ScienceIQ.com

What Happens at the Edge of a Black Hole?

The greatest extremes of gravity in the Universe today are the black holes formed at the centers of galaxies and by the collapse of stars. These invisible bodies can be studied by examining matter swirling into them, and by listening to the waves of distortion they make in spacetime. New data from X-ray satellites, such as NASA's Chandra X-ray ...

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EdgeofaBlackHole
Astronomy

Hubble & Keck Teams Find Farthest Known Galaxy in Universe

An international team of astronomers may have set a new record in discovering what is the most distant known galaxy in the universe. Located an estimated 13 billion light-years away, the object is ... Continue reading

HubbleKeck
Medicine

What Is Narcolepsy?

Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder than affects about 1 of every 2000 people worldwide. It usually starts in the teens or twenties, but it may begin in childhood. People who have it fall suddenly and ... Continue reading

WhatIsNarcolepsy
Biology

Potassium Iodide To The Rescue

Since the end of the Cold War, the focus of the nuclear threat has changed from hostile countries to terrorist cells. What should we do if terrorists set off a dirty bomb in a populated area, or ... Continue reading

PotassiumIodide
Biology

When Did A Cat Become A Kitty?

It has long been thought that cats were first domesticated in Egypt, about 4000 years ago. Indeed, they were very highly thought of in ancient Egyptian society. It was illegal to kill or harm them, ... Continue reading

WhenDidACatBecomeAKitty

What Is a Bruise?

WhatIsaBruiseA bruise is a deposit of blood under the skin. It flows from tiny capillaries that break when you bump your shin on the furniture or take the batter's pop fly in the eye. The injury starts out looking red because of hemoglobin, the red pigment in red blood cells. As blood pools under the skin, light striking the red hemoglobin bounces back and bends through many skin layers, making the bruise look blue, black, or purple. As hemoglobin breaks down over a week or two, the protein reflects more yellow-toned light and the bruise turns green, yellow, or brown.

Knees and eyes are especially susceptible to bruising because they have little fat to cushion and protect them. Easy bruising may be a sign of poor blood clotting. Certain drugs ranging from aspirin to asthma drugs may interfere with blood clotting under the skin. A deficiency of vitamin C leads to easy bruising and slow healing. Vitamin C is needed to build collagen around blood vessels. With too little collagen, the capillaries suffer a lack of support and protection.

Some people bruise more easily than others. Women get more bruises than men because their skin is thinner. The thinner the skin, the more vulnerable the capillaries to breakage. We bruise more easily as we age. Older skin is thinner skin, both in the epidermis and in the underlying collagen and elastin layers. Thin skin leaves blood vessels vulnerable to breakage at the slightest impact. Also, the skin's exposure to sunlight over the years makes it easier to damage.