51¶¯Âþ

Last word

51¶¯Âþ's popular Last Word series gives readers the opportunity to answer each other's questions about everyday science phenomena, from the shape of scones to the evolutionary history of toenails. To answer a question or ask a new one, email lastword@newscientist.com

nose

Last Word

When we breathe, why does the dominant nasal passage swap sides?

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pecan nut; Shutterstock ID 356646077; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other:

Last Word

What is the advantage to walnuts and pecans of their convoluted form?

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Last Word

This week’s new questions

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Last Word

Why don’t orcas attack humans? part 3

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Last Word

Can acquired tastes become unacquired?

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Last Word

Why do we scrunch up our eyes when we want to see more clearly?

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Last Word

Can a person experience more than 24 hours in a day? part 2

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Last Word

This week’s new questions

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Last Word

Is foam a solid, a liquid or a gas?

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Mandatory Credit: Photo by Karl Petersen/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock (9760878a) A general view shows an iceberg stranded near the village of Innaarsuit, in the Avannaata Municipality, northwestern Greenland, 12 July 2018 (issued 13 July 2018). The Avannaata Municipality was alarmed on 11 July, after a huge iceberg was grounded just outside the village of Innaarsuit. According to local media, police asked villagers who live closest to the water, to leave their houses over fears the iceberg could calve and affect the village with a tsunami. Iceberg grounded outside village in northwestern Greenland, Innaarsuit - 12 Jul 2018

Last Word

This week’s new questions

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A 3D illustration of the now debunked competing conspiracy theory that the Earth is flat, as it appears from land, rather than spherical. Earth texture maps courtesy of NASA.gov; Shutterstock ID 1240127368; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other:

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What would the landscape look like on a disc-shaped world? part 2

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EH7TAT Clock faces, illustration

Last Word

Can someone experience more than 24 hours in the same calendar day?

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