Infants are born with reflexes that support their survival. Newborns are making adjustments to living outside of the womb and do not have time to worry about survival. Fortunately, these reflexes support them in the first few months of life.

One reflex is the rooting reflex. This reflex occurs when the cheek or mouth is stroked and results in the baby turning its head toward the stroke. This reflex helps the baby find the nipple when it is time to eat. This reflex disappears around 4 months of age.

Another reflex is the sucking reflex. Whenever something touches the roof of the baby’s mouth, it will begin to suck. While this reflex is active before birth, babies that are born prematurely sometimes have difficulty coordinating their sucking ...

A Harvard researcher, Ellen Langer (1978), studied the effects of asking someone for a favor while giving them a reason for why it was needed. Langer had an accomplice approach a line of people waiting for a copy machine in a library. The accomplice made the request to jump to the front of the line in one of three ways. One request simply stated that the accomplice had only five pages to copy, so would it be okay if they went to the front of the line. Another request also stated that they had only five pages to copy, but it also included the accomplice saying that they needed to jump to the front of the line because they were in a rush. In response to the first request, only 60 percent of those waiting in line allowed the accomplice to jump ...

The harsh desert environment is known for its scorching temperatures and scarcity of water, making it a challenging place for most creatures to thrive. However, amidst this seemingly inhospitable landscape, the kangaroo rat stands out as a remarkable example of nature's ingenious adaptations. These small rodents have not only managed to survive but thrive in the desert with virtually no drinking water. The secret to their survival lies in their unique physiological features, particularly their kidneys' specialized structure.

Generally, the majority of water reabsorption in the kidneys occurs in the loop of Henle (see illustration). This structure is responsible for the reabsorption of water and essential ions from the urine back into the bl ...

Do animals see the same way we do? Do some animals have better vision than humans? The senses of animals have evolved to give members of the species an optimum chance for survival. Here are a few examples:

Some animals, such as cats, have a reflective surface ( tapetum) on the back of the eye behind the sensory receptors (left image above). When light first enters the eye, some light is detected by the sensory receptors. The light not detected by the sensory receptors continues onto the reflective surface at the back of the eye. This light is then reflected outward toward the sensory receptors, providing a second opportunity for detection. This feature produces two results. First, the outward reflection results in the shining of the cat's ey ...