We need to understand what a swallow’s nest is really for – and it is not mainly for sleeping.
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Articles on Curious Kids
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Having different coloured eyes is quite unusual, but it happens in many species throughout the animal kingdom.
Emperor penguins have a few hidden tricks to stay warm, like blood vessels in the nose arranged so they can regain most of the heat that would be lost by breathing.
Think of it like a ladder. You might not be at the top right now, but each new thing you learn takes you a step closer and means that your parents can relax the rules a little.
Human eyes are very complex and are good at doing many jobs at once, while spiders have different sorts of eyes that do different jobs.
It’s true that here on Earth, if you want to burn something you need oxygen. But the Sun is different. It is not burning with the same kind of flame you would have on Earth if you burned a candle.
Being double jointed doesn’t mean you have an extra joint – an expert in biomechanics explains what makes some people doubly bendy.
Writing has only been a part of the human story for the last 5,000 years. In comparison, humans began to communicate using speech some 50,000 years ago.
An expert explains all the wonderful ways the atmosphere protects life on Earth.
The short answer is that leeches need blood to grow and reproduce. But it’s in their interests to do it carefully, without causing too much pain, and in spots that are hard to find.
Dinosaurs ruled the Earth for about 180 million years. But around 66 million years ago, a huge rock from outer space (called an asteroid) smashed into the Earth. Then things got worse for dinosaurs.
As strange as it sounds, rocks are made from stardust.
Ladybirds do not have tails because they have no backbones.
A scientist explains how global warming is affecting the entire world – from the mountains, to the sea.
We know very little about the deep sea and how its inhabitants, including anglerfish, will respond to change. In fact, more people have walked on the Moon than have been to the bottom of the ocean.
I have been interested in the science of fire and fireworks for a long time, and can tell you there is a lot happening in the very short time it takes to light a match.
Gravity exists because the universe is full of ‘stuff’ – here’s how it came to be.
Some animals, such as ghost shrimps can even cope with water that is saltier than normal seawater. It’s all down to evolution.
Understanding our evolution can tell us a lot about the health challenges we face today.
Waves occur in all sorts of places, and it’s possible that waves you might see breaking at the beach are at the end of a very long journey.
Top contributors
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Reader in Astrophysics, Keele University
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Associate Professor of Science & Medicine, Bond University
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PhD Candidate, University of Southern Queensland
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Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland
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Researcher, The University of Melbourne
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Professor, Macquarie University
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Senior Teaching Fellow, Medical Program, Bond University
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Associate Professor, School of Animal and Veterinary Science, University of Adelaide
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Lecturer, University of Southern Queensland
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Lecturer, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology
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Associate Professor, Philosophy of Science, The University of Melbourne
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Senior Lecturer in Physics, University of New England
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PhD Candidate, The University of Queensland
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Honorary Associate Professor, UNSW Sydney
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Professor of Astronomy, UMass Lowell
