Science (Page 31)

Alena Ozerova/Shutterstock Do live-born lizards have belly buttons, and do live-born reptiles have an umbilical cord? – Gaelle, aged 12, Bristol, UK What an interesting question! A belly button or tummy button is technically known as a navel or umbilicus. Humans have belly buttons because before we are born, we are connected to our mothers via an umbilical cord. This is a tube that delivers nourishment to the unborn baby, known as an embryo, and removes waste. It runs from the placenta – an organ in the mother that provides a source of food and oxygen – to the tummy of the embryo. Once a baby is born, it can get nourishment such as milk through its mouth, and theContinue Reading

Artist's impression of Starship cruising past the Moon. Space Exploration Technologies Corp./SpaceX Flickr, CC BY-SA It’s been an eventful year for space exploration, with successes including the completion of Nasa’s Artemis 1 mission (finally), the inauguration of the James Webb Space Telescope, and the completion of China’s Tiangong space station. 2023 is set to be another busy year. Here are five of the most exciting missions to watch out for. 1. Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer In April, the European Space Agency (Esa) is set to launch the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice), in what will be Europe’s first dedicated robotic mission to Jupiter. Juice is due to reach the planet in July 2031 after performing an incredible flight path throughContinue Reading

Rachael Blackmore is among the top jockeys in the UK PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo The bookmaker (nearly) always wins, as the adage goes. But if you want to tip the balance in your favour, look to female riders. Gamblers’ biases have created a situation where punters can make greater returns by backing female jump jockeys. In our recently published research that was funded by the Racing Foundation, my colleagues and I discovered that when male and female jockeys have an equal chance of winning, the odds on horses ridden by women are longer (more profitable) overall. But while these findings may be a revelation to punters, there is a darker side to our work. We analysed British horseContinue Reading

It takes a lot of self control not to peek Krakenimages.com/Shutterstock When asked if they peeked at a toy, 40% of children falsely confessed to peeking, even though they did not do so, in a recent study of lying in toddlers. When so many children made up falsehoods with no benefit, there is more to it than cheeky fibs. The researchers, from Poland and Canada, tested children’s self-control at the age of 18 months by asking them not to peek at a toy. The same 252 children were tested again at age two and then again six months later. Only 35% of the young participants disobeyed the request not to look, but 27% of the peekers falsely claimed they hadContinue Reading

SUKJAI PHOTO/Shutterstock Why doesn’t the rainbow have colours like black, brown and grey in it? – Ivy, aged four, Kent, UK Many of us have seen rainbows in the sky once the sun starts shining again after a spell of rain. For us to see a rainbow, the conditions need to be just right. We need some water droplets in the air – like rain or even fog – and we need the Sun to be behind us and quite low to the ground. This is because a rainbow is created by light passing through water droplets. Curious Kids is a series by The Conversation that gives children the chance to have their questions about the world answered by experts.Continue Reading

Can this dragonfly feel pain? Stefan Csontos/Shutterstock At least a trillion insects are killed annually for food and animal feed. Routine slaughter methods include extreme heat and cold, often preceded by starvation. By comparison, “only” around 79 billion mammals and bird livestock are slaughtered every year. Scholars have long recognised that the survival value of pain means many animals experience it, supposedly with the exception of insects. But we surveyed more than 300 scientific studies and found evidence that at least some insects feel pain. Other insects, meanwhile, haven’t been studied in enough detail yet. We also carried out our own study into bumblebees’ response to potentially harmful stimuli. The way they reacted to the stimuli was similar to painContinue Reading

Hyllus semicupreus jumping spider common human/Shutterstock Spider scientists are an optimistic crowd. Perhaps it’s just that we see things from a different angle to arachnophobes. If you don’t believe me, look up Theridion grallator. Researchers from my field call this Hawaiian species the happy-face spider because of the smile-like curves on its back. Spiders have a reputation for inspiring fear. But working with them puts me in a good mood, given how much scientists have learned from their study. Spider research has given us insights into evolution, such as why there is so much diversity within a single species. For example, why do happy face spiders, or their colourful European counterparts, the candy-striped spider, come in so many different colours?Continue Reading

NIF's target chamber, where a powerful laser is used to start nuclear fusion reactions Photo by Jason Laurea/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), CC BY-NC-SA Nuclear fusion holds huge promise as a source of clean, abundant energy that could power the world. Now, fusion researchers at a national laboratory in the US have achieved something physicists have been working towards for decades, a process known as “ignition”. This step involves getting more energy out from fusion reactions than is put in by a laser. But just how close are we to producing energy from fusion that can power people’s homes? While ignition is only a proof of principle and a first step in a very long process, other developments are alsoContinue Reading

Laser energy being converted into X-rays inside a box, which compress a fuel capsule until it implodes. LLNL Researchers in the US have finally fulfilled an objective that was set decades ago: the achievement of “ignition” – getting more energy out than you put in – using nuclear fusion. The scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility (NIF), where the experiment took place, are no doubt both excited and relieved to finally fulfil the promise implied by the name of their facility. But how excited should the rest of us be? What does this really mean for the possibility of creating effectively unlimited amounts of clean energy, and what else needs to happen to achieve this? WhileContinue Reading

Heat the room you'll spend the most time in. Nikodash/Shutterstock As temperatures drop over the winter period and the cost of energy rises across the UK and Europe, how to spend less money on gas and electricity is on everyone’s minds. The UK energy regulator Ofgem reports that an average two- to three-person household in the UK consumes eight kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity and 33kWh of gas daily. This equates to around 2,900kWh of electricity and 12,000kWh of gas a year. For comparison, an electric oven in your house uses 2kWh for 30 minutes of use. With the rising cost of living, even the smallest tweaks and changes will help you save money. And by following these somewhat unusualContinue Reading