Concussions are a mild form of traumatic brain injury. 'Mild’ means that most patients make a complete recovery within a week or so. But some of the symptoms experienced in the immediate aftermath of a bang on the head can be disturbing. In addition to headaches, blurry vision, and nausea, some people experience brain fog and memory loss. What Happens to the Brain During a Concussion?When you get a blow to the head, on the soccer field or in a tumble from a bicycle, say, your brain can bang a ...read more
Many people around the world make and eat fermented foods. Millions in Korea alone make kimchi. The cultural heritage of these picklers shape not only what they eat every time they crack open a jar but also something much, much smaller: their microbiomes.On the microbial scale, we are what we eat in very real ways. Your body is teeming with trillions of microbes. These complex ecosystems exist on your skin, inside your mouth and in your gut. They are particularly influenced by your surrounding e ...read more
The last full week of Citizen Science Month is jam packed! It’s the week of Earth Day, Arbor Day, Noise Awareness Day, and the City Nature Challenge! Find a project and report your Act of Science here. Just creating a SciStarter account and participating in any Affiliate project before May 1 will earn you a One Million Acts of Science badge! And don't forget to share your activity on social media with the hashtag "#OneMillionActsOfScience," so we can celebrate with you. April 21: Step Up for V ...read more
When faraway stars explode, they send out flashes of energy called gamma-ray bursts that are bright enough that telescopes back on Earth can detect them. Studying these pulses, which can also come from mergers of some exotic astronomical objects such as black holes and neutron stars, can help astronomers like me understand the history of the universe.Space telescopes detect on average one gamma-ray burst per day, adding to thousands of bursts detected throughout the years, and a community of vol ...read more
The Colorado River slowly cut one of the world’s most epic scars into the landscape of northern Arizona. That scar, of course, is better known as the Grand Canyon. One of the top tourist attractions in the U.S., this natural wonder draws visitors from all over the world every year to gawk at the views created by roughly 278 miles of river.Modern visitors are hardly the first to appreciate the vistas. In fact, archaeologists have discovered the remains of a number of ancient cultures in and aro ...read more