14768. Science Facts

Most bacteria are only about 0.00025 of a centimetre (0.0001 of an inch) across. But monster bacteria have been found at the bottom of the ocean off the coast of Africa. They are so big they can be seen without a microscope – they're each about the size of the dot of this full stop.

14769. Science Facts

Hungry huskies and polar bears have been known to attack explorers when they urinate – they are attracted by the smell.

14770. Science Facts

Honey kills germs. Spreading it on wounds can stop them becoming infected.

14771. Science Facts

Scientists have modified cockroaches, implanting electrodes in them to control their legs, and used them as living robots to carry cameras or explosives through tiny spaces.

14772. Science Facts

Amongst fuels investigated for use where (or when) oil and petrol are scarce, scientists have tried running cars and tractors on chicken faeces.

14773. Science Facts

Occasionally, babies are born with a full set of teeth.

14774. Science Facts

In Chile, trains on the Arica-La Paz railway were at one time powered by burning llama faeces.

14775. Science Facts

Dermestid beetles are so good at stripping the flesh off dead animals that natural history museums use their larvae to clean up skeletons they are going to put on display.

14776. Science Facts

Some types of pitcher plant have long trailing stems which capture and digest small animals such as frogs.

14777. Science Facts

Malaria is a deadly disease spread by mosquitoes. It is caused by a tiny parasite that lives inside a person's blood cells. Malaria kills 1–3 million people a year.

14778. Science Facts

Early Indian surgeons used ants to hold the edges of wounds together. They would get an ant to bite through both sides of the wound, then twist off the ant's body and throw it away, leaving the head in place with the jaws acting as a stitch.

14779. Science Facts

Railway workers in France in the 1800s claimed to have freed a Pterodactyl trapped in rock.They said it flapped, squawked and died. Reports of frogs and other animals trapped in solid rock are quite common, but not scientifically proven.

14780. Science Facts

Snake venom is not normally poisonous if swallowed because stomach acid alters the chemicals in it.

14781. Science Facts

A toxin in the nectar of laurels and rhododendrons makes honey made from these plants poisonous. In 66 BCE, Roman troops were lured by their enemies into a grove where bees made honey from these flowers. The soldiers ate it and were slaughtered while sick.

14782. Science Facts

The scientific name for a fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth is arachibutyrophobia.

14783. Science Facts

If you fell into a black hole you would be stretched into an incredibly long, thin string in a process called ‘spaghettification'.

14784. Science Facts

Cells taken from the inside of baby teeth when they fall out have been grown and have reproduced in the laboratory. Put into the jaws of mice, they grow into soft teeth, with no hard enamel on the outside.

14785. Science Facts

Urine contains chemicals that we use in cleaning fluids and used to be used for cleaning things.

14786. Science Facts

Scientists investigating tumour growth added a gene from a firefly to make a glow-in-thedark tumour.The tumour is visible through the skin of a test animal, so scientists can see if it grows or shrinks.

14787. Science Facts

There are ‘banks' where the umbilical cords of new babies can be stored in case future medical developments make it possible to grow new organs or tissues from cells in them.

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