#anatomy
Questions about “anatomy”.
63 articles
Why does eating pineapple make your tongue tingle?
Sweet, tangy and delicious, yet bite after bite your tongue starts to prickle and sting. Behind that feeling lies a slightly alarming reason unique to pineapple.
How many times a day do we blink?
You have almost certainly closed your eyelids at least once while reading this sentence. Have you ever stopped to count how often?
Are you taller in the morning than at night?
The same person can measure a different height in the morning and at night. About 300 years ago, an English clergyman who noticed this is said to have saved several soldiers from being discharged for being too short.
Why is wombat poop cube-shaped?
On a rock in an Australian forest sits a little dropping shaped like a die. The people who cracked the mystery were, surprisingly, engineers.
Why do we get hiccups?
That stubborn “hic” you just can’t stop. Everyone gets them, yet what they’re actually for remains surprisingly unclear.
Do plants grow better if you play them music?
Vegetables raised on classical music taste better—ever heard that one? We trace the relationship between plants and sound through the history of research.
How many hearts does an octopus have?
A heart that stops when it swims, blue blood built on copper, arms that think. The more you learn about the humble octopus, the more alien it seems.
Why are yawns contagious?
See someone yawn, and before you know it, you’re yawning too. How many times will you yawn before you finish reading this?
How do bats fly in the dark?
They dart through pitch-black caves without hitting a thing and snatch tiny insects out of the air. How they do it puzzled scientists for more than 200 years.
How many hours a day do giraffes sleep?
Ever heard that giraffes hardly sleep at all? Look into it, and the answer depends a great deal on how you count sleep, and where the giraffe lives.
Why doesn’t the stomach digest itself?
Your stomach turns meat and fish into mush. Yet the stomach itself is an organ made of flesh. How does it keep from dissolving?
Do babies really have more bones than adults?
As we grow, our bodies get bigger but our bone count goes down. Behind that curious subtraction lies a reason that helps babies survive.
What makes the fizz in a carbonated drink?
The hiss when you crack the cap, the fine bubbles streaming up from the bottom of the glass. Where exactly are those bubbles born?
Is it true that honey never spoils?
A jar of honey forgotten for years at the back of the cupboard often seems surprisingly fine. The secret of its staying power lies in the bees’ handiwork.
Why do we have a dominant hand?
The hand that holds a pen, the hand that throws a ball. Our dominant hand seems settled before we notice—so when, and how, does it take shape?
Do identical twins have the same fingerprints?
If two people share exactly the same genes, surely their fingertips should match too. It’s a tempting thought, but a different drama was playing out in the womb.
Are cactus spines actually leaves?
Green stems bristling with sharp spines, and not a leaf in sight. Yet a cactus’s leaves are right there in front of you, in disguise.
How many smells can humans tell apart?
Fresh coffee, earth after rain, bread straight from the oven. Just how many different smells can our noses tell apart?
Do penguins have knees?
Penguins waddle along on stubby little legs. But peek at the skeleton beneath the feathers, and you find a posture you would never guess from the outside.
Why are chili peppers hot?
Eat a fiery dish and the sweat pours out as your mouth seems to burn. Yet nothing is actually heating up. A little mix-up is happening on your tongue.
Where is Chopin’s heart?
The “poet of the piano” died in Paris at just 39. Yet part of him rests to this day in another country, far from his grave.
What is the strongest muscle in the human body?
The biceps? The thighs? Surprisingly, this question doesn’t have one fixed answer.
Do your tears change with your feelings?
Tears of sadness and tears from chopping onions look like the same drops. But are they the same inside? A story of research on tears spanning more than 40 years.
Why does cutting onions make you cry?
Nothing sad has happened, yet the tears keep rolling at the cutting board. Researchers at a Japanese food company played a big part in working out why.
Why does eating ice cream give you a brain freeze?
You gulp down shaved ice, and a sharp pain stabs behind your forehead. The cold is in your mouth, so why does your head hurt?
Why are flamingos pink?
Everyone knows the flamingo as the pink bird. But one look at a flamingo chick tells you that color isn’t something they’re born with.
Why do we get goosebumps?
A cold morning, a piece of music that moves you. What mechanism in the body raises those tiny bumps across your arm?
Is muscle soreness caused by lactic acid?
Two days after your first workout in ages, your legs scream every time you walk down the stairs. But is the usual suspect really the one to blame?
Is it true that starfish have no brain?
A star-shaped body gliding slowly over the seafloor. Where is its head? Which way is forward? The more you think about starfish, the stranger they get.
How much does hair grow in a day?
It must be growing every day, yet the mirror never shows a change. So how fast is your hair actually growing?
Can a turtle climb out of its shell?
In cartoons, turtles slip out of their shells and dash around unencumbered. So what is really going on inside a real turtle’s shell?
Do dolphins really sleep with half their brain at a time?
When and how do mammals that live in the sea get any sleep? It turns out they have a remarkable trick for swimming and breathing while they rest.
Why do we dream?
Flying through the sky, meeting someone you’ve missed. What purpose could these strange stories screened while we sleep possibly serve?
Why do cats purr?
That low rumble vibrating on your lap is so familiar you barely notice it. Yet researchers are still arguing about where it comes from.
How many cells are in the human body?
The number you learned in school and the number in today’s reference books don’t match. In the 21st century, scientists sat down and counted the body’s cells again.
Why is the sour umeboshi called an “alkaline food”?
Japan’s pickled plums are sour enough to make you pucker, yet they’ve long been held up as a model “alkaline food.” The reason involves setting food on fire.
Who invented braille?
Station handrails, can lids, elevator buttons: the tiny rows of raised dots found all over town began with one boy’s ingenuity.
Is blood type linked to personality?
“You’re so organized—you must be type A.” In Japan this is everyday small talk. But when, and from where, did the idea take hold?
How fast does a hummingbird’s heart beat?
A tiny bird hangs perfectly still in front of a flower, sipping nectar. Inside that jewel-like body, a heart is beating at an almost unimaginable pace.
Why does time seem to speed up as we get older?
Childhood summers seemed to last forever; an adult year is gone in a blink. Psychologists have been puzzling over this almost universal feeling for more than a century.
Why are sloths so slow?
They hang from trees most of the day and move in slow motion. Behind the animal named for laziness lies a thoroughgoing energy-saving strategy.
Is the tongue “taste map” real?
Sweet at the tip, bitter at the back. Remember that diagram from a textbook? It’s the story of a small misunderstanding that began with a paper more than a century old.
How fast do fingernails grow?
You just trimmed them, and somehow they’re already long again. One doctor spent 35 years recording that tiny change on his own thumb.
Why do we sneeze?
Once your nose starts to tickle, there’s no stopping it. Bright light can set it off, and some claim sneezes are as fast as a bullet train. How much of that is true?
What are a zebra’s stripes for?
On an open savanna, a bold black-and-white coat seems made to stand out. After puzzling scientists for over 150 years, the mystery is yielding a surprising answer.
Do cows really have four stomachs?
At a Japanese barbecue restaurant, the menu may list mino, hachinosu, senmai and giara. All four are cow stomach. So what exactly is going on inside a cow?
What makes the sound when you crack your knuckles?
Plenty of us were warned that cracking our knuckles would make them swell. Scientists have pursued the source of that satisfying pop with surprising determination.
What is the giant panda’s “sixth finger”?
Giant pandas grip bamboo with surprising dexterity as they munch away. Hidden in their front paws is a tool that no other bear has.
What happens if you cry in space?
When we’re sad or happy, tears roll down our cheeks. But if you cry aboard a spacecraft, where there is no up or down, where do the tears go?
Why does your stomach growl?
A silent meeting room, and then it happens: that unmistakable rumble. The embarrassing noise turns out to be the sound of a very regular habit your gut keeps.
What percentage of the human body is water?
People often say the human body is mostly water. But how much, exactly? It turns out the share varies surprisingly with age and sex.
Is your earwax type decided by your genes?
Some people’s earwax comes out in dry flakes, while others’ is soft and sticky. Where does that difference come from? Hidden behind it is a trace of humanity’s long journey across the globe.
Why can owls turn their heads so far?
The body stays put while the face swivels to look straight behind. A move like that could seriously hurt a human. How does an owl’s body pull it off?
When was the toothbrush invented?
We pick up a toothbrush every morning and night without a second thought. Before it existed, how did people keep their teeth clean?
How did Beethoven compose when he couldn’t hear?
For a musician, the ears are everything. So how did Beethoven, who lost his hearing little by little, manage to write huge works like the Ninth Symphony?
Would your blood vessels really wrap around the Earth two and a half times?
Lay your blood vessels end to end and they’d circle the Earth two and a half times, or so we’re told. Trace the figure back, and you find an imaginary 140-kilogram man.
Why do we replace our teeth only once?
Sharks go through tens of thousands of teeth in a lifetime, yet we swap ours only once, in childhood. Here’s why, and where research into regrowing teeth stands today.
Can a cockroach live without its head?
Cockroaches are practically a byword for toughness. Is the rumor that they keep living after losing their heads just an exaggeration?
Why do some people’s faces turn red when they drink?
One glass of beer turns some people bright red; others drink round after round without changing color. The difference lies in a tiny variation in a single gene.
Why do runners go counterclockwise around the track?
From school sports days to the Olympic 400 meters, runners always bend to the left. But at the very first modern Olympics, they went the other way.
Do we really use only 10 percent of our brains?
Wake up the other 90 percent and you’ll become a genius. It’s a favorite of movies and self-help books, but what do the scientists who study the brain make of it?
Why is human body temperature around 36–37°C?
The idea that “normal” is 37°C was popularized by a German doctor more than 150 years ago. Now it seems that normal itself has been slowly slipping.
Do male seahorses really give birth?
A dragon-like face and a neatly curled tail. The seahorse, an aquarium favorite, splits family duties in a way almost no other fish does.