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Hypotension

Bend to select a book from the lowest shelf, then rise quickly. Chances are, you'll feel a little lightheaded for a few seconds. The reason is a drop of blood pressure caused by the change in position. To maintain normal blood pressure levels, the heart and circulatory system must make frequent minor adjustments as we move, sit, stand, and lie ...

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Hypotension
Astronomy

The Sun’s Corona

The White-Light Corona - The Corona is the Sun's outer atmosphere. It is visible during total eclipses of the Sun as a pearly white crown surrounding the Sun. The corona displays a variety of features ... Continue reading

TheSunCorona
Biology

Why Tree Twig Twine Twists Tongues

Even though we call it a 'tongue twister,' it isn't really your tongue that has a hard time saying 'sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick.' It's not all that rare for people to make mispronunciations ... Continue reading

TreeTwigTwineTwists
Biology

What Makes Those Jumping Beans Jump?

Mexican jumping beans intrigue us because we don't understand how this inanimate object could actually jump, even though we see it with our own eyes. It is the question everyone wonders when they see ... Continue reading

WhatMakesThoseJumpingBeansJump
Astronomy

What Is Polarimetry?

Polarimetry is the technique of measuring the 'polarization' of light. Most of the light we encounter every day is a chaotic mixture of light waves vibrating in all directions. Such a combination is ... Continue reading

WhatIsPolarimetry

Sex and the Sea Slug

SexSeaSlugThe sea slug, Aplysia. Now there's an expert on sex. Equipped with both male and female sex organs, this shell-less, subtidal mollusk lives alone most of the year. It loses its self-sufficiency, however, when the mating season comes around. In summer, sea slugs congregate in breeding colonies called (yes, it's true!) brothels. They crawl around and over one another, trading sperm.

The marvel of sea slug sex lies in how these virtually blind loners find each other for a few days annually. Their call to the brothel is neither sight nor sound, but a chemical compound called attractin. Released into water from egg-laying glands, attractin makes sea slugs irresistible to other sea slugs. Attractin is a pheromone. Pheromones are communication chemicals. They are released by one individual. They affect the behavior or body functions of another.

All animals produce a 'cocktail of chemicals' that influence attraction, mating, or both. Humans are no exception. In 1986, researchers in Philadelphia collected sweat from men's underarms and dabbed it on the upper lips of women. The women reported smelling nothing but the alcohol that had been used to extract the 'eau de sweat.' After three months of this dabbing, however, those women who had experienced formerly irregular menstrual cycles became as predictable as the tides. The investigators concluded that some chemical released from the male body could control the timing of the female menstrual cycle.