What is the risk of flying?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteBY SCIENCE BRIDGE ACADEMY During holidays, many of us will take the opportunity to travel somewhere, perhaps overseas. With low cost air-lines abundant, many of us can afford to fly instead of having to drive or take the train. But would it in fact, be safer to do the latter? Since the occurrences of various […]
Why are there different types of calendars?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteBY SCIENCE BRIDGE ACADEMY There are many different kind of calendars being actively used around the world and are basically of three types – solar, lunar and lunisolar/solilunar calendars. As the name suggests, a solar calendar is concerned with the Sun, or, more precisely, it is based on the Earth’s rotation around the Sun. Lunar […]
How does addiction work?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteThe word “addiction” is derived from a Latin term for “enslaved by” or “bound to.” Anyone who has struggled to overcome an addiction understands why. Addiction exerts a long and powerful influence on the brain that manifests in three distinct ways: craving for the object of addiction, loss of control over its use, and continuing […]
How do geckos stick onto walls?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteGeckos dangling precariously from overhead lights or running up walls are a common sight in tropical countries. This is possible due to a weak attraction between the molecules known as the van der Waals force. However, this force alone isn’t sufficient. To overcome this shortcoming, geckos have hundreds of minute and microscopic hair known as […]
Why do elephants have big ears?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteDuring a hot day, we tend to sweat. However, elephants are unable to do so. Ever wondered how do they regulate their body temperature? Elephants are massive animals and they produce a lot of body heat. As they inhabit very hot regions, it is pivotal to have an efficient method to eliminate excess body heat. […]
Who came up with the practice of vaccination?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteAn English doctor and ‘The father of immunology’, Edward Jenner presented the gift of vaccination to the world. In 1796, he performed his famous experiment on eight year old James Phipps. Jenner extracted[ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3,5″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ] pus from a cowpox postulate and inserted it into an incision on the boy’s arm. He was experimenting […]
What are rhinoceros’ horns made up of?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteRhinoceros or rhinos are large, herbivorous mammals that are commonly identified by their horned snouts. The word rhinoceros were derived from Greek words in which ‘rhino’ meant[ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3,5″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ] nose and ‘ceros’ meant horn. There are five species and 11 subspecies of rhinos in which some possess two horns while others only have […]
How do bats navigate at night?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteEver heard the idiom ‘as blind as a bat’? It is commonly utilised to denote a person with poor eyesight. On the contrary, bats aren’t blind. Most of them can see really well, even in dim light. [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3,5″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ]As an example, most fruit eating bats possess large, bulging eyes that aid them […]
How do parrots mimic human speech?
Reading Time: < 1 minuteIf you’re wondering why parrots imitate sounds they hear, it’s because they’re social creatures. They feel a need to be able to interact and fit in with those around them. When kept as pets, these birds see their human owners as their family and want to communicate with them. Since a human owner [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” […]
How geodes are formed?
Reading Time: < 1 minutePEOPLE are crazy for geodes right now. A geode may look like a plain, ugly rock from the outside, but when it is broken open, it is filled with beautiful crystals. People use the crystals for decoration and jewellery. But where do they come from? Geodes are born when a cavity develops in a rock. These holes are often formed by […]