About a trillion tiny particles called neutrinos pass through you every second. Created during the Big Bang, these “relic” neutrinos exist throughout the entire universe, but they can’t harm you. In fact, only one of them is likely to lightly tap an atom in your body in your entire lifetime.Most neutrinos produced by objects such as black holes have much more energy than the relic neutrinos floating through space. While much rarer, these energetic neutrinos are more likely to crash into so ...read more
Myopia, or the need for corrected vision to focus or see objects at a distance, has become a lot more common in recent decades. Some even consider myopia, also known as nearsightedness, an epidemic.Optometry researchers estimate that about half of the global population will need corrective lenses to offset myopia by 2050 if current rates continue – up from 23% in 2000 and less than 10% in some countries.The associated health care costs are huge. In the United States alone, spending on correcti ...read more
In April 2024, the cicadas are starting to buzz. Reports of cicada broods emerging in the South of the U.S. are underway. The insect’s signature high-pitched and alarming sound has already led some people to call law enforcement in South Carolina to report a siren-like noise. However, that noise is not a siren, but periodical cicadas. These cicadas, broods XIX and XII, emerge in cycles of 13 to 17 years. It’s estimated that in 2024, trillions of cicadas will emerge from different states in t ...read more
In 1956, the U.S. Federal Aid Highways Act provided $25 billion to create a network of roads across the nation. In today’s money, that’s equivalent to $215 billion.The act had huge economic and social consequences. It helped boost the economy and create an automobile-centered society. But the new freeways also divided communities, disrupted pedestrian movement and broke social ties. In some notorious cases, freeway building was used to clear working-class Black communities and segregate citi ...read more
You did it! As of April 26, you've completed 1,024,319 acts of science, with four days still to go! But even though we've reached our target and April ends next week, we’re not skimping on fun citizen science activities! We’re focusing on medicine and public health, along with a big One Million Acts of Science Celebration. April 28: Help the Girl Scouts fight Alzheimer's Disease!For the month of April, Girl Scouts Overseas is playing Stall Catchers to fight Alzheimer's Disease and you can he ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine