12th May 2016
Camels are known to live without water for many weeks in the desert. But it has been found that giraffes and kangaroo rats can live for more days than the camels. Giraffes eat food high in water content, and so they can live without water for weeks. Kangaroo rats never drink water but metabolise water from the seeds they eat.
11th May 2016
The fourth of July is celebrated as the Independence Day in the US. Coincidentally, three US Presidents died on the fourth of July. They were John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, who died on the same day in 1826, and James Monroe, who died in 1831.
11th May 2016
Progeria is derived from the Greek words pro meaning before and geria meaning old age. It is technically called the Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome. It is a disease that causes a person to age faster than the norm. People with progeria do not survive beyond their teens. One in eight million people has this disease.
11th May 2016
Case moth caterpillars (Psychidae) make a case around them, which is made of silk and pieces of plants or soil. Female case moths complete their entire life cycle in their case. When female case moths grow old, they lay eggs in the case. They then crawl out of the case and die. Their progeny are born in the case.
10th May 2016
In 1862, Charles Darwin discovered an orchid from Madagascar with a one-foot-long spur that held the pollen and the nectar at its depths. He predicted that there must be an insect that had a foot long tongue (proboscis) to pollinate the plant. Nobody had seen such a moth and the idea was laughed at. In 1903, the Morgan’s Sphinx Moth was discovered that has a proboscis 12 to 14 inches long to get the nectar from the bottom of the 12-inch deep orchid spur.
10th May 2016
Flies can jump backwards during takeoffs. Researchers found out using a high-speed video camera that the fruitfly anticipates the direction of the threat and shuffles its legs to a takeoff position in a matter of a few milliseconds, a manoeuvre that helps them fly away from the threat.
