The Milk Way is the galaxy our solar system calls home. For thousands of years, the Milky Way's beauty and wonder have inspired legendary stories and curious astronomers gazing at the night sky. We've only recently learned some of the fascinating details of the Milk Way. While there is still more left to be uncovered, here are 10 facts we know about the Milk Way.(Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)1. How Big Is the Milky Way?According to NASA, the Milky Way galaxy is about 100,000 light-years across. Wi ...read more
When people think about infectious diseases — as many have, these last three years — they think mainly about the immune system. The severity of an individual’s illness, it’s assumed, is down to how well the immune system detects, attacks and eliminates the pathogenic invader.The immune system is said to resist disease. Resistance reduces the amount of pathogen residing inside a host, thereby curtailing disease progression, driving recovery or preventing infections altogether. People who ...read more
For centuries, Alzheimer’s and related dementias — debilitating diseases that cause memory loss over time, particularly in the elderly — have caused grief and pain in millions of families around the world. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, 6.7 million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer’s. By 2050, that number is expected to rise to nearly 13 million. While most of these cases exist in those aged 65 or older, about 200,000 Americans under 65 years old currently live w ...read more
Jason Kiernan knows the value of music. After studying piano, he developed a taste for bluegrass in his 20s. Now he plays banjo in a six-piece bluegrass band. In addition to picking the banjo, he's an assistant professor in the College of Nursing at Michigan State University.A few years ago, when he was finishing his doctorate in nursing and looking around for a dissertation project, he noticed something interesting about patients receiving chemotherapy in the infusion clinic: They were, quite o ...read more
The Yangtze River dolphin, also known as the baiji dolphin (Lipotes vexillifer), was a white, fresh-water dolphin native to the Yangtze River and Qiantang River in China as recently as the 1990s.The baiji is best known for its squinty eyes and a long, toothed, beak-like mouth. Aficionados tell tales of it being the “goddess of the Yangtze,” a symbol of peace and prosperity and the protector of people at sea. But sadly, the creature disappeared more than two decades ago.Read More: River Dolph ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine
