A yolk allows a developing animal to stay in an egg longer, boosting its chance of survival. The downside is the mother has to work hard finding extra food so her body can create a nutritious yolk.
Photons stream from the sun and interact with all matter on Earth. Depending on what the light touches, some of the photons will get absorbed or soaked up. And some will bounce back.
Whiskers are not just ordinary hairs. They are thicker and go deeper into the tiger’s skin and send messages to its brain about what is happening in the world around it.
When a sound is made, it spreads. And when it hits a hard surface that is far away, it bounces back and comes back to where the sound was made. That’s what we call an echo.
David Farmer, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health
The brain itself can’t actually feel pain. It can’t sense damage to itself the way your finger can. We know this because people can have brain surgery while they are totally awake.
Fruit ripening is all about plants getting animals to eat the seeds that are inside their fruits. This helps the plants get their seeds to somewhere new where they can grow into a new plant.
David Farmer, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health
An adult brain weighs about 1.5kg. It’s mostly water with some fat, protein, sugar and a dash of salt. Sounds like pancakes, I know, but I once tried chicken brains and, well, pancakes are tastier.
Molluscs that have shells - like pipis, clams and oysters - have to build their own shell from scratch. And they keep building it their whole life, using chemicals from the sea and their own bodies.
The pressure in the deepest part of the ocean can be 1,000 times greater than the pressure we experience at sea level – but creatures that live and visit there have some very special features.
Your stomach works very hard with some other body parts to break down food into small pieces. Your body takes in what it needs and the rest is turned into poo.