Q&A
GET T Y
IMAGES
X3,
NIGEL
SWALES
ILLUSTRATIONS: DAN BRIGHT
JIMMYPHILLIPS,BRISTOL
WHAT’STHETALLEST MOUNTAIN IN
THE SOLAR SYSTEM?
YOUCANCUREYOUR
HICCUPSBYDRINKING
FROMTHEWRONG
SIDE OF A GLASS
OLDWIVES’
TALES...
Hiccupsareinvoluntarycontractionsof
thediaphragm.Thesecontractionscause
a suddeninrushofair,slammingshutthe
leaf-shapedflapofcartilageinyourthroat
knownasthe‘epiglottis’(thisis what
causesthe‘hic’sound).
Thedocumentedcuresforhiccups
generallyfallintothreecategories–
raisingthelevelofCO 2 inyour
bloodstream(holdingyourbreath),
stimulatingthevagusnerve(sticking your
fingerinyourear– oranus!),and
distraction(asuddenfright).The
techniqueofdrinkingfromthewrongside
oftheglassmaybea combinationofthe
lasttwo:it requiresyoutoconcentrateon
thetask,andcolddrinksstimulatethe
vagusnervethroughthestomachwall.If
youdrinka largeglasswithoutstopping,
youmayeveninterruptyourbreathing
forlongenoughtoaffectyourbloodCO 2
levelstoo.
However,noneofthefolkcuresfor
hiccupshavegoodscientificresearchto
backthemup,andscientistsdon’t
understandthemechanismsthatmight
beatwork.Moststudiesareanecdotal
reportsofcuresforpatientswith
persistentboutsof‘intractablehiccups’
thathavegoneonformonthsoreven
years,andit’spossiblethatthesehavea
differentunderlyingcause.Formore
ordinaryepisodesofhiccups,thereseems
tobea largeplaceboeffectatwork– soas
longasyoubelieveinthe cure, it will
probablywork.LV
Leavingasidetheobviousanswerthathumans
oftendeliberatelyintroducefishtolakesand
ponds,wecandrawa comparisonwiththe
populationofisolatedislands.Justasanisland
mayoncehavebeenconnectedbya land
bridge,solakesmayoriginallyhavebeenpart
ofriversystemsthatdriedup.Ora rivermay
have flooded long ago and briefly flowed into
low-lyinglandtocreatea populatedlake.
Somelakeresidentsareevendescendedfrom
ancestorsthatcrossedfromonelaketo
another.Whilemostfishcan’ttravelveryfar
overtheland,theireggswillsurviveforseveral
hoursoutofwater.Whenwaterbirdscometo
lakestofeed,fisheggsmightgetstucktotheir
feathers, hitching a ride to a new home.LV
OlympusMons,anextinctvolcanoonMars,is
oftenquotedasthehighestmountaininthe
SolarSystem,ata heightof21.9km(twoanda
halftimestheheightofEverest).However,the
mountain peak in the centre of the Rheasilvia
craterontheasteroidVesta,atabout22.5km,
appearstobemarginallytaller.Wedon’t
knowforsurebecauseofdifficultiesin
definingthemountains’‘base’heights,and
uncertainties in measurements.AGu
AMY-GRACEENZER
HOWDOFISHENDUPIN ISOLATED BODIES OF
WATER LIKE LAKES?
OlympusMons,
illustratedhere,is
an extinctvolcano
on Mars