Indholdsfortegnelse for December 2025/January 2026 i Brainspace

WHAT ARE GLASS SPONGES? Delicate and beautiful glass sponges, also known as Hexactinellida, live deep beneath the ocean's surface. Unlike the soft, squishy sponges used for cleaning, these sponges have skeletons made of silica—the same material we use to make glass. Their skeletons are built from tiny, needle-like structures called spicules that fuse into intricate glass structures that can last long after the sponge has died. LAUNCH ZAPPAR TO WATCH Some species, such as Euplectella aspergillum (also known as the Venus' flower basket), grow into beautiful, vase-like structures. This sponge often houses two small, shrimp-like crustaceans (Stenopodidea), a male and a female, who live out their lives inside the sponge. The crustacean pair enter the sponge when they are small and eventually become trapped as they grow. They live safely inside their glass…

LAUNCH ZAPPAR TO WATCH On the South Korean island of Jeju, a remarkable group of women routinely dive into icy ocean waters to depths of 18 metres (59 feet) without any breathing equipment. These free divers are the Haenyeo, or “women of the sea,” and they’ve spent their lives harvesting seafood such as sea urchins and sea snails called abalone by holding their breath and plunging deep below the surface. Researchers were interested in what gave these women the superpowers to perform such amazing feats. Was it training or genetics? It turns out to be a bit of both! To uncover the science behind the Haenyeo’s diving abilities, researchers compared 30 of these veteran divers to other elderly women from Jeju who had never dived, as well as women from…

ANCIENT TATTOO TECHNIQUE Ancient tattoos, such as the mummy's on the next page, would have been created with a stick-and-poke technique, meaning the artist dipped a needle into ink to create the picture one dot at a time. Tattoo needles could be made from bone, horn, thorns, or metal, while the ink was often made from burnt plant material or soot. And yes, it would have taken hours and hours of needle pokes! LAUNCH ZAPPAR TO WATCH Fifty years ago, tattoos were rarely seen, and if you had one, people might have thought you were in a gang or had been in prison. Today, tattoos are a popular form of body art. But tattoos are not new. In fact, people have been tattooing themselves for over 5,000 years! Many ancient…

We often think of expressing our thoughts on paper (or smart phones) as something completely natural. It’s hard to imagine a time when our ancestors didn’t have a system for writing. The evolution of writing is one of the most important developments of humankind. It gives us the ability to preserve our ideas and stories over time. So who developed the code we call writing? The first written language goes back at least 5,000 years to Mesopotamia (see next page). But our alphabet – and almost all alphabets* in the modern world – can be traced to the Phoenicians. They were skilled glassmakers, jewellers, textile makers, sculptors and traders who originally lived in the area we now call Lebanon in the Middle East, but sailed across the Mediterranean Sea and…

Imagine if a giraffe could save your life Even weirder, imagine if giraffe poo could save your life. Sounds ridiculous, but researchers in England are working to make this come true. Scientists at the University of Leicester have teamed up with two nearby zoos – West Midlands Safari Park and Dudley Zoo – to study their neverending collections of poo from animals such as giraffes, tigers and elephants. Why? In hopes of finding new ways to treat bacterial infections. Right now, if you have a condition caused by bacteria, such as an ear infection or strep throat, you may be given an antibiotic medication like penicillin. Unfortunately, antibiotics have been given to humans so often since they were introduced in the 1940s that they sometimes don’t kill all the bad…

Rodents are the undisputed champions of the mammal world. They make up about 40 percent of all mammal species and live on every continent except Antarctica. The secret to their success may come as a surprise! According to a recently published study, part of the answer may lie in something surprisingly simple – thumbnails! Similar to humans and most primates, many rodents have thumbnails like the ones on our hands. Their other fingers end in claws. These thumbnail-equipped rodents are more likely to live in trees (arboreal) and use their forepaws to eat. Species without thumbnails, such as guinea pigs and capybaras, tend to live on the ground (fossorial) and rely more on their mouths to pick up food. These burrowing species need claws on all their finger-like digits for…

As December 31 approaches, many of us look forward to celebrating the arrival of the new calendar year with family and friends. Counting down the final seconds of the year and singing "Auld Lang Syne" are traditions familiar to us in North America. Let’s explore some other, perhaps lesser-known traditions from around the globe that you may want to include in your celebrations this year. (Spoiler alert: 2 of the traditions are messy, so it’s probably best to skip those!) TASTY TREATS In Spain, eating grapes at midnight is believed to bring good luck in the upcoming year, according to a tradition that originated in the late 1800s. Can you guess how many grapes each reveller should eat to encourage prosperity and good fortune? It is customary to eat one…

Iron-willed. Iron-fisted. Iron-clad. When people use the word iron, they are often talking about strength and toughness. That’s because the element iron is associated with things that are strong. This mighty metal is found all over the world – and deep down at the centre of our planet, where an iron-nickel layer swirls around, driving Earth’s magnetic field! It even flows through your blood to help you breathe. What is iron? Iron has the symbol Fe on the periodic table. It’s a shiny, silvery metal that bends and shapes easily when heated. But mix it with other elements such as carbon or nickel, and it becomes strong enough to build airplanes, bullet trains and towers that scrape the sky. The Iron Age Archaeologists continue to find ancient forges all over…

Humans (Homo sapiens) are among the longest-lived animals, with lifespans of 80 years being common. But we are far from holding the record for longevity, by a long shot. Some species survive for hundreds of years! What’s their secret? Let’s see what the science says! Clams with 500 rings Ocean quahogs (Arctica islandica) are among the longest-lived animals on Earth. These clams, found in the cold North Atlantic, can survive for more than 500 years! Ocean quahogs are bivalves, meaning they have two hard shells that are hinged together. Each year, they add a growth ring to their shells, like a tree adds rings to its trunk. Scientists study these rings to learn about past ocean climates. Ocean quahogs like to take it easy: they spend their lives buried in sand…

YOU WILL NEED BLANK PAPER, PENCIL, BLACK EYELINER PENCIL (one that needs to be sharpened - not the liquid kind), LIQUID BANDAGE, ALOE VERA GEL METHOD Grab a piece of paper and a pencil, and practice a few fun tattoo ideas. Keep drawing until you find the one you love the most! Wash the spot where you’ll put your tattoo with warm water and soap. Dry it completely with a towel. Use a bold eyeliner pencil to carefully draw your design on your clean, dry skin. Messed up? No problem! Just wash it off and try again. When you’re happy with your design, spray a little liquid bandage over it to help it stay on for a few hours. Ready for a new design? Wash your skin with soap and…

Overhead projectors use mirrors and lenses to redirect and focus light to project an image. 1 A light source at the base of the projector shines light. 2 This light is reflected upwards by a mirror under the light source. 3 The light passes through a convex lens, which is shaped like the back of a spoon. 4 The light continues to travel through another lens (called a Fresnel lens) which concentrates the light as it passes through the projector base and a thin transparent sheet that displays the text or images to be projected. The Fresnel lens focuses the light so that when it leaves the base the light will form a pyramid. Think of the pyramid holding the projected image with the edges of the image getting closer…

LAUNCH ZAPPAR to watch a BRAINBOMB fact Whales are truly some of planet Earth’s most astounding creatures. Blue whales are the largest animals to ever have existed. Sperm whales have the biggest brain of any living animal. Narwhals can grow tusks up to 3 m (9.8 ft.) long! Together with dolphins and porpoises, whales make up the group Cetacea. Today, all cetaceans live in oceans or in freshwater rivers, but this has not always been the case. Millions of years ago, the ancestors of whales actually walked on land! Grab your snorkel, put on your flippers and let’s take a deep dive into the history of whales. The proof is in the poo Untangling whale history is no easy feat, and scientists sometimes use unconventional methods to work out this…

YOU WILL NEED Mason jar or jar with lid, Water, Hot glue, Glitter and/or sequins, Small plastic or waterproof toys, Light corn syrup, Spoon LAUNCH ZAPPAR TO WATCH WHAT DOES VISCOSITY MEAN? Viscosity is how thick a liquid is and how slowly it flows. For example, honey has high viscosity because it’s thick and flows slowly, while water has low viscosity because it’s thin and flows quickly. METHOD 1. Ask an adult to help you use hot glue to stick your plastic figurines to the inside of the jar lid. Make sure they’re not too close to the edges, so the lid can still close tightly. Place the jar over the figurines to check before gluing. 2. Pour water into the jar until it’s almost full. Add 2 tablespoons of…

They’re tiny. They’re cold-blooded. Some are very fragile. Yet every spring, the insects are back. How do they make it through the deep freeze of winter? They manage it in an amazing variety of ways. Some fly south. Some hibernate. Some even produce their own anti-freeze! Survival = Reproducing Insects have short lifespans, and, for some, personally surviving the winter is not possible. What’s important is that the next generation of insects survives. So the adult cricket, for example, will die as winter approaches – but as long as the eggs it lays stay alive, it’s a win. Winter, Shminter Snow fleas (also known as springtails) are active through the winter, munching their way through decaying vegetable matter under the forest leaf litter. But on warmer winter days, and especially…

For a long time, scientists thought life on the planet Venus was impossible. Venus reaches 460°C (860°F), its atmospheric pressure is 90 times higher than Earth's and the clouds rain acid, instead of water. Venus’ atmosphere doesn’t even have any oxygen to breathe. But way up in the clouds, something different might be happening. Astronomers think there might be signs of microscopic life in the clouds on Venus. Astronomers study clouds on Venus by looking at the light coming from them. Different chemicals in the clouds produce different colours of light, which is called a spectrum. Astronomy professor Jane Greaves is an expert at analyzing a spectrum to determine the chemicals that created it. She uses telescopes to observe the clouds on Venus and computers to help her make sense…

Geodes. Whether you’ve seen them in a classroom, at your friend’s house, or you have one yourself, you’ve likely been dazzled by these rocks packed with colourful crystals inside. But what are they really? Well, what most people don’t know is that “geode” isn’t the name of the rock itself, but the hollow void that the crystals form inside. This happens when a gas bubble is formed within volcanic rock. Over a long period of time, water (rich with minerals) will seep inside the rock, forming a lining of crystals within the bubble. This process can occur many times due to changes in temperature, creating the crystals within the rock. There are many different types of crystals that can be found inside a geode. While most geodes contain clear quartz…

LAUNCH ZAPPAR to watch a BRAINBOMB fact From May to August, the Atlantic puffin leads a bold and highly visible life. Summer breeding grounds, such as Machias Seal Island in the Bay of Fundy, attract tourists, naturalists and photographers who enjoy up-close and entertaining encounters with the “parrot of the sea.” But as summer fades, the puffin disappears from land, a phenomenon that, until recently, has been a mystery. Scientists have long puzzled over where puffins go during their winter migration. Now, thanks to advances in technology, they are able to get a more accurate picture of where these seabirds spend two-thirds of the year. Satellite tags are one of the best ways to track migrating birds, but they can be expensive and weigh quite a bit. At roughly 20…

LAUNCH ZAPPAR TO WATCH YOU WILL NEED A kitchen knife, Paper towel, Acrylic paint (black, white, and orange), Paper plates or paint trays, Kraft paper roll (or paper large enough to wrap a gift), 1 large potato (or more if you want to create different shapes), Toothpick METHOD 1. Ask an adult to help with the cutting. Carefully slice one end off the potato to create a flat surface – this will be used as the penguin’s head. Cut a lengthwise slice from the potato for the body stamp. Then, cut the remaining piece in half to make two wings. Trim the wings if they seem too large. Finally, cut two small pieces: one for the beak and one for the eyes. Pat all pieces dry with a paper towel…