They are a set of glands that manufacture hormones and introduce them into the body system. They differ from other glands in that they have no pipes for carrying away their productions, and are sometimes also known as ductless glands. They include the thyroid, the adrenal, the parathyroid, the pituitary, the pancreas, and the sex glands in both men and …

They refer to the new language developed by cellphone-addicted teenagers, based on predictive text on their handsets. They are also known as adaptonyms or cellodromes. Using predictive text, the first alternative to certain keywords are used in textonyms.

Teeth are made of a bony substance called dentine, and they are capped or crowned with what is called enamel. The hollow part of a tooth contains a pulpy substance that has many highly sensitive nerves and minute blood vessels. If the tooth becomes decayed the blood vessels swell and press against the nerves and this causes toothache.

Teasels are used in the making of woollen cloth. The common teasel grows wild in England and Wales and southern parth of Scotland. It is also found in Europe, Asia and North Africa. The teasel has large prickly flower heads which remain on the dead stems throughout winter. The actual flowers are tiny deep lilac clorets and round the base …

In particle physics, a superpartner (also sparticle) is a hypothetical elementary particle. Supersymmetry is one of the synergistic bleeding-edge theories in current high-energy physics which predicts the existence of these “shadow” particles. The word superpartner is a portmanteau of the words supersymmetry and partner (sparticle is a portmanteau of supersymmetry and particle).

The Superconducting Quantum Interference Device, or SQUID, is a sensitive magnetic flux-to-voltage transducer. It may be the most sensitive detector of any physical quantity, with an energy resolution that approaches the quantum limit. The sensitivity of the SQUID has caused it to be incorporated into a variety of systems. SQUIDs have been used to measure cortical activity in the human …

These are thin narrow flat strips made of wood or metal, which are used as an auxiliary air foil at the leading edge of the wing of an aeroplane.

Sciophytes are shade-loving trees or plants. These plants have larger photosynthetic units than sun plants or heliophytes. Sciophytes are also known as photophobous plants and they reach their saturation level in only 20% sunlight. Shade-plants essentially follow strategies of optimum use of available energy and conservation of energy. Adaptation to achieve these strategic goals include thinner leaves with a relatively …

Movements of plates in the top layers of the Earth’s crust create enormous tension, which sometimes makes long cracks, or faults, in rocks. Continuing tugging movements make blocks of land sink down between roughly parallel sets of faults, forming troughs called rift valleys. The world’s biggest rift valley runs from south-eastern Africa, through East Africa and the Red Sea to …

Most of the movements we make are completely under our control, but some the reflex actions, are not. A reflex action is an automatic response to a stimulus, for example pain, and we cannot control it at all. If you were to touch something very hot, your hand would automatically be pulled away before you had realised that it was …