The simple science twins are back to answer more of your questions; this one is all about hailstones and it comes in from five year old Matthew who can sometimes be found over on Office Mum’s blog. Matthew would like to know… Read more
A Simple Slice of Science
How high do birds fly?
This question comes in from twins Sabha and Lile, who can sometimes be found on the lovely Where Wishes Come From blog. They are two wonderful girls that are fairly mad into science, and their mum tells me that they are always full of questions (we love that around here!). This is the first of two questions they have sent in…
How high do birds fly?
Dr. Simple is, as ever, delighted to answer their question. And this week he has his twin sister with him (which is pretty appropriate don’t you think?). You’ll see below that the regular Dr. Simple post has had a revamp, I love it like this, I hope you do too!
Thanks again to Lile and Sabha for this great question, what super science twins you are!
I hope you like the new layout here, be sure to let me know in the comments below, and remember to send in any questions that you or your family have. We love getting them!
A Simple Slice of Science – Why do we burp?
Dr. Simple is back answering some more great questions; this one came in from five-year-old Cathal, who can sometimes be found over at the lovely blog Bumbles of Rice.
Cathal wants to know…
Why do we burp?
And here is what Dr. Simple has to say on the matter…
Who knew the humble burp could be so interesting? Here are a few more burp facts that Dr. Simple didn’t mention…
- Not all animals, can burp; chicken, rats and horse are among some that cannot.
- The average person passes wind (through burps and farts) an average 20 times a day!
- This can add up to three or more litres of gas a day!
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Thanks so much for your question, Cathal, and if anyone else has a question for Dr. Simple, just leave it in the comments below!
A Simple Slice of Science – How do birds and aeroplanes fly?
It has been a while, but Dr. Simple is back… with some more science in 30 seconds… this time he answers the question…
“How do birds and aeroplanes fly?
A Simple Slice of Science – Why do we get Jetlag?
For this Simple Slice of Science Dr. Simple looks at Jetlag… what is it, why we suffer from it and can it be avoided? This question originally came in from Lisa at Mama.ie when she wrote this blog post (so it only took me five months to write this response… I can’t blame jetlag for that!).
References:
*http://www.airspacemag.com/need-to-know/when-did-the-term-jet-lag-come-into-use-71638/?no-ist
**http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/mammalian-molecular-clock-model
A Simple Slice of Science – Why do we have five fingers?
This week’s questions comes from the youngest junior scientist in the Science Wows household and he wants to know…
Why do we have five fingers?
As it is National Maths Week Dr. Simple is happy to be talking numbers.
References:
1. Why do most species have five digits on their hands and feet?
2. What if our hands had six fingers?
3. Why do we have ten fingers?
A simple slice of science – why does your voice sound different on the radio?
Dr. Simple is back with another really cool question. This one comes in from Jill, who can often be found here, when she is not pondering such questions as….
why does your voice sound different on the radio?
So if, like me, you cringe when hearing your voice from any recording then sit back, tune in and check out what Dr. Simple has to say on the matter…
A Simple Slice of Science – Why do trees grow?
This week’s question for Dr. Simple came in from Eleni who is three and a half! Eleni wants to know …
“Why Do Trees Grow?”
Dr. Simple had to keep himself firmly rooted on the ground to answer this one… I hope this answers your question Eleni!
A Simple Slice of Science – How can I make two of me?
This week’s question for Dr. Simple is a real gem and comes from six year old Abigail (you might find her mentioned here too)…
How can I make two of me?
I think if Abigail is asking these questions at the age of six then she will really go far, don’t you agree?
Here is what Dr. Simple has to say on the matter… and don’t adjust your screens if you think you are seeing double!
So there you have it! Hopefully a simple answer to a really wonderful question. It certainly opens up the discussion of whether we should be cloning or not. As a geneticist myself I wouldn’t be encouraging it, but I do have a much simpler answer… I reckon if Abigail could just build herself a Transmogrifier then she will really have nailed the whole cloning thing. She could turn herself into another Abigail and the job would be done!
If you do make one Abigail, can I borrow it?
A simple slice of science – Why do we yawn?
This week’s question comes from seven year old Emily, who, I hear is always asking her mum questions… sometimes her mum even writes about it here.
Emily wants to know….
Why do we yawn?
Dr. Simple will try to stop yawning long enough to answer the question…. because yawning is contagious! See how many times you yawn while reading this and leave us a note in the comments below!
So, go on, tell us how many times did you yawn?
Further reading/references:
The surprising science of yawning
Different yawn, different functions?
In group/out group bias in contagious yawning