Oula Ryänen, 6
Of people and the sleep of domestic animals has been studied more. We know that, like humans, the depth and quality of sleep of domestic animals varies during the night.
When the sleeper moves from light sleep to deeper sleep, the heart rate and breathing rate calm down and the blood pressure drops. Brain function also slows down.
My so-called blinking differs from other sleep stages. During it, the heart rate and breathing increase and the blood pressure rises. The brain works actively, even though the voluntary muscles are resting relaxed. Dreaming mainly happens during the blink.
It is easy to follow the dogs and cats in Vilkeune. They then vocalize and often move their legs. They may then often dream.
Bears sleep in their nests during winter and wake up in March–May. Their sleep is not necessarily continuous. It is known that they can sometimes wake up and, for example, turn their side.
When video cameras were installed in the winter nests of wild black bears, it was noticed that hibernating bears had eyelid movements that suggested they had blinked.
In addition, their facial muscles, ears and limbs moved in a dream-like manner.
It is likely that brown bears living in Finland also dream during hibernation. Maybe they dream about something related to the lives of bears.
However, there is no definite answer to Oula’s question, because you cannot directly ask the bears if they dreamed.
Outi Vainio
emeritus professor of veterinary pharmacology
university of Helsinki
Why do people go to war, what’s good about it, why don’t people get along?
Kaisla Kovalainen, 9
People compete for economic benefits and resources. Sometimes competition leads to war. Preserving and defending one’s own principles and values – such as religion and a strong sense of nationalism – can also lead to war.
There are wars where you want to change the government of the country. In the so-called defensive war, groups of people take up arms to defend themselves against attack. War can also be fomented from the outside by intentionally creating conflicts.
It is difficult to see anything good in warfare, because war is always destructive to people and the environment.
The losses suffered in the war and the perceived injustice make it difficult to come to an agreement. Cooperation becomes difficult, which is why impartial help is often needed to make peace.
As a result of the war, treaties can be created, the purpose of which is to prevent future wars.
The Charter of the United Nations is an example of an agreement whose purpose is to maintain peace and security and to seek to settle and prevent international disputes by peaceful means.
Tarja Väyrynen
professor and vice president
Center for Peace and Conflict Research
How close can you get to the Sun before you die?
Sampo Sevon, 7
Travel The distance from the Earth to the Sun is very long, about 150 million kilometers. So far, humans have only been to the Moon, which is about 384,400 kilometers from Earth.
How close to the Sun it would be possible to survive would depend on the technology used.
First, a solid shield against cosmic radiation would be needed. Cosmic rays are tiny and very high-energy particles that come from both the Sun and the universe further away. Exposure to them for longer periods would significantly increase the risk of cancer.
The intense heat of the Sun’s radiation would also cause problems. When approaching the Sun, the first thing you encounter is the Corona, i.e. the uppermost part of the Sun’s gaseous atmosphere.
The temperature in Corona is over a million degrees. So it is about a thousand times hotter than the lava falling from the volcano. When approaching the sun, however, it would not turn into a reindeer like in the middle of lava, because the matter in the corona is very rare.
The probe Parker Solar Probe launched by the US space agency in 2018 is currently making short visits to Corona. At its closest, that unmanned ship is about 6.9 million kilometers from the Sun.
At those distances, the sun’s radiation would heat the probe to about 1,400 degrees. However, the temperature of the probe is reduced by a heat shield made of carbon fiber.
At least in terms of temperature, it would probably be possible for a manned ship to reach the same distances as the Parker Solar Probe with current technology. However, the trip would pose many other technical challenges that have not been properly tested.
Emilia Kilpua
professor of space physics
university of Helsinki
Why does armpit hair grow?
Väinö Keränen, 3
People and monkeys are related. Monkeys have a thick coat of hair, while humans are the only almost hairless animal belonging to the ape suborder.
Although humans don’t have a lot of hair, they are at least scattered all over the skin. They grow from hair follicles under the surface of the skin.
Armpit hair, hair and hair between the legs are usually more abundant. Underarm hair and hair between the legs starts in puberty. The fur protects from the sun, while the hair between the armpits and between the legs reduces skin chafing when moving the limbs.
It has even been estimated that the musky scent of armpit hair could attract people to be interested in each other. Many perfumes contain the smell of musk. However, the smell of dirty armpits repels those nearby.
Hannu Sariola
professor of developmental biology
university of Helsinki
Send the question, the questioner’s full name and age to [email protected]. The column is edited by Touko Kauppinen and Juha Merimaa.
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