Nematocytes (a.k.a nematocysts, cnidocysts or cnidae) are the stinging cells found in jellyfish, hydra, anemones &etc.
"Though an enormous amount of work has been done on nematocysts, the problem of how they are discharged remains unsolved. There are really two separate problems. First, what is the natural stimulus which excites the cnidoblast; second, what is the physical mechanism by which the nematocyst itself discharges? There is more work on the mechanics of discha…
"A Hadamard matrix is a type of square (-1,1)-matrix invented by Sylvester (1867) under the name of anallagmatic pavement, 26 years before Hadamard (1893) considered them. In a Hadamard matrix, placing any two columns or rows side by side gives half the adjacent cells the same sign and half the other sign. When viewed as pavements, cells with 1s are colored black and those with
"How the hand and digits originated from fish fins during the Devonian fin-to-limb transition remains unsolved. Controversy in this conundrum stems from the scarcity of ontogenetic data from extant lobe-finned fishes."
"A major difficulty in designing auctions is that valuations are private and bidders need to be incentivized to report their valuations truthfully. The goal is to learn an incentive compatible auction that maximizes revenue. In a seminal piece of work, Myerson resolved the optimal auction design problem when there is a
Centrioles (a.k.a. Basal bodies) are found in many* cells that have a nucleus. They were discovered when advances in microscopes made it possible to look closely at the inner structure of living cells.
They feature a central cylinder or barrel-like structure, about 450 nm high and 250 nm in diameter, with various 'appendages' attached in a nine-fold symmetrical pattern. It's known that the structure features more than 100 different proteins.
Beginning in the early 2000s, the results of various studies which examined lifestyle choices as possible factors in the development of Parkinson's disease (PD) began suggesting a strong link with long-term smoking.
A 2016 'review study' which compiled and compared results from groups of earlier research papers, was published in
Lunar waterplugin-autotooltip__plain plugin-autotooltip_bigLunar water
A large number of experimental studies have confirmed that water (as ice) is present in multiple locations on the Moon. A 2010 study from NASA estimated that there are at least 600 million metric tonnes of ice around the Moon's North pole alone. (
Many species of birds can very reliably navigate over large distances, even from places they have never been to, and return to their desired destination, often over hundreds or even thousands of kilometres.
Homing pigeons, for example, can very consistently find their way back to their adopted roosting place - even when they have been physically removed hundreds of kilometres away - and often without any knowledge of the removal route.
Flowers allowed to remain on the parent plant tend to last anywhere between 1 to 30 days* in terms of their pollination period. This large variation (x30) in longevity remains unexplained.
"Floral longevity, the length of time a flower remains open and functional, is an important trait in pollination biology. Optimal floral longevities balance flowering costs against the rate of pollen export and receipt."
Cell deathplugin-autotooltip__plain plugin-autotooltip_bigCell death
"Why living organisms inevitably die and what death even means in terms of physics and dynamical systems are still open questions despite the vast advances in molecular biology. Revealing how some cells die — not through biochemical processes but physics — would help to answer them."
Heritable Priming is the name given to the process in which organisms are able to pass on stress-protection from the parent generation to the siblings.
The 'stress' can be physical (one of the original studies investigated how plants' lack of water can protect later generations from drought stress) or bacteriological / viral.
Ephaptic coupling is a mode of signal transfer between brain neurons. Researchers in the 19th century had suggested that electricity might be influencing interactions between nerve fibres in close proximity to each other. But it wasn't until 1939 that a team from UCL, London, found experimental proof of electrical interaction between two adjacent - but
"The content and purpose of dreams are not yet understood, though they have been a topic of speculation and interest throughout recorded history.
Source : Wikipedia"
Not only is the function of dreaming unknown (if there is one), but there isn't as yet an agreed definition of what it is.
Rock salt depositsplugin-autotooltip__plain plugin-autotooltip_bigRock salt deposits
Rock salt (a.k.a. Halite) deposits on Earth are extremely common, with many very extensive deposits thousands of metres deep, and probably totaling trillions of tonnes * See note below.
In geological 'textbook' terms, rock salt deposits are normally classed as an
"Over 2.6 million adults over the age of 65 develop delirium each year in the United States (US). Delirium is associated with a significant increase in mortality and the US health care costs associated with delirium are estimated at over $164 billion annually.
Nematocytes (a.k.a nematocysts, cnidocysts or cnidae) are the stinging cells found in jellyfish, hydra, anemones &etc.
"Though an enormous amount of work has been done on nematocysts, the problem of how they are discharged remains unsolved. There are really two separate problems. First, what is the natural stimulus which excites the cnidoblast; second, what is the physical mechanism by which the nematocyst itself discharges? There is more work on the mechanics of discha…
"A Hadamard matrix is a type of square (-1,1)-matrix invented by Sylvester (1867) under the name of anallagmatic pavement, 26 years before Hadamard (1893) considered them. In a Hadamard matrix, placing any two columns or rows side by side gives half the adjacent cells the same sign and half the other sign. When viewed as pavements, cells with 1s are colored black and those with
"Cluster headache (CH) always involves pain that is one sided (although it can switch sides) and the main defining feature is the association with one or more of the 'cranial autonomic' features normally described as follows: • Reddening and tearing of the eye • A runny or blocked nostril • Droopy eyelid • Constriction of the pupil • Flushing and facial sweating
"How the hand and digits originated from fish fins during the Devonian fin-to-limb transition remains unsolved. Controversy in this conundrum stems from the scarcity of ontogenetic data from extant lobe-finned fishes."
The Golgi Apparatus (a.k.a the Golgi Body and Golgi Complex) is an 'oganelle' (small component) found in almost all cells that have a nucleus (i.e. eukaryotic cells).
It packages 'vesicles' (i.e. small packages of protein wrapped in a fatty membrane) and dispatches them to the correct destination within the cell (i.e. outside the nucleus). It is a fundamentally essential part of the 'machinery' of the cell, and therefore of all complex organisms.
"A major difficulty in designing auctions is that valuations are private and bidders need to be incentivized to report their valuations truthfully. The goal is to learn an incentive compatible auction that maximizes revenue. In a seminal piece of work, Myerson resolved the optimal auction design problem when there is a
Beginning in the early 2000s, the results of various studies which examined lifestyle choices as possible factors in the development of Parkinson's disease (PD) began suggesting a strong link with long-term smoking.
A 2016 'review study' which compiled and compared results from groups of earlier research papers, was published in
"Pitch is a perceptual property of sounds that allows their ordering on a frequency-related scale, or more commonly, pitch is the quality that makes it possible to judge sounds as 'higher' and 'lower' in the sense associated with musical melodies. Pitch can be determined only in sounds that have a frequency that is clear and stable enough to distinguish from noise."
There are many documented accounts (including video footage) of large groups of 'Fireflies' (typically beetles of the Lampyridae family) flashing their bio-luminescent lights in a synchronised display.
It's not known why they have developed the synchronised displays, and recent research is suggesting that the methods used to synchronise are less straightforward than was previously assumed.
Water - its originplugin-autotooltip__plain plugin-autotooltip_bigWater - its origin
One obvious difference between Earth and other planets in the Solar System is that it's 70% covered in liquid water. There are at least five major (and very different) theories proposing the origins of such a large volume of water (estimated at around 1.3 billion cubic kilometres).
Lunar waterplugin-autotooltip__plain plugin-autotooltip_bigLunar water
A large number of experimental studies have confirmed that water (as ice) is present in multiple locations on the Moon. A 2010 study from NASA estimated that there are at least 600 million metric tonnes of ice around the Moon's North pole alone. (
The Messianian Salinity Crisis refers to very large deposits of sea salt found in the Mediterranean region, about 1km below the current sea bed. (Named after Messina, a southern Italian city, where the deposits were first identified)
Around 50% of birds migrate (i.e. undertake large-scale routine long distance travel for breeding / feeding).
The distances covered can be huge - e.g. Manx Shearwaters migrate 14,000 km (8,700 mi) each year. The time-triggers, and the methods of route navigation, have been widely investigated, but much of the detail is still unknown.
There are currently two (mutually exclusive) theories regarding the formation of galaxies, which according to current models, all have a supermassive Black Hole at their centre.
In brief, the theories are that :
1) The galaxy formed around a pre-existing Black Hole which was sufficiently massive as to attract all the nearby stars.
Cell deathplugin-autotooltip__plain plugin-autotooltip_bigCell death
"Why living organisms inevitably die and what death even means in terms of physics and dynamical systems are still open questions despite the vast advances in molecular biology. Revealing how some cells die — not through biochemical processes but physics — would help to answer them."