Earth is a pretty unique place. Thanks to its location in the habitable zone, life as we know it was able to grow and thrive on the planet. However, in our brief time exploring the surrounding cosmos for signs that we are not alone, we have consistently come up empty-handed. Astrobiologists are concerned with the origin and dispersion of life throughout the universe, and since Earth is the only place we know where life has emerged, the Blue Planet and its features have thus far guided our attem ...read more
Globally, it is estimated that around 10 percent of the world’s population has chronic kidney disease, or over 800 million people. Unfortunately, it is one of the leading causes of death. Many people may have the disease without realizing it so it is important to understand the disease, its progression, and risk factors. What Is Chronic Kidney Disease?(Credit: superbeststock/Shutterstock)Put simply, chronic kidney disease is when the kidneys have suffered damage over a sustained period of time ...read more
For us, galaxies are where most of the interesting stuff happens in the cosmos. Stars, planets, and black holes are all usually found inside these bustling cosmic neighborhoods. But space isn't just galaxies. In between galaxies are vast expanses of interstellar space — galactic deserts where you might be lucky to stumble across a few hydrogen atoms or, at best, a wandering rogue planet ejected from its home galaxy. So, where does a galaxy end and interstellar space begin? There seem to be a ...read more
The 21st century has opened in a very different way than science fiction writers of the 1960s might have imaged. Instead of a world that went all in on science as progress -- "better living through chemistry" and all -- we seem to be entering a century where even the facts, let alone the science, are in question. How did we get here? And what can we do?Facts and BeliefDistrust in science and facts has always been around. Whether it was the debate about evolution or the age of the Earth, when sci ...read more
While we may think that allergies are a common issue that humans have always dealt with, Western doctors may have only first diagnosed allergies in 1870.And for anything that goes back earlier in history, whether that is hay fever, food allergies, or asthma, the story gets murkier due to a lack of reliable records. In fact, some researchers think allergies may not have even existed in ancient times and were instead an unintended side effect of the overly sanitized industrial societies that some ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine