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X-ray Emissions From Comets

The X-ray emission from comets is produced by high-energy particles, but the high-energy particles come not from the comet but from the sun. Matter is continually evaporating from the solar corona in a flow called the solar wind. The solar wind is composed of ions of hydrogen, helium and small percentages of heavier elements such as carbon, ...

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XrayEmissionsComets
Astronomy

Right Ascension & Declination

Right Ascension (abbreviated R.A.) and Declination (abbreviated Dec) are a system of coordinates used by astronomers to keep track of where stars and galaxies are in the sky. They are similar to the ... Continue reading

RightAscensionDeclination
Chemistry

Knocking the NOx Out of Coal

Nitrogen is the most common part of the air we breathe. In fact, about 80% of the air is nitrogen. Normally, nitrogen atoms float around joined to each other like chemical couples. But when air is ... Continue reading

KnockingtheNOxOutofCoal
Geology

A Hurricane In Brazil?

Hurricanes are terrifying. They rip trees right out of the ground, hurl cars into the air, and flatten houses. Their winds can blow faster than 100 mph. Some hurricanes have been known to pull a wall ... Continue reading

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Biology

Giant Cloned Monster Loose In Mediterranean Sea

Native Caulerpa taxifolia is found in and around the waters of Florida and the Caribbean. It is a smallish, yet hardy saltwater plant that grows rapidly and is ideal for use in aquariums with diverse ... Continue reading

Caulerpa

Resistance is NOT Futile!

ResistanceisNOTFutileMaybe if you are a Star Trek heroine up against the Borg, 'resistance is futile.' But if you are a germ that makes people sick, resistance - to antibiotics - is not futile at all.

When penicillin began to be widely used over fifty years ago, it could kill most of the bacteria that made us sick. Such bacteria are called 'pathogens,' to distinguish them from the many bacteria that are harmless or even useful. Nowadays, many pathogens are 'resistant' to a lot of the antibiotics we use to combat them. They have evolved the ability to fight off the effects of the drugs, so the drugs cannot cure you. This can be very dangerous in hospitals, where drug-resistant pathogens can spread rapidly and kill many people.

How can bacteria evolve drug resistance so quickly? The genes for drug resistance are usually not carried as part of the regular chromosome, but on extra rings of DNA called plasmids. These can be passed on to the bacterial cell's descendants, and can also sometimes be passed around to any other bacteria that happen to be in the area, even those of other species. If a drug kills all the susceptible bacteria, any few that are resistant will be free to multiply without competition and take over the population. So we are involved in an 'arms race' between biologists and chemists inventing new antibiotics, and pathogens inventing new ways to resist them.