Insects

We live in an age of insects. About half of all known animals are insects. Scientists have found about 1 million species (kinds) of insects so far. There are more species of insects than of any other animal in the world. Bees, flies, ants, grasshoppers, beetles, and butterflies are some of the insects that might live near you.

Insects buzz in the air. They crawl over stones. They hop through grass. They dig tunnels underground.

Some insects are helpful. They do important jobs to help plants grow. They help get rid of wastes and dead plants and animals. Some insects are harmful. They bite or sting. They carry diseases or destroy crops.

What Makes an Insect an Insect?

Insects are invertebrates, or animals without backbones. They breathe air through holes in their bodies. The body of an insect has three main parts called the head, thorax, and abdomen.

Insects go through life stages and have very different forms in each stage. Adult insects usually have three pairs of legs, one pair of antennae, and two pairs of wings.

Mathematics

Mathematics is a way of describing relationships between numbers and other measurable quantities. Mathematics can express simple equations as well as interactions among the smallest particles and the farthest objects in the known universe. Mathematics allows scientists to communicate ideas using universally accepted terminology. It is truly the language of science.

We benefit from the results of mathematical research every day. The fiber-optic network carrying our telephone conversations was designed with the help of mathematics. Our computers are the result of millions of hours of mathematical analysis. Weather prediction, the design of fuel-efficient automobiles and airplanes, traffic control, and medical imaging all depend upon mathematical analysis.

For the most part, mathematics remains behind the scenes. We use the end results without really thinking about the complexity underlying the technology in our lives. But the phenomenal advances in technology over the last 100 years parallel the rise of mathematics as an independent scientific discipline.

Male Brain – high-level summary functions of various areas and gender differences

• 1 --> Medial Preoptic Area (MPOA): This is the area for sexual pursuit, found in the hypothalamus, and it is 2.5 times larger in the male. Men need it to start an erection.

• 2 --> Temporal Parietal Junction (TPJ): The solution seeker, this "cognitive empathy" brain hub rallies the brain's resources to solve distressing problems while taking into account the perspective of the other person or people involved. During interpersonal emotional exchanges, it's more active in the male brain, comes on-line more quickly, and races toward a "fix-it-fast" solution.

• 3 --> Dorsal Premammillary Nucleus (DPN): The defend-your-turf area, it lies deep inside the hypothalamus and contains the circuitry for a male's instinctive one-upmanship, territorial defense, fear, and aggression. It's larger in males than in females and contains special circuits to detect territorial challenges by other males, making men more sensitive to potential turf threats.