Jv Chamary

2 months ago | discoverwildlife.com | Jv Chamary

Detecting chemicals in the environment enables an individual to identify molecules secreted by predators or prey, potential poisons and sexual partners. This benefit to survival and reproduction helps explain why smell – olfaction – is probably the oldest sense and evolved 500 million years ago, around the origin of animals. Which animal has the biggest nose? How do butterflies smell? And what about moths? Which animal has the best sense of smell?

Feb 7, 2025 | discoverwildlife.com | Jv Chamary

Carbon is the chemical element that allows life to exist, the core component of molecules in our cells and bodies. It eventually returns to the environment when we die, however, and the element must be recycled – via the carbon cycle – so it can be used again and again by living things. Is flying ever ethical?

Jan 4, 2025 | sciencefocus.com | Jv Chamary

Blame biology. That's what we do when lifestyle interventions such as diet or exercise don't lead to weight loss, and so we'll say things like “It's my slow metabolism!” or “It's in my genes!”But while genetics does affect the metabolic reactions that let us lose weight, it's not only our biology we should consider. The human body is also home to an estimated 39 trillion individual bacteria (that’s at least equal to our cells) and their metabolism matters too.

Nov 15, 2024 | discoverwildlife.com | Jv Chamary

We first encounter metamorphosis through children’s books such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar, in which (spoiler alert!) the insatiable insect ends up turning into a beautiful butterfly. This process – a spectacular transformation in an animal’s form or ‘morphology’ – produces dramatic differences between larvae and adults. Metamorphosis is characteristic of insects and amphibians, but it’s also found in specific groups.

Nov 12, 2024 | countryfile.com | Lauren Franklin |Jv Chamary

Fungi are found easily if you know where to look – from mushrooms in forests to mould on bread – but many are inconspicuous or invisible to the naked eye. This might explain why they’re so often overlooked and were once grouped together with plants, despite being a kingdom with their own branch on the tree of life. Like plants, many fungi grow in soil, can’t move from place to place and their cells have walls (reinforced by cellulose in plants and by chitin in fungi).