ScienceIQ.com

Perfect Numbers

Some numbers are more special than others. According to Pythagoras (569 BC - 475 BC) and Euclid (325 BC - 265 BC), some are so special that they called them mystical or perfect numbers. The first perfect number is 6; the second is 28. The Greeks knew of two more: 496 and 8,128. Can you see a pattern? Try figuring out what is so special about these ...

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PerfectNumbers
Biology

Vitreous Humor, Sclera and Other Yukky Eye Stuff

Eyes are one of the most complex organs humans have. In fact the optic nerve connection to the brain is so complex and delicate that no one has ever succeeded in transplanting the whole eye (the ... Continue reading

HumanEye
Astronomy

Not Quite A Planet

Astronomers have dubbed it 'Quaoar' (pronounced kwa-whar) after a Native American god. It lies a billion kilometers beyond Pluto and moves around the Sun every 288 years in a near-perfect circle. ... Continue reading

Quaoar
Mathematics

Math On the Mind

In the mid-1800's, Paul Broca discovered that there were specialized functions for different regions in the human brain. He identified the third gyrus (the ridges on the surface of the cerebral ... Continue reading

MathMind
Engineering

Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?

So, what, exactly, is the watch on your wrist, Big Ben in London, or the national atomic clock in Boulder, Colorado, actually measuring? The first definition of a second was 1/86,400 of the average ... Continue reading

TimeAnybody

What’s So Different About Ferns?

FernsMost plants reproduce by producing a flower, then seeds. Anthers, considered the male reproductive structure, hold the pollen. The ovum, the female reproductive structure inside the flower, is fertilized by pollen. This reproductive process takes place in flowering plants. What about ferns? They do not produce a flower; they evolved a different way to reproduce called spores.

On the underside of a fern leaf there are tiny, round structures called spore capsules. These hold millions of spores, which are released when the environmental conditions are favorable for propagation. After the spores are released, they germinate to form a prothallus, an almost heart shaped green structure. Small roots begin to form on the prothallus along with male and female reproductive structures. They unite to form a new fern. In order for the new fern to be produced the reproductive structures must be in the presence of water; so, ferns prefer to live in a moist environment.

Even though many spores are produced, few actually propagate to become new ferns. Environmental conditions, such as dry weather, may be to blame. Also, some ferns are sterile and do not produce the spores needed for reproduction. Even though ferns do not produce pretty flowers, they have come up with an interesting way to reproduce without them.