Our experts
IMAGE: GETTY IMAGES
Nature’s weirdest creatures
NATURE’S WEIRDEST CREATURES… The pelican eel In 2018, researchers controlling a remotely operated vehicle in Hawaiian waters stumbled across the best view to date of this deep-sea oddity. Spotted a mile down in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, the critter looked like a sinister sperm, with its black, bulbous head and a lithe, whip-like tail. […]
How do we know dinosaurs roared? Were there any dinosaurs that might have chirped like a bird?
How do we know dinosaurs roared? Were there any dinosaurs that might have chirped like a bird? STEVEN RILEY, ABERDEEN In films and television documentaries, dinosaurs often roar like lions. But in fact, there is no evidence to suggest that they made such noises. On the contrary, the existing evidence suggests they didn’t, for a […]
Dear doctor…
ILLUSTRATION: DANIEL BRIGHT
How do I make the ultimate snowman?
How do I make the ultimate snowman? GLYN ELLIS, CARDIFF Not all snow is created equal, as anyone who has tried to have a snowball fight or build a snowman only to have the snow fall apart in their hands will know. That’s because the properties of snow vary greatly depending on temperature and moisture. […]
How do meteorites from Mars end up on Earth?
How do meteorites from Mars end up on Earth? REBECCA JONES, VIA EMAIL There are several strands of evidence implying that some meteorites found on Earth actually originate from Mars. Scientists have used a technique called ‘radiometric dating’ to determine the ages of these chunks of rock. The method, which is analogous to radiocarbon dating […]
Why can I raise one eyebrow and not the other?
Why can I raise one eyebrow and not the other? JENNIFER BRUCE, VIA EMAIL There isn’t much of a consensus on this. Some people think it’s due to greater muscle dexterity on one side of the face, others say one eyebrow is dominant in the way that one hand is dominant, while others argue that […]
Crowdscience: Why do we find things beautiful?
IMAGE: GETTY IMAGES
If we colonise the Moon, will the colonists experience night and day?
If we colonise the Moon, will the colonists experience night and day? FRED VERNON, VIA EMAIL Yes, anyone living on the Moon will experience night and day, but a lunar day and night would last almost an entire Earth month. Earth’s gravity causes the Moon to elongate slightly on the sides nearest and farthest from […]
If you put all the germs (and bacteria) in the world on top of each other, would we be able to see them?
QUESTION OF THE MONTH: If you put all the germs (and bacteria) in the world on top of each other, would we be able to see them? TOM SHEPHERD, BRISTOL Between bacteria an archaea (another type of single-celled microbe), there are more than 1030 individual cells. Although most are about one micrometre long (0.001mm), it’s […]