Community Magazine April 2014

Mailbag NISSAN 5774 APRIL 2014 107 Why does the moon seem like it is following me when I travel by car? Submitted by Carolyn of Eatontown, NJ The Moon seems to follow you because it’s so far away. That idea may sound wrong. After all, how could something far away seem to follow you along? To better understand this concept, start with objects that are much closer. When you are riding in a car, close things seem to move by rapidly as you pass them. A tree or house by the road starts out ahead of you. It comes up fast, and in a few moments, it’s far behind you. Objects that are far away do not seem to move very fast. If you can see a faraway building or a mountain from a moving car, notice how long it takes for that object to pass by. Out West, you can sometimes ride toward mountains that never seem to get any closer. The Moon is more than 200,000 miles away. It is so far away that the motion of your car doesn’t change its position enough for you to notice. So the Moon just seems to follow you wherever you go. To: Noe Ital The Professor's Why does a baby ' s hand automatically close on your finger? Submitted by David of Brooklyn, NY That reaction is called the grasp reflex. Everyone has reflexes, which are automatic nerve actions that the body makes without being directed by the brain. Has the doctor ever tapped your knee with a little rubber hammer, and did your leg kick without your telling it to? That’s a reflex, and it happens automatically. Babies are born with some special reflexes, including the grasp reflex. The suck reflex is another one. We see it when a baby takes a pacifier. Babies typically lose the grasp reflex at about three months of age, and they lose the suck reflex at about four months of age. Why do people get sore throats? Submitted by Lori of Brooklyn, NY Sore throats can be caused by viruses or other germs that invade your body. To fight these germs, the body has built-in defenses. Blood rushes to the mucous membranes that line the nose and throat, and this extra blood flow helps germ-fighting cells reach the germs. All this blood rushing to the infected area makes the blood vessels in your throat swell, and the swelling puts pressure on the nerve endings in your throat. The nerve endings send pain messages to your brain, and that’s what makes the throat feel sore. So it may seem strange, but some of the discomfort of being sick comes from the body’s fight against the germs, and not from the germs themselves. Submitted by Max of Lakewood, NJ By feeding on nothing but blood and targeting their prey late at night, vampire bats sure seem like creatures from a horror movie. But in real life, they’re probably a lot more afraid of you than you are of them. For one thing, these shy creatures rarely attack people. And, to the animals that they usually feed on, they’re more like pesky mosquitoes than vicious monsters. A vampire bat uses its sharp teeth to make a shallow cut in its victim’s skin. It then laps up the seeping blood as substances in its saliva prevent its liquid meal from clotting. The bite is painless, though, and the loss of blood is small. In short, vampire bats aren’t as scary or harmful as their name would make you believe. In fact, they’re intelligent creatures and have even been known to adopt orphans and help other bats in need. Do vampire bats really drink blood? Professor Noe Ital is the property of 'The Jewish World of Wonders'.