Notice when a vehicle driven by nowadays, that it is so much quieter than those loud oldies that pour out the blue smoke. Ever wonder just what is underneath a vehicle that makes the new ones so much cleaner. It is called a catalytic converter. The main function of a catalytic converter is to decrease…
Spray cans produce an aerosol, the technical term for a very fine spray. They do this by means of a pressurized propellant, which is a liquid that boils at everyday temperatures. Inside the can, a layer of gaseous pressure increased, and eventually it becomes so high that boiling stops. When the nozzle is pressed, the…
Tourette Syndrome was named for Georges Gilles de la Tourette, who first described the syndrome in 1885. Although the disease was identified in 1885, today in 1996, there still is a mystery surrounding Tourette Syndrome, its causes and possible cures. Tourette Syndrome is a neurological disorder that researchers believe is caused by an abnormal metabolism…
Since the reign of Emperor Justinian in 542 A.D., man has one unwelcome organism along for the ride, Yersinia pestis. This is the bacterium more commonly known as the Black Death, the plague. Plague is divided into three biotypes, each associated with one of three major pandemics occurring in history. Each of these biotypes are…
The Lymphatic System is very important. It helps with the Cardiovascular system, and our immune systems. The Lymphatic System is made up of two semi-independent parts. One is a network of lymphatic vessels. The other part is various lymphoid tissues and organs all over the body. The functions of the Lymphatic System transporting fluids that…
The koala is the Australian jewel. It has very furry, ash colored hair, a rubbery black nose, sharp claws, fuzzy ears, and a grizzly personality. If you kill a koala, you’ll make a million off their fur! They would sell the fur to coat companies and make coats out of koala fur. Well, sadly enough,…
In vertebrates, kidneys are the two major organs of excretion. Excess water, toxic waste products of metabolism such as urea, uric acid, and inorganic salts are disposed of by kidneys in the form of urine. Kidneys are also largely responsible for maintaining the water balance of the body and the pH of the blood. Kidneys…
Classification The Fabry Disease is a hereditary disorder, caused by the lack of alphagalactosidase A. It is an x-linked recessive inheritance. Therefore it is the females that carry it. The ones who are mostly affected by this disease are the males. Female carriers, though, may develop angiokeratomas and may have problems with burning pains. Very…
Habitat Downies take home in the United States and southern Canada. They have been recorded at elevations of up to 9,000 feet. The downies are not deep-forested birds, preferring deciduous trees. Open woodlands, river groves, orchards, swamps, farmland, and suburban backyards are all favorite haunts of the downy. Downies will also nest in city parks.…
The Branta canadensis, better known as the Canada Goose is a magnificent bird which can be found all over North America. People from all over North America look towards the sky when the Canada Geese go honking overhead in their trademark “V” formation, and because they nest all over Canada and some of the United…
Sudden infant death syndrome, better known as S.I.D.S., is one of the leading causes for the inflated infant mortality rate in this country today. It is often misunderstood or unrecognizable. For the most part, the causes of SIDS are unknown to the general public. This is changing, however, as public awareness is ever increasing. Thus,…
HABITAT AND RANGE: Silverfish normally live outdoors under rocks, bark and leaf mold, in the nests of birds and mammals, and in ant and termite nests. However, many are found in houses and are considered a pest, or at least a nuisance, by homeowners. Usually they are found trapped in a bathtub, sink, or washbasin.…
Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, is a common problem of people living in northern United States. People who are affected by this disorder commonly suffer from depression, lethargy, inability to concentrate, overeating and weight gain. People from the north tend to suffer more from this disorder because of the shortened days. It appears, that due…
Everyone’s spine has curves. These curves produce the normal rounding of the shoulder and the sway of the lower back. A spine with scoliosis has abnormal curves with a rotational deformity. This means that the spine turns on its axis like a corkscrew. Scoliosis is a curvature of the spine which may have its onset…
Rabies is an infectious disease of animals which is a member of a group of viruses constituting the family Rhabdoviridae. The virus particle is covered in a fatty membrane, is bullet-shaped, 70 by 180 nanometres and contains a single helical strand of ribonucleic acid (RNA). Although rabies is usually spread among domestic dogs and wild…
Praying mantis “Praying Mantis” is the name commonly used in English speaking countries to refer to a large, much elongated, slow-moving insect with fore legs fitted for seizing and holding insect prey. The name, “Praying Mantis” more properly refers to the specific Mantid species Mantis Religiosa or the European Mantis, but typically is used more…
If one talks about Praying Mantis Boxing then one must know that its founder and patriarch was someone, named Wang Lang. However it is unknown when exactly he lived and what kind of family he came from but certainly his family was not wealthy. Wang Lang was famous for his passion for martial arts and…
with no known cure; causing mental retardation, short stature, low muscle tone, incomplete sexual development, and its main characteristic, the desire to eat everything and anything in sight. Prader-Willi syndrome was first known as Prader-Labhart-Willi Syndrome after three Swiss doctors who first described the disorder in 1956. The doctors described a small group of kids…
The Pituitary Gland is situated at the base of the brain and it produces hormones which control growth. Too large an amount of these hormones causes giantism, a condition where facial features, hands, etc. become abnormally large. Too little causes dwarfism, where the overall stature of a person is very small. Dwarfism is the condition…
Often times, scientists only have a small amount of DNA to deal with when doing genetic research or studies. In these situations, scientists can do one of several things. One is to just try to work with it anyway, but this is nearly impossible (depending on how much there is). Ther are a couple other…
