The last pandemic was bad, but COVID-19 is only one of many infectious diseases that emerged since the turn of this century.Since 2000, the world has experienced 15 novel Ebola epidemics, the global spread of a 1918-like influenza strain and major outbreaks of three new and unusually deadly coronavirus infections: SARS, MERS and, of course, COVID-19. Every year, researchers discover two or three entirely new pathogens: the viruses, bacteria and microparasites that sicken and kill people.While so ...read more
In the summer of 2022, Luke Carpenter-Bundhoo, a researcher with the Australian Rivers Institute at Griffith University, wasn’t primarily searching for interesting fish species. Instead, he was investigating the effects of 2019-2020 bushfires in K’gari (formerly Fraser Island), the world’s largest sand island, which is located of Australia’s east coast, about 150 miles north of Brisbane. Although Carpenter-Bundhoo wasn’t fishing for lampreys, he managed quite a catch — an Australian ...read more
Have you ever wondered how your brain creates thoughts or why something randomly popped into your head? It may seem like magic – but actually the brain is like a supercomputer inside your head that helps you think, learn and make decisions.Imagine your brain as a busy city with lots of streets and buildings. Each part of the brain has a specific job to do, just like certain areas of a city or certain buildings serve different purposes. When you have a thought, it’s like a message traveling t ...read more
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, is usually diagnosed during the early school years. (In order to be diagnosed with ADHD, symptoms must have begun before the age of 12.) But ADHD doesn’t always go away when you open your first 401(k). For many people, symptoms continue throughout life.Though researchers have long known that ADHD is a lifespan disorder, for many years, it was thought that about ...read more
At an auction in England in 2011, one of John Lennon’s teeth sold for just over US$31,000.How much are your teeth worth?Teeth are amazing little miracles. They light up our smiles, we use them to speak and we chew with them more than 600 times at every meal.Yet, in a society where 1 out of 5 Americans ages 75 and up live without their teeth, many people may not realize that teeth are designed to stay with us for a lifetime.I’m a dentist and an assistant professor spanning clinical dentistry ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine