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Do you know why outdoor activity protects children from myopia?
2008-08-11 14:46:00
Prof. Know Why answers for your general knowledge and awareness on: Do you know why outdoor activity protects children from myopia? We all know that the more children are allowed to play outdoor sports, the better it is for their health in the growing days. But a recent study found that time spent outdoors even protects children against myopia. The study has suggested that time spent in the open appears to protect children from near-sightedness, adding a new factor for a common condition that has long been blamed on extensive reading or genes. Researchers at the University of Sydney, Australia, believe the intensity of outdoor light may be an important, but till now unrecognized, factor that influences the development of myopia, which usually begins during school years. ?Increasing outdoor activity may be a way to counter factors that might be contributing to myopia,? said Kathryn Rose, an ophthalmologist who led the study that involved more than 4,000 schoolchildre...
More About: Children , Outdoor

Do you know why women love men with self-deprecating humor?
2008-08-04 15:52:00
Miss Finder ?The Journo, tries to find answers for your general knowledge and awareness on: Do you know why women love men with self-deprecating humor? Hey guys, you would simply love this, because I?m going to give you yet another clue to win your woman?s heart. Well, being a woman myself, I always like honest men with good sense of humor. And, I?m not alone ? confirms the latest study! So, what's the most effective way of winning a woman's heart? Well, it is by running yourself down! Yes, you read it right ? women, in general, just love men with self-deprecating humor! I?m sure you guys would find it hard to digest, but guys, this is now a proven fact. Researchers have carried out the two-year study which revealed that taking the mickey out of one's self, works better than just clever jokes which might be seen as boastful and put women off. Lead researcher Gil Greengross said, ?Many studies show that a sense of humor is sexually attractive, especially to women. But we've...
More About: Humor , Women , Love , Julia Roberts

Do you know why banking online is unsafe?
2008-07-28 19:59:00
Techie, the whiz kid, guides you through technology on: Do you know why banking online is unsafe? Banking online may prove out to be time-saving and hassle-free, but have you ever thought about how unsafe it is? Many of you may argue to differ! But, actually banking online is riskier than assumed! Even a recent study by University of Michigan researchers confirmed this. The researchers found design flaws in 76 percent of the 214 U.S. financial institution websites that include top banks. In fact, many banks make their online customers take risks with their passwords and other sensitive account information, leaving them open to internet frauds. The result is that even the most security-conscious Web surfers could also find themselves as victims of identity theft because they have been made habituated to ignore potential clues about whether the banking site they are visiting is real or a fake site served up by hackers. Also, there are many banks that redirect users to thir...
More About: Online

Do you know why bees lose their buzz?
2008-07-22 17:45:00
Prof. Know Why answers for your general knowledge and awareness on: Do you know why bees lose their buzz? Like humans, the insect world also experiences problem in performing their routine jobs, when sick. Bumblebees lose a bit of their buzz when ill, and like humans, have a tougher time doing daily tasks until they recover, according to British researchers who reported their findings in the Royal Society's journal, Biology Letters, last week. Evolutionary biologist Eamonn Mallon of the University of Leicester, who believes his findings can boost the efforts in saving dwindling bee colonies, said Honeybees with activated immune systems also have memory problems. He said that bees live on their memory. And, "If even a minor infection hurts its memory that is a major cost." Like humans, bees can get sick and recover in days from infections after the immune system kicks into action to fight off viruses or parasites, Mallon said. The researchers divided bees into two ...
More About: Buzz , Bees

Do you know why delayed fatherhood can cause miscarriage?
2008-07-14 14:43:00
Prof. Know Why answers for your general knowledge and awareness on: Do you know why delayed fatherhood can cause miscarriage? Couples who want to start a family, better plan it early in your life because the more you delay, the stronger becomes the risk of a miscarriage, say the scientists. And this applies to both men and women. Contrary to the older belief that men remain fertile even at old age, this new research points out that delayed fatherhood can also cause miscarriage like late motherhood. Delayed fatherhood for men is a cause of concern for a healthy pregnancy and the baby as well, doctors warn, after a recent research found that male fertility begins to decline when they reach their mid-30s. Doctors said men who wait until their 40s before starting a family face a greater chance of their partner having a miscarriage, because of the poorer quality of their sperm. The researchers studied the records of more than 12,000 couples treated for infertility at the fert...
More About: Fatherhood

Do you know why women are more attracted to men with stubble?
2008-07-07 16:17:00
Miss Finder ?The Journo, tries to find answers for your general knowledge and awareness on: Do you know why women are more attracted to men with stubble? All young men, do you know what it takes to get into a woman?s heart? Well, stubble is the way to win a woman?s heart, so says a study. Researchers found that women are more attracted to men with stubble than those with clean-shaven faces or full beards. The findings of the experiment, carried out on British women aged 18 to 44, could explain the appeal of actors such as George Clooney and Brad Pitt who cultivate their unshaven look. Women who participated in the research rated men with stubble as tough, mature, aggressive, dominant and masculine ? and as the best romantic partners, either for a fling or a long-term relationship. To justify this preference of women, the experts in human evolution have given a weird explanation, that facial hair may be a signal of aggression because it boosts the apparent size of t...

Do you know why erectile dysfunction is an early sign of heart disease?
2008-06-02 19:35:00
Prof. Know Why answers for your general knowledge and awareness on why erectile dysfunction is an early sign of heart disease: Erectile dysfunction and heart disease may seem to be two different problems, but recent findings from two studies of men with diabetes add to the evidence that erectile dysfunction can be a powerful early warning sign for serious heart disease. A Hong Kong study of 2,306 men with diabetes but no signs of heart disease found that those with erectile dysfunction at the start were 58 percent more likely to have a heart attack or other major cardiac problems over the next four years than those with adequate sexual function. And, Italian physicians who followed 291 men who had diabetes and early coronary heart disease for four years, reported similar numbers - those with erectile dysfunction were twice as likely as men without the problem to have major adverse events, including strokes. There's a physical connection between male sexual failure a...
More About: Heart , Disease , Sign , Early , Heart Disease

Do you know why smokers quit smoking?
2008-05-26 22:32:00
Prof. Know Why answers for your general knowledge and awareness on why smokers quit smoking: If you are a smoker, you may know that the urge to smoke is contagious, but did you know that quitting the puff is, too? Well, a team of researchers, recently, has found that contagious pattern with smoking cessation. They observed that a smoker is more likely to kick the habit of smoking if a spouse, friend, co-worker or sibling does so. Moreover, the research showed that smokers tend to quit smoking in groups as those who don't stop puffing, increasingly find themselves pushed to the edge of their social circles. "Your smoking behavior depends upon not just the smoking behavior of the people you know, but also the people who they know" and so on, said Dr. Nicholas Christakis, a medical sociologist at Harvard Medical School and lead author of the new report. This latest study, by Christakis and his colleague James Fowler of the University of California, San Diego, which...
More About: Quit Smoking , Smoking , Quit , Smokers

Do you know why exercise may protect girls from future breast cancer?
2008-05-19 16:33:00
Prof. Know Why answers for your general knowledge and awareness on why exercise may protect girls from future breast cancer: We are all aware of the fact that exercise is good for health. And middle-aged women have long been advised to get active to lower their risk of breast cancer after menopause. But, starting young, pays off, too. A new research shows, exercise during the teen years ? starting as young as age 12 ? can help protect girls from breast cancer when they're grown. Dr. Graham Colditz of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, the study's lead author, points out that the benefit of sustained physical activity from adolescence through the adult years, gets the maximum benefit. Researchers tracked nearly 65,000 nurses, ages ranging from 24 to 42 who enrolled in a major health study. They answered detailed questionnaires about their physical activity dating back to age 12. Within six years of enrolling, 550 were diagnosed with breast cancer be...
More About: Girls , Cancer , Exercise , Future , Breast Cancer

Do you know why global warming is the greatest threat to tropical species?
2008-05-12 16:12:00
Prof. Know Why answers for your general knowledge and awareness on why global warming is the greatest threat to tropical species: Global warming is the ultimate concern in today?s world, if you care! Nearly every other day, news headlines are flooded with the topic of global warming, although most of us are probably ignorant about the consequences that global warming can actually cause to living beings. The latest research on global warming says that while global warming is expected to be strongest at the poles, it may be an even greater threat to species living in the tropics. Tropical species are accustomed to living in a small temperature range and thus may be unable to cope with changes of even a few degrees, according to an analysis in the last week?s edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The research was led by Tewksbury, an assistant professor of biology at the University of Washington and Curtis A. Deutsch, an assistant professor of atm...
More About: Global Warming , Threat , Greatest

Do you know why women can?t be medically fit when fat?
2008-05-05 15:53:00
Prof. Know Why answers for your general knowledge and awareness: The popular belief that supports the 'fit but fat' theory, has recently got a setback. New research challenges the notion that you can be fat and medically fit at the same time, finding that being active can lower but not eliminate medical risks like heart attacks and other complications, faced by heavy women. Previous research has gone back and forth on whether exercise or weight has a greater influence on heart disease risks. The new study involving nearly 39,000 women helps sort out the combined effects of physical activity and body mass on women's chances of developing heart disease. The study by Harvard-affiliated researchers appeared in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Participants were women aged 54 on average who filled out a questionnaire at the study's start, detailing their height, weight and amount of weekly physical activity in the past year, including walking, jogging, bicycling ...
More About: Women

Do you know why masturbation reduces the risk of cancer?
2008-04-30 17:59:00
Prof. Know Why answers for your general knowledge and awareness: People have always linked masturbation with adult topics of discussions as because the first thought that comes with the word masturbation, is sex and lust. The society is normally hesitant and feels awkward to discuss on the subject of masturbation, openly and freely. Well, that is fine! But do the elders know the benefit of masturbation? I bet, not! A recent research-study has discovered an amazing fact about masturbation that may change the outlook of the society on the whole. Researchers have found out that men who masturbate regularly are at a reduced risk of developing prostate cancer. Yes, you read it right! In the study, Australian researchers concluded that frequent masturbation may help men cut their risk of contracting prostate cancer. It is believed that carcinogens may build up in the prostate if men do not ejaculate regularly, reported BBC News. The researchers surveyed more than 1,000 men...
More About: Cancer , Risk , Masturbation

Do you know why pollution keeps away bees from pollinating?
2008-04-21 15:01:00
Prof. Know Why answers for your general knowledge and awareness: Have you noticed lately that insects like bees and butterflies are gradually fading away in your neighborhoods? In a recent study, scientists found out why these wild populations of some pollinators, mainly bees, which need nectar for food, are fading in several areas of the world. Researchers at the University of Virginia have shown that air pollution from power plants and automobiles is wiping out the fragrance of flowers and thus hampering the ability of bees and other pollinating insects to track scent trails to their source. "The scent molecules produced by flowers in a less polluted environment, such as in the 1800s, could travel for roughly 1,000 to 1,200 meters; but in today's polluted environment downwind of major cites, they may travel only 200 to 300 meters," said Jose D. Fuentes, a professor of environmental sciences at the University of Virginia and a co-author of the study. "This makes it in...
More About: Pollution , Bees

Do you know why English and Chinese languages affect dyslexia differently?
2008-04-14 16:46:00
Prof. Know Why answers for your general knowledge and awareness: Millions of children worldwide are affected by dyslexia, a language-based learning disability that can include problems in reading, spelling, writing and pronouncing words. According to the International Dyslexia Association, approximately 8 to 15 percent of the students worldwide (if not more) suffer from this problem. But very recently an interesting finding, reported in the online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, opened up a new angle to look at the problem on the whole - Dyslexia affects different parts of children's brains depending on whether they are raised reading English or Chinese . "This finding was very surprising to us. We had not ever thought that dyslexics' brains are different for children who read in English and Chinese," said lead author Li-Hai Tan, a professor of linguistics and brain and cognitive sciences at the University of Hong Kong. "Our finding yields n...
More About: Languages

Do you know why men are dumb dates?
2008-04-07 15:29:00
Miss Finder ?The Journo, tries to find answers: Men usually think they are the smarter sex. But when it comes to flirting they often prove out to be real dumb or boring dates, should I say? Just don?t overreact, all you men! A recent study claims that you just can?t read signals coming from the fairer sex. So, men those who consider flirting to be your traditional domain, think again! To put it straight - men just don?t understand the attitude and advances of women. The flutter of eyelashes, the smile across the dance floor and the giggle after a lame joke - every woman knows the time-honored ways to get a man. But, men stand dumb to these subtle seduction techniques of the opposite sex, when dating. So, short of pouncing on the object of her lust, a woman?s non-verbal signals of sexual interest often prove sadly lost in the young male brain. According to the study by the researchers at Indiana University, rather than going through life thinking ?she wants me?, men ofte...
More About: Dates , Dumb

Do you know why Mac is better than a Windows PC?
2008-03-31 14:42:00
Techie, the whiz kid, guides you through technology: Have you switched from your Windows PC to a Mac yet, or still a bit hesitant to the bargain? I assure you that you will have a glide, if you make the switch ? be it an iMac, MacBook or even a Mac Mini. I have nothing against Windows, especially if it is running XP. But if it is Vista ? you will have to upgrade your memory, graphics card, hard disk and what not! Or you will have to buy a brand new expensive computer. Then, you have to decide on which version of Vista ? Enterprise, Business, Home Basic, Home Premium or Ultimate. If you decide to have the best ? Ultimate, to run all your games and applications, it?s going to be an expensive affair! So what?s so compelling about a Mac? If you compare between the Mac?s Operating System OS 10.5.1 (also called Leopard), Windows XP, Windows Vista and Ubuntu, you will understand the difference. In fact, the all Leopard version 10.5.2 is even better. Installation: I rank Mac a...

Do you know why women are attracted to men with darker skin?
2008-03-24 17:33:00
Prof. Know Why answers for your general knowledge and awareness: Have you ever wondered why women are attracted to men with darker skin, while men prefer fair-complexioned females? Well, the attraction is driven by preferences based on moral assumptions, says a study. Researchers from the University of Toronto, who conducted the study, said that women are predominantly attracted to men with darker skin because of latent thoughts about sex, mystery and danger. The findings suggested that, women would be naturally drawn to George Clooney over fellow actor and fairer-skinned, Daniel Craig. On the other hand, men prefer fair-complexioned women. In fact, more men would instinctively prefer Keira Knightley than her Spanish counterpart Penelope Cruz. Researchers observed that lighter-skinned women in all races are seen as the ideal because of a subconscious association with innocence, purity, modesty, virginity, vulnerability and goodness. The study was conducted on the...
More About: Women , Skin

Do you know why men should chuck smoking and drinking for offspring?
2008-03-17 14:20:00
Prof. Know Why answers for your general knowledge and awareness: We all learned people know that too much of smoking or drinking is injurious to our health as science has long been clear that smoking or heavy alcohol consumption causes cancer. But, a new study has found that babies could inherit genetic damage from a father who puffs or drinks heavily. A team of international researchers has found that smoking or drinking alcohol can cause chemical changes in the semen in men and the alterations could be potentially inherited by their offspring and their future generations. The researchers came to the conclusion after they analyzed the effects of smoking and heavy drinking ? both toxic in nature ? on a group of mice. They gave pregnant female mice daily injections of pesticide vinclozolin during the period when the sex of embryos is determined. Male offspring had abnormalities, including prostate and sperm development problems, and genetic changes that the researchers found we...
More About: Smoking , Drinking , Offspring , Chuck

Do you know why it does not pain cutting our nails?
2008-03-10 19:30:00
Prof. Know Why answers: In medical dictionary, nail is defined as ?the horny epidermal derivative covering the dorsal aspect of the terminal phalanx of each finger and toe?. Well, in common man?s language, by fingernails and toenails, we understand hard scaley transparent structures that grow at the tip of our fingers and toes. Nails are part of our body. But the amazing thing is that it does not hurt when we cut them short, although it does not happen with other body parts (except hair). A nail consists of: Eponychium or cuticle - the fold of skin at the proximal end of the nail.Paronychium - the fold of skin on the sides of the nail.Hyponychium - the attachment between the skin of the finger or toe and the distal end of the nail.Nail plate - the hard and translucent portion composed of keratin.Nail bed - the adherent connective tissue that underlies the nail.Lunula - the crescent shaped whitish area of the nail bed.Nail fold - a fold of hard skin ...
More About: Pain , Cutting

Do you know why we need to sleep?
2008-03-03 16:18:00
Prof. Know Why answers: There are conflicting theories about the ?purpose of sleep? ? that is, why do we need to sleep? But the fact that we spend about eight hours asleep of every 24 hours, suggests that there are powerful evolutionary reasons for its continuing existence. Most theories center on the beneficial effects that sleep has on the brain. This is because; there is little evidence of any direct physiological effects on the body. Some scientists believe that sleep is a time for the immune system to regenerate, while one theory suggests that sleep evolved as a way of coping with limited supplies of food. The dominant theory is that sleep is a time for the brain to store memory. The idea is that during sleep the brain, in effect, goes offline to file the events of the day. Another theory is that the brain is a complex organ that needs the downtime provided by sleep to recover from the stresses of waking hours. ?While we are awake, the higher centers of the brain are wo...
More About: Sleep

Do you know why the Great Wall of China was built?
2008-02-25 15:00:00
Prof. Know Why answers: The Great Wall of China is probably the China's best-known monument and one of its most popular tourist destinations. In 1987 it was designated a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and in 2007 it was elected one of the New 7 Wonders of the world. Wonder! –It certainly is, stretching so many miles. But, contrary to the popular belief, the Great Wall of China is not a single, continuous structure. Rather, it consists of a network of walls with watch-towers at intervals that leave the frontier open in places. Estimates of the total length of the monument vary, depending on which sections are included and how they are measured. According to conservative estimates, the Great Wall of China is about 2,400 km long. While, other estimates cite a length of 6,400 km or even longer. From Hebei Province on the gulf of Bo Hai (a gulf of the Yellow Sea) in the east, the Great Wall of China stretc...

Do you know why people are straight or gay?
2008-02-20 14:55:00
Prof. Know Why answers: There has always been a debate about the reasons of a person?s sexual orientation - Is sexual orientation something people are born with or a matter of choice? Well, in the latest study that is bound to re-ignite the debate, it is weighed more on the side of genetics. So, why are people straight or gay? Researchers at McMaster University and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto have found new evidence that shows that your genes are what make you straight or gay. Led by neuroscientist Sandra Witelson, the study scanned the brains of healthy, right-handed homosexual and heterosexual men using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A decade back, Witelson had demonstrated that there are more left-handers in the homosexual population. Handedness is a sign of how the brain is organized to represent different aspects of intelligence. Language, for example, is usually on the left and music on the right. In other researches, Witelson had also found t...
More About: People , Straight

Do you know why curvaceous women produce smart kids?
2008-02-11 14:52:00
Prof. Know Why answers: With a legion of male admirers, curvaceous Salma Hayek or Penelope Cruz may brighten up the screen, every time they popup, but a new academic study suggests that their appeal, and that of other curvy and well-endowed women, is based on more than just the purely physical aspect. Scientific studies have consistently demonstrated that men through the ages have found women with hourglass figures more attractive. According to a study published last year, even the ancient Egyptian men have sought out curvaceous women. Although the reasons for the attraction have never been conclusively proven, many scientists believed that a shapely figure suggested to a man that a woman would be good at bearing children and have a longer life expectancy. The new research adds that the buxom beauties are also cleverer. The study, published recently, shows that men who admire women with hourglass figures do so because they are more intelligent and therefore produce more ...
More About: Women , Kids , Smart , Produce

Do you know why we can?t quit smoking?
2008-02-04 13:54:00
Prof. Know Why answers: We all know and probably believe the health risks associated with smoking tobacco. Even though, the smokers find it really difficult to quit smoking, no matter how hard they try! The nonsmokers would obviously say that the smokers never actually give a serious effort to kick the puff or there?s always a lack of will. But now, there?s an answer to why people can?t quit smoking, easily. It has been proven through scientific research that someone?s unsuccessful attempts to stop smoking a hundred times over, reasons to the proteins in the brain. A genetic study of 14,000 people in Europe and the US has shown that variations in segments of two proteins that serve as gateways for nicotine entry into brain cells can predict the risk of addiction. The study by US and Canadian scientists has shown that people with specific gene sequence coding for these proteins are more likely to be addicted to nicotine than people whose sequences are subtly different. Th...
More About: Quit Smoking , Smoking , Quit

Do you know why body temperature rises high during fever?
2008-01-28 15:33:00
Prof. Know Why answers: A healthy person's normal body temperature usually fluctuates between 97°F (36.1°C) and 100°F (37.8°C), with the average being 98.6°F (37°C). When our body temperature rises above 98.6°F, we call it fever. But why does the body temperature rise during fever? Our normal body temperature is maintained by a regulatory center called the ?anterior hypothalamus?, located deep within the brain. This region functions like a thermostat, registering body temperature. The nervous system constantly relays information about the body's temperature to the thermostat, which in turn activates different physical responses designed to cool or warm the body, depending on the circumstances in order to maintain the body temperature at a normal set point. Fever s are primarily caused by viral or bacterial infections. So, when an infection occurs, fever-inducing agents called pyrogens are released in the bloodstream, either by the body's immune system or by the invadin...
More About: Body , Temperature , High

Do you know why older people find it difficult to adapt to new gadgets and
2008-01-21 14:03:00
Prof. Know Why answers: If you notice, you will find that newer and technologically advanced gadgets are mostly, if not always, targeted to the younger generation. Why? If you think - because they have more spending powers, think again! While it might be true and could be one reason, the main reason could very strongly be that older people find it difficult to adapt to new gadgets readily. But why is that, psychologically predisposed older men and women find it difficult to take to new technology? Scientists claim to have worked out why people in their late 40s and 50s have to get their children to load their iPods for them. The older you get the more difficult it is for your conscious mind to override years of ?pre-programming?, they say. Combined with damaging physical changes in the cell structure of the brain ? the result of natural ageing and maybe a little alcohol ? the effects can be, at best, confusing. The research may explain why even people in early middle age...
More About: People , Gadgets , Find

Do you know why we are humans?
2008-01-14 13:43:00
Prof. Know Why answers: This heading, ?why we are humans? may sound weird, unless explained. There are so many different species living on earth, some, even being gigantic and physically immense powerful, but we, humans rule the planet Earth, in spite of being so tiny little beings! We have either tamed all the fierce and threatening species or put them in enclosures according to our whishes and requirements. And only we study them through various researches and it?s not the other way round. All these prove that we are the most powerful of the species. What makes us supreme? It?s sheer intelligence! But why and how are we humans more intelligent than others? Researches have proved time and again, that it?s all in the brain. We humans have more advanced and bigger brain. When comparing different species, brain size does present a correlation with intelligence. For example the ratio of brain weight to body weight for fish is 1:5000; for reptiles it?s about 1:1500; for birds, 1...
More About: Humans

Do you know why older men prefer younger wives?
2008-01-07 14:45:00
Miss Finder ?The Journo, tries to find answers: If we look at the marriages world over, probably we will find that most of the marriages happen where men are comparatively older than their wives. This has become the most normal phenomenon! But here the point of discussion is a bit different ?why older men (say fifty plus or higher) prefer much younger wives (say with an age difference of twenty or thirty plus or even more)? There are many well known relationships of the kind, such as Tony Curtis (82), and Jill Vandenburg (40), Michael Douglas (63), and Catherine Zeta Jones (38), or the late Anna Nicole Smith who married an ailing 89-year-old oil tycoon when she was only 26. Is it culture, genetics or the environment which drives such a choice? A latest research shows that, at least for the Sami people of pre-industrial Finland, men should marry a woman almost 15 years their junior to maximize their chances of having the most offspring that survive. Men with an eye for yo...
More About: Wives

Do you know why Taj Mahal was built?
2007-12-31 14:05:00
Prof. Know Why answers: Taj Mahal -the spectacular mausoleum, located on the right bank of river Yamuna in Agra, India, is one of the "new seven wonders of the world". Built entirely of white marble, Taj Mahal, is said to be the ?eternal symbol of love?, the world has ever seen! Historians have noted that its architectural beauty has never been surpassed. It appears pinkish in the morning, milky white in the evening and golden when the moon shines. These changes, people say, depict different moods of a woman. Different people may have different views of the Taj Mahal, but it is best appreciated when the architecture and its adornments are linked to the passion that inspired it -"love"! Perhaps, there is no better and grand monument built ever, in the history of human civilization, dedicated to love! But, why was the Taj Mahal built? In all, Taj Mahal covers an area of more than 60 acres. It took more than 20,000 workers, comprising of masons, stonecutters, inlayers, carvers,...

Do you know why bats hang upside down?
2007-12-24 14:17:00
Prof. Know Why answers: There are nearly 1,000 species of bats, worldwide. They range from the tiny bumble-bee bats of Thailand, to the vulture size Fox bats. Their wingspans range from as short as 6 inches to as long as 6 feet in length. Their diet consists primarily of insects, though some species eat nectar and fruits. But, the vampire bats drink blood of other animals. And, remember for your general knowledge -bats are the only mammals that can fly. The most amazing fact about the bats is that they spend most of their time by hanging upside down! Bats have special kind of feet joints that let them lock their feet in a tightly clasped position (without the use of any muscle), with the weight of the body keeping the foot locked. Bats roost this way by their hind feet. And special valves in their circulatory system keep blood from rushing to their heads as they hang upside down. But why do the bats hang upside down? There are a few different reasons why bats roost this ...
More About: Hang , Upside