Brian Jackson, Boise State University Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com. Exactly how many stars are in space? – MeeSong, Brookline, Massachusetts Look up at the sky on a clear night,Read More →
Adam Taylor, Lancaster University As humans, we may feel rather lucky about our evolutionary lot. We live longer than many other animals, and lifespans continue to increase thanks to better diets, advances in medicine and improved public health. But our quest to beat ageing and the diseases that come withRead More →
Thomas Merritt, Laurentian University You’re reading this with a cup of coffee in your hand, aren’t you? Coffee is the most popular drink in many parts of the world. Americans drink more coffee than soda, juice and tea — combined. How popular is coffee? When news first broke that PrinceRead More →
Matt Parker, University of Portsmouth You’ve probably heard that fish have a three-second memory, or that they’re incapable of feeling pain. Neither of these statements is true, but it’s telling that these misconceptions don’t crop up for other vertebrates. Perhaps it’s because fish appear so different from us. They don’tRead More →
John Eric Goff, University of Lynchburg Imagine you begin pedaling from the start of Stage 17 of this year’s Tour de France. First, you would bike approximately 70 miles (112 km) with a gradual increase in elevation of around 1,300 feet (400 m). But you’ve yet to hit the funRead More →
Globalisation has revolutionised food production and consumption in recent decades and cultivation has become more efficient As a result, diets have diversified and food availability has increased in various parts of the globe. However, it has also led to a situation where the majority of the world population live inRead More →
Humans are fascinated by what scares us, be it sky-diving, roller-coasters, or true-crime documentaries – provided these threats are kept at a safe distance. Horror movies are no different. Whilst all movies have our heroes face some kind of threat to their safety or happiness, horror movies up the anteRead More →
A study led by the University of Bordeaux and the Dental Anthropology Group of the Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), which has been published this week in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, reveals that the species Homo antecessor, found in level TD6 of the Gran Dolina siteRead More →
Onions make you cry but also pull the flavours of most dishes together, whether it’s raw, caramelised or baked. Actually, there are very few dishes that we wouldn’t add a bit of onion to! Imagine the situation: You are happily chopping onions for your lunch and… what happens next? Exactly, your eyes sting andRead More →
Forget the smell of freshly baked pie or freshly cleaned laundry, for book lovers, nothing beats the smell of books. Actually, if there is one thing bookworms can universally agree upon, it is that there is nothing quite like the smell of a virgin or old book. Smell is chemistry, and the chemistry of old and newRead More →
