You Asked ...We answered! Experts reveal the shocking truth behind the mysteries of science. Why is bird poop Poop A slang term often used to describe people with insider information. Notes: Not the most illustrious name. See also: Insider Information white? Crystal Emerson, 16 Jonesport, ME Bird poop is far more colorful than you think! The chalky-white paste called urate urate (ur´at) any salt or anion of uric acid (q.v.). u·rate n. A salt of uric acid. urate a salt of uric acid. (made of uric-acid crystals) is a byproduct of bird kidneys. What you actually see is the color of the whitish crystals. Swimming in urate is a chunk of stool (solid waste). This piece is usually hard and worm-like, and gets its color from the bird's diet. Hues range from greenish for birds who feed on plant seeds and green vegetables, to brownish for brown birdseed, and reddish for strawberries. For shrimp-eating seabirds, it's pink! To top it all off, bird poop contains a tiny sprinkle of urine. Why so little? "Aside from the ostrich, birds don't have bladders and can't carry a lot of water around. They'd be too heavy to fly," explains ornithologist (bird expert) Jerome Jackson at Florida Gulf Coast University About FGCU History The newest university in the State University System of Florida, the school was established by then-governor Lawton Chiles in 1991, although the site of the university wasn't chosen until 1992, and construction pushed back even further still (until . (By the way, the ostrich can't fly.) Think bird poop is just waste? Think again. Veterinarians see it as an indicator of bird health. Abnormal colors like red urine and urate may be signs of internal bleeding. Brown urate may signal lead poisoning lead poisoning or plumbism (plŭm`bĭz'əm), intoxication of the system by organic compounds containing lead. , and green or yellow urate may mean liver disease Liver Disease Definition Liver disease is a general term for any damage that reduces the functioning of the liver. Description The liver is a large, solid organ located in the upper right-hand side of the abdomen. . Colorful indeed! Why do we yawn? Dorothee Pare, 17 Verdun, France Scientists are still baffled by this gaping mystery. One possible explanation: "Yawning gets the brain in gear for changes in pace or activity," says psychologist Robert Provine, a yawn expert at the University of Maryland University of Maryland can refer to:
The most commonly taught yawning theory is that the brain signals for a yawn to give the body a quick jolt of oxygen whenever too much carbon dioxide is in the blood. Provine claims the theory is pure bunk. "This folklore has no basis and took on a life of its own Memory Burn A Life Of Its Own was released by Noise Kontrol in 2002. Memory Burn is made up of several high profile musicians who came together to create this special work. ," he says. To test his view, Provine had yawners inhale pure oxygen, then various air mixtures with high and low levels of carbon dioxide. Extensive test results showed the different air mixtures had absolutely no effect on the number of testers' yawns. This just proves the long-standing theory is nothing but hot air. |
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