How Cells Get Around 漫步的细胞 A major reason why many cancers are so dangerous is that they metastasize . This means that instead of staying in one place, the cancer cells migrate from their original site to other parts of the body. No wonder...
Runny Nose 流鼻涕 As anyone whos had a toddler knows, theyre incredibly demanding creatures. Armed with an insatiable desire to eat and/or destroy just about everything in their path, these walking embodiment s of unchecked ego can be a handful. E...
Males Rule in Costa Rican Wasp Species 哥斯达黎加父系制度的黄蜂 In most species of social insects, such as wasp s , bees, and ants, the females rule. The females are the workers. They are the ones to go out and get the food, and they are...
Mind Reading 读心术 Sometimes we get letters here asking whether psychic s are for real. Well, despite the t.v. shows, there isnt any scientific evidence that psychic powers, such as mind-reading, actually exist. That doesnt prove they dont existj...
Why lips go dry？ 为什么嘴唇会干呢？ Lets start by reviewing the ways in which the surface of our lips is different from the surface of the skin on the rest of our bodies. Basically, our lips are made of the same mucus membrane that coats t...
Duct Tape and Wart s 管状胶带和疣 Have you ever used duct tape to tape a duct ? Do you even know what a duct is? Maybe not. But you definitely know what duct tape is, and youve probably used it to fix everything from glasses to flashlights. Now...
Here! Boy 乖乖，看这！ Point at a ball and a dog will look at the ball, whereas a cat will probably look at your hand. Dogs seem to have a ready understanding of how human beings direct attention by pointing, and can follow our gestures almost...
Get It? 明白了吗？ Did you ever wonder what occurs inside your body when something funny happens? What is this thing we have in our brains that makes us say ha-ha when someone slips on a banana? One way to find out is to watch the brain laugh. T...
The Prefrontal Cortex with Age 年老的 前额皮质 The prefrontal cortex is the region of the brain located just behind the forehead, where higher-level cognition occurs, such as recalling whether a word was heard aloud or read. Most people show e...
Is Your Dog Wimpier than Your Cat? 狗比猫更懦弱？ Have you ever noticed that while its pretty easy to tell your dog is sick, its much harder to know how your cat or bird are feeling? Well, before you start asking your dog why it cant be more s...
Los Ant-geles 洛杉矶人和蚂蚁 If youve ever driven in LA, you know that people dont cooperate terribly well. Traffic jam s , folks cutting folks off, people shouting at you out their windows . . . its a real headache. Wed all do a lot betterat...
The Parts of Metabolism 新陈代谢到底是什么？ What is metabolism really? Statements like he can eat a lot because he has a fast metabolism are somewhat misleading. Metabolism isnt about the digestion of food in your stomach; its the name giv...
How Eggs Get Their Color 鸟蛋颜色的形成 Depending on the species, bird eggs can be any color rang ing from chickens plain white to a robins blue, streaked , spotted, bright, pale, and anything in between. We take a look at some of the reasons...
Do Cats Eat Spiders? 猫吃蜘蛛吗？ Do cats eat spiders? Our answer? Yes, they do. And thats not all cats will eat. Cats, both domestic and wild, are obligatory carnivore s , meaning that they dont have the chemical tools in their bodies to acces...
Whats That in the Sky? 不明飞行物 In his book Cosmos , the late scientist Carl Sagan talks about the way in which the earth is regularly struck by material from outer space. These collision s with space debris can be minoras in a shooting star o...
