Comments on: What Do Lizard Tails Have In Common With Toilet Paper? http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2012/12/21/what-do-lizar-tails-have-in-common-with-toilet-paper/ A science salon hosted by National Geographic Magazine Sun, 19 May 2013 07:43:53 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.2-alpha By: Dee http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2012/12/21/what-do-lizar-tails-have-in-common-with-toilet-paper/#comment-37756 Dee Thu, 27 Dec 2012 08:46:55 +0000 http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/?p=148126#comment-37756 This might seem like a stupid question but what are the plain blue areas? If the dark blue is scales, red is muscles, and white is fat? Are the plain blue spots collagen or just simple “tissue”? I’m speaking of the blue areas where you find the darker blue dots in the middle (the darker blue dots being the area where the cells “secrete substances that weaken the collagen, allowing the tissue to split apart more easily”).

[Not a stupid question at all. It's mainly collagen and other connective tissues. - Ed]

]]> By: Ed Yong http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2012/12/21/what-do-lizar-tails-have-in-common-with-toilet-paper/#comment-37713 Ed Yong Mon, 24 Dec 2012 01:16:52 +0000 http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/?p=148126#comment-37713 Brooks, there are vertebrae there. You can see a little piece in the middle of the cross-section. You only can’t see more bone because of the place where the tail has been sliced.

]]> By: Brooks http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2012/12/21/what-do-lizar-tails-have-in-common-with-toilet-paper/#comment-37711 Brooks Mon, 24 Dec 2012 00:11:57 +0000 http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/?p=148126#comment-37711 Ed, am i missing something, or is there no bone present in the original tail? As far as i’m aware, anoles begin with a bony tail, and regenerate a tail with a cartilaginous rod. To your knowledge, are geckos similar?

]]> By: Cath http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2012/12/21/what-do-lizar-tails-have-in-common-with-toilet-paper/#comment-37674 Cath Sat, 22 Dec 2012 14:47:18 +0000 http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/?p=148126#comment-37674 I don’t have anything to say other than that I love your writing. It was the fascinating things that animals can do that first got me interested in biology, to the point I majored in it in college, although all my jobs have been largely chemistry-based. I love reading pieces that would have interested me just as much as a child, but now I can appreciate them because I understand the science behind it, and you make it incredibly easy for me to explain even to my non-science friends. Thank you very much. :)

[Thanks Cath - Ed]

]]> By: Paul Knoepfler http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2012/12/21/what-do-lizar-tails-have-in-common-with-toilet-paper/#comment-37664 Paul Knoepfler Sat, 22 Dec 2012 00:22:45 +0000 http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/?p=148126#comment-37664 Since the tail can partially grow back, I wonder if there is some sort of special machinery at the break points (e.g. stem cells) that kicks into gear after tail loss?
Paul

]]> By: Elizabeth Moon http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2012/12/21/what-do-lizar-tails-have-in-common-with-toilet-paper/#comment-37658 Elizabeth Moon Fri, 21 Dec 2012 21:13:41 +0000 http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/?p=148126#comment-37658 Are a gecko’s blood vessels so small that yanking some of them apart doesn’t cause serious blood loss? Or do the lizards secrete a clotting factor even as they’re preparing to release the tail at its “zipper?”

]]> By: Michelle de Villiers http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2012/12/21/what-do-lizar-tails-have-in-common-with-toilet-paper/#comment-37653 Michelle de Villiers Fri, 21 Dec 2012 17:23:48 +0000 http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/?p=148126#comment-37653 I really enjoy the humorous imagery in your writing!

[Thanks! - Ed]

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