Thursday 28 November 2013

Fact Hunters: Coral reefs, dinosaurs & sneezes

Lewis Makolli
Did you know that there are 196 countries in the world? Russia is the largest, while the Vatican City is the smallest.

Luis Bone
Did you know it is impossible to sneeze when you are asleep? When we’re awake, particles, allergies or an illness can stimulate the nerve cells in the nose. The nerves then send signals to the brain in order to initiate a sneeze to get rid of whatever is irritating it. But during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, certain neurotransmitters shut down- this state is known as REM atonia. This means that the motor neurons are not being stimulated, so they aren’t sending these signals to the brain.

Lucian Bundy
Triceratops, with its three horns and bony frill around the back of its head, is one of the more recognizable dinosaurs. Its name is a combination of Greek syllables tri-, meaning "three," kéras, meaning "horn," and ops, meaning "face."

Brandon Bundy
Did you know that coral reefs begin to form when free-swimming coral larvae attach to submerged rocks or other hard surfaces along the edges of islands or continents. As the corals grow and expand, reefs take on one of three major characteristic structures —fringing, barrier or atoll

http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/corals/coral04_reefs.html

Jacob Owsley
Amazingly polar bears can grow to a huge size. Their head and body can be up to 2.2 - 2.5 m; while they can weigh up to1,600 lbs.

Ellis Curtis Rich
There is a rather strange creature called a Naked Mole Rat. Naked mole rats are rodents, but they live in communities like those of many insects. Several dozen rats live together in colonies led by one dominant rat—the queen. As in some insect species, the queen is the only naked mole rat female to breed and bear young.




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