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Hey Nose-Brain!

Sex, food, and smell are linked in our brain by ancient pathways governing appetite, odor detection, and hormones. In fact, another name for the brain's limbic system (a primitive brain-within-the-brain responsible for emotional urges, hormone levels, and unconscious bodily functions such as blood pressure and appetite) is rhinencephalon, or ...

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NoseBrain
Biology

What Elements Are Required By Animals And Plants For Survival?

An understanding of our fragile environment can begin with a recognition of the importance of certain elements, commonly called 'mineral substances' (such as iron and zinc), in the lives of humans and ... Continue reading

AnimalsPlantsSurvival
Geology

Predicting Floods

Several types of data can be collected to assist hydrologists predict when and where floods might occur. The first and most important is monitoring the amount of rainfall occurring on a realtime ... Continue reading

PredictingFloods
Geology

How Do We Predict The Climate--100,000 Years Ago?

Since the only ice age that occurred during human existence ended 10,000 to 12,000 years ago, how can we know today that several major ice ages occurred during earth's history? How do we know how much ... Continue reading

PredictTheClimate
Engineering

X-Ray Astronomy vs. Medical X-Rays

It's natural to associate the X-rays from cosmic objects with an X-ray from the doctor's office, but the comparison is a bit tricky. A doctor's X-ray machine consists of two parts: an X-ray source at ... Continue reading

XRayAstronomyvsMedicalXRays

Microorganisms: Are they really that bad?

MicroorganismsWe buy antibacterial hand soaps and cleaners to get rid of microorganisms that we don't want around us or our homes, but can some of them actually be helpful? You may think that they only cause harm, but they are important in many aspects of our daily lives. In fact, there are many more microorganisms that help us than the small number that are potentially harmful.

Microorganisms are used in agriculture. They help plants obtain the nutrients they need from the soil, making them an important part of every ecosystem. Cows also need microorganisms in order to digest grass. Located in a special organ called the rumen, these microorganisms carry out the digestion process. Without these tiny helpers, cows would not be able to live on grass alone. Also, many foods are actually made with help from microorganisms. For instance, fermentation would not take place without yeast, a microorganism used to produce alcohol, cheese and yogurt. Penicillin, which is made from microorganisms, is used to treat certain infections, such as strep throat. They are also used to prevent diseases, by means of vaccinations.

So the next time you take out your cleaner, remember that there are more good microorganisms than bad ones. Without these microscopic helpers, we wouldn't have cheese, yogurt, vaccines, or healthy plants in our world. In the words of Louis Pasteur, 'The role of the infinitely small in nature is infinitely large.'