Venom tries to disrupt the systems in our body that help keep us alive, said my friend Mark … » More …
Read More ...Videos
charles.dillon2Got a science question? Any question?
Dr. Universe answers science questions from children with the help of Washington State University scientists. She teamed up with her friends at Northwest Public Broadcasting to bring some of those curious questions to life. Parents can help submit their children’s questions using the question form.
Hey cool cats, I’m Dr. Universe, here to answer your baffling science questions like this one. How do bones form? Most humans have 206 bones. But did you know, you are actually born with about 300? Before you were born, your skeleton was soft and bendy. Then when you were a … » More …
Read More ...Find Answers
rcwebberEver wondered how to build a suit to guard against lightning strikes? Or have you been curious about what you’d see if a black hole appeared between the Earth and moon?
Dr. Universe has.
The intrepid scientist is back. She is relentless in her pursuit of knowledge, but not necessarily tireless. She is a cat, after all, and cats like to nap.
Join her on her search for knowledge. Enter your email below and we’ll let you know when her adventures begin. You can help her by asking her questions. Like, that would REALLY help her. … » More …
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