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Warm-blooded animals have many strategies to stay warm. Shivering moves muscles, which generates heat. Snuggling up in a nest saves heat. Redirecting blood away from the skin and back to the core means less heat is lost from the skin. This last one is a big reason why your hands and feet get cold in winter!

Ancient Egyptian society was complex and allowed people to specialise into different jobs. Scribes kept written records for most aspects of ancient Egyptian life, including housekeeping, government, law and trade. Read more about scribes here!

True! In 2019, scientists discovered two very well-preserved fossil pterosaurs that were covered in feather-shaped fibres. These feathers did not assist in flying but probably did keep the pterosaurs warm. Scientists aren’t sure whether birds and pterosaurs inherited feathers from the same ancestor.

Most pure metals aren’t strongly attracted to magnets! But iron, nickel and cobalt are ferromagnets. This means when they’re exposed to a magnet, they become a magnet too!

For the past 15 years, geologists have been trying to work out the best way to describe what the Anthropocene means for the rocks being made right now. Their plan was voted down earlier this year, but the idea is still very important.

All of these are famous tech teams competing to create the first cars that can drive without any human assistance. Other famous self-driving car companies include Tesla, General Motors, Ford, Nissan and Mercedes-Benz. It’s quite the race!

Temperatures on Earth have been rising since the Industrial Revolution and scientists estimate that it has risen by about 1 °C. Many governments around the world have committed to stopping temperature rise at 2 °C or below.

Coal is a sedimentary rock formed from layers of ancient plant matter, which is why it is called fossil fuel. It takes millions of years to make, meaning we use it faster than it can be made. This is why it is non-renewable. Coal is still used to make electricity and steel, releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

That first definition is from Star Wars! In physics, a force is an effect, like a push or a pull, that causes an object to change its shape or its movement. A cricketer hitting a ball is a good example of a force because this batter changes the speed and direction of the ball. Other familiar forces include gravity, friction and magnetic attraction.

The Earth orbits the Sun in 364.2422 days so our calendar adds a leap day every four years, making an average year 365.25 days. To get an even better approximate, leap days are skipped on centuries, unless that century is divisible by 400. This makes an average year 365.2425 days.