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This week’s new questions

Do left-handedness and right-handedness exist in animals? And how can gravity escape a black hole?

8 April 2026

High five from a cute scruffy dog with a big smile! Cream wall background, shallow depth of field. Clever dog, the Bailey lightbox

suemack/getty images

Do left- and right-handedness (or left- and right-leggedness) exist in animals? For instance, does a dog mostly lift its right or left hind leg to urinate, depending on its leggedness?

Narayan Ramanathan
Cleveland, Ohio, US

 

Close-up view of Black hole with Earth planet in deep space. Realistic science fiction art. Elements of this image furnished by NASA.; Shutterstock ID 2169109081; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other:

Paopano/Shutterstock

If nothing can escape from a black hole, how come gravity seems to?

Charles Joynson
Rayleigh, Essex, UK

 

Last Word is Âé¶¹´«Ã½’s long-running series in which readers give scientific answers to each other’s questions, ranging from the minutiae of everyday life to absurd astronomical hypotheticals. To answer a question or ask a new one, email lastword@newscientist.com

To answer this question – or ask a new one – email lastword@newscientist.com.

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