Science Zone

It's Supermoon Day

It’s that time of year again – a bright supermoon will appear in the night sky. 
Except that the supermoon may not appear that, well, super to make our earthbound eyes. 
 
“If you had a regular moon 
right next to a supermoon you could definitely see the difference, but you really won't be able to notice much of a difference just looking at it in the sky,” said Mike Narlock, head astronomer at 
Cranbrook Institute of Science, to CBS . 
 
An ever so slightly larger 
version of a full moon is 
called a supermoon, or more 
technically, a lunar perigee. 
The moon appears bigger because it orbits closer than usual to Earth. To the right is a comparison image of a full moon 
(left) and a supermoon (right). 
 
Still, in case you’re 
interested, the perigee will occur on Sunday, August 30 at 11 
a.m. EDT (1500 GMT), according 
to <a href='http://space.com'>space.com</a>. At that time, the×moon will be around 222,631 miles (358,290 kilometers) 
away. 
 
Unfortunately, that’s not the best time for those of you in North America. Your best bet is to view the full moon, which will be close to a perigee, on Saturday evening, August 29. 
 
Although the supermoon may not appear as lustrous as its name, the closer distance is important. When the moon orbits this near to Earth, the ocean 
tides become stronger. Thus, on the day of the supermoon and for three days after, the Earth 
will experience larger than typical tides. 
 
If you’re not in the mood to see a slightly larger moon, then perhaps check out the tides in your local area. Or even better, combine the two. 
 
Credit: <a href='http://ifls.com'>IFLS</a> 
<a href='https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-G1kwPrnw8jQ/VeIS5251bBI/AAAAAAAAAHY/tJDHM5fZwqo/s2560/1440879334242.jpeg' onblur='try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}'><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-G1kwPrnw8jQ/VeIS5251bBI/AAAAAAAAAHY/tJDHM5fZwqo/s350/1440879334242.jpeg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;"/></a>

It's Supermoon Day

It’s that time of year again – a bright supermoon will appear in the night sky. Except that the supermoon may not appear that, well, super ...

Ten Facts About Light

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>1. Greeks thought our sight came from something dashing out of the eyes and into objects. 
 
2. The first determination of “c”, the speed of light in a vacuum, was made by a Danish astronomer using the motion of the moons 
of Jupiter. 
 
3. In glass light slows down a bit, bending its trajectory and allowing the making of lenses. 
 
4. Particles traveling faster than light IN A MEDIUM, release a form of luminous shock wave called Cerenkov radiation that we see 
as deep blue light. 
 
5. Different colors have slightly different speeds in water, making them bend in slightly different angles. That causes the 
rainbow when water droplets are in the 
atmosphere. 
 
6. Light from the Sun takes 8 minutes and 17 seconds to reach us, but inside the sun the energy takes millions of years to go 
from the center to the surface. 
 
7. Humans, just like apes and monkeys, have three color receptors that allow us to see all colors. Birds and other non-mammals 
have four color receptors which means they can see many more colors than we do. 
 
8. The Hubble telescope photographed several galaxies receding from us at speeds above the speed of light. 
 
9. When Maxwell developed the equations to describe Electricity and Magnetism, some solutions were waves with about the speed of light. That was later confirmed, and Optics became a part of his theory. 
 
10. The difference of the speed of light according to the density of a substance is responsible for ghost cities travelers see in the desert, and is the process that allows the manufacture of fiber optics.</div>

Ten Facts About Light

1. Greeks thought our sight came from something dashing out of the eyes and into objects. 2. The first determination of “c”, the speed of ...

Why Healing Wounds Itch?

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>We are told that if a cut is itching it is healing, and that scratching itches is bad for healing, why have we evolved this tendency to cause the healing cut to itch? 
 
Answer 
There are special nerves in the skin, and this has only been discovered in fairly recent times as in the last few years, but there are itch specific nerve fibres in the skin, and their job solely is to signal to the A comparative picture of untreated 7-days-healed road rash in the form of a scar one year later. 
 
Fresh wound is on the right, and scar is on the 
left spinal cord that an area of the skin is being irritated in a way that we would perceive as itchy. 
 
Those nerve cells are activated in a number 
of ways. One of them is mechanically. So, if you have an insect crawling on you for example, the insect crawling over your skin elicits the right kind of stimulus that those nerve cells are interested in, 
and they are triggered. So you are therefore paying attention to that bit of 
skin because there might be a bug which is biting you, which might be about to give you malaria or something. 
 
So that's the first point, it’s mechanical. 
The nerve cells are also sensitive to chemicals and there are certain chemicals which when you put them in your skin, 
they're irritants. As a result, they make you think, “Oh! I've got an itchy patch of skin again.” You pay attention and you 
brush away the irritant chemical. 
 
Now when you have a wound, the wound closes by cells around the margins of the 
wound, proliferating, in other words, growing and they then migrate from the 
margins of the wound, down into the base of the wound. They actually follow the 
electrical gradient, a guy in Aberdeen discovered in the last 5 years or so that 
the inside of the wound is at a different voltage than the margin, and the cells flow down this electrical gradient, so they know where the base of the wound is. 
They then unite with their cellular counterparts, and stitch themselves into 
place. Then they start to contract, contractile filaments which pull the wound closed. 
 
So as they do that, they're eliciting a mechanical stress which the itch sensitive nerves will respond to and at the same 
time, there are various other factors which 
get released in a healing wound, chemicals which provoke healing in the wound, but also, up-regulate the activity of these itch sensitive nerves. 
 
So therefore, a wound that's closing up will feel itchy for mechanical and chemical reasons which are precisely the reasons why those nerve cells get stimulated in the 
first place. 
So that's the reason.</div>

Why Healing Wounds Itch?

We are told that if a cut is itching it is healing, and that scratching itches is bad for healing, why have we evolved this tendency to caus...

Why Snakes Don't Die of Their Own Venom

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>I know if animals like 
ourselves ate food that had been poisoned, it would have an adverse effect on us but it doesn’t seem to on snakes. I know they’re not immune to their poison because they don’t use it on each other when they fight for their territory battles. 
I just wondered why that was really. 
 
The reason is that the venom snakes use is a 
protein. Proteins are made up of building blocks of what’s called amino acids. They’re the same stuff, effectively, as your Sunday roast meat. 
That means that if you were to eat them – say I ate a snake and ate the poison sacks – if I just ate it and 
it went into my digestive system the acid and the enzymes in my stomach would just be able to break down the protein so it would fall apart and it would be harmless. It’s 
only actually toxic if it gets beyond the gut and it gets into the circulation of the body. 
 
That’s why one snake could, for instance, eat another snake, and it wouldn’t 
be poisoned by it. In the same way, a person who has diabetes and needs to inject the hormone insulin. Insulin is a protein and if you were to eat it by mouth, the 
digestive tract would break it down. That’s why people have to inject insulin to make it work. 
 
So why don’t snakes poison 
themselves given they have the same toxin in their bodies. It’s exactly the same reason if for instance your pancreas makes 
a deadly cocktail of digestive juices which, if they got into your bloodstream, would 
kill you very rapidly. 
 
People who get a condition called acute pancreatitis do have a very high mortality rate. It does 
kill people because they literally eat themselves from the inside out. The reason that they don’t do that normally when you’re healthy is because the enzymes are made in cells in an inactive state. 
 
They’re exported from the cell into a duct which is 
lined with specially protecting cells that 
stop it going back in to the body’s own tissues and do any damage. 
The only place it can go is down the duct and then out 
into the digestive tract. 
 
If you put that into the context of the snake, it’s got a gland which knows how to make the proteins in the venom. They get exported into this duct which is a special holding 
bay, protected from the venom. 
It can’t go back the wrong way. When the snake bites 
you there are tiny muscle cells around those ducts and it squirts the venom down the fang (there’s a duct in there) and in to 
the holes that the teeth have made in you. 
 
That’s why the snake doesn’t die from its 
own venom because it keeps it in a specially adapted part of the body so it can’t get into the circulation. 
<a href='https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LopyVt-JpD0/VdyLtz9ysqI/AAAAAAAAAHI/Vb3ifie_e3M/s2560/1440517044994.jpeg' onblur='try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}'><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LopyVt-JpD0/VdyLtz9ysqI/AAAAAAAAAHI/Vb3ifie_e3M/s350/1440517044994.jpeg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;"/></a></div>

Why Snakes Don't Die of Their Own Venom

I know if animals like ourselves ate food that had been poisoned, it would have an adverse effect on us but it doesn’t seem to on snakes. I...

10 Things You Need To Know About Your Brain

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><head>The Brain</head> 
 
The human brain is the most complex and least understood part of the human anatomy. There may be a lot we don’t know, but here are a few interesting facts that we’ve got covered. 
 
1. Nerve impulses to and from the brain travel as fast as 170 miles per hour: 
Ever wonder how you can react so fast to things around you or why that stubbed toe hurts right away? It’s due to the super-speedy movement of nerve impulses from your brain to the rest of your body and vice versa, bringing reactions at the speed of a high powered luxury sports car. 
 
2. The brain operates on the same amount of power as 10-watt light bulb: 
The cartoon image of a light bulb over your head when a great thought occurs isn’t too far off the mark. 
Your brain generates as much energy as a small light bulb even when you’re sleeping. 
 
3. The human brain cell can hold 5 times as much information as the Encyclopedia Britannic Or any other encyclopedia for that matter: 
Scientists have yet to settle on a definitive amount, but the storage capacity of the brain in electronic terms is thought to be between 3 or even 1,000 terabytes. The National Archives of Britain, containing over 900 years of history, only takes up 70 terabytes, making your brain’s memory power pretty darn impressive. 
 
4. Your brain uses 20% of the oxygen that enters your blood stream: 
The brain only makes up about 2% of our body mass, yet consumes more oxygen than any other organ in the body, making it extremely susceptible to damage related to oxygen deprivation. So breathe 
deep to keep your brain happy and swimming in oxygenated cells. 
 
5. The brain is much more active at night than during the day: 
Logically, you would think that all the moving around, complicated 
calculations and tasks and general interaction we do on a daily basis during our working hours would take a lot more brain power than, say, lying in bed. Turns out, the opposite is true. When you turn off your brain turns on. Scientists don’t yet know why this is but you can thank the hard work of your brain while you sleep for all those pleasant dreams. 
 
6. Scientists say the higher your I.Q. the more you dream: 
While this may be true, don’t take it as a sign you’re mentally lacking if you can’t recall your dreams. Most of us don’t remember many of our dreams and the average length of most dreams is only 2-3 seconds–barely long enough to register. 
 
7. Neurons continue to grow throughout human life: 
For years scientists and doctors thought that brain and neural tissue couldn’t grow or regenerate. While it doesn’t act in the same manner as tissues in many other parts of the body, neurons can and do grow throughout your life, adding a whole new dimension to the study of the brain and the illnesses that affect it. 
 
8. Information travels at different speeds within different types of neurons: 
Not all neurons are the same. There are a few different types within the body and transmission along these different kinds can be as slow as 0.5 meters/sec or as fast as 120 meters/sec. 
 
9. The brain itself cannot feel pain: 
While the brain might be the pain center when you cut your finger or burn yourself, the brain itself 
does not have pain receptors and cannot feel pain. That doesn’t mean your head can’t hurt. The brain is surrounded by loads of tissues, nerves and blood vessels that are 
plenty receptive to pain and can give you a pounding headache. 
 
10. 80% of the brain is water: 
Your brain isn’t the firm, gray mass you’ve seen on TV. Living brain tissue is a squishy, pink and jelly-like organ, thanks to the loads of blood and high water content of the tissue. 
So the next time you’re feeling dehydrated get a drink and keep your body hydrated. 
 
Credit: <a href=' http://icantseeyou.typepad.com'>ICan't See You</a></div>

10 Things You Need To Know About Your Brain

The Brain The human brain is the most complex and least understood part of the human anatomy. There may be a lot we don’t know, but here a...

Skin As Body Temperature Regulator

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>The skin as we all know is the largest organ in the body. Also with exception of the bones and cartilages, it's the toughest tissue in the body. It does live up to its status by carrying out numerous functions such as protection, excretion, storage of food, sensitivity, regulation of the body temperature, production of vitamin D through the early sunshine and so on. 
 
Today we are going to see how the skin regulates the body temperature especially in we homoiothermic animals; animals with constant body temperature. 
 
This is truly amazing as how the skin keeps the body temperature constant regardless of changes in external environment though the liquid tissue cell (blood) also plays a role at body temperature regulation. 
 
On a hot day or weather, there's usually an increase in the temperature of the environment and the skin carry out the following processes to get rid of excess heat and thus to keep the body temperature constant. 
 
VASODILATION: 
There is a dilation of the capillaries near the skin surface and a constriction of those in the deeper layer. The impact of this is a large volume of blood flow close to the surface of the skin such that there's a loss of heat via the three mood of heat transfer namely; conduction, convection and radiation. 
 
DECREASE IN METABOLIC RATE: There is a reduction in metabolic activity by the skin or body and this reduces the heat released by metabolic activity and thus heat production is reduced. 
 
LOWERING OF HAIRS: We usually notice that the hairs especially those on the hands and legs rise and fall. Yes they rise and fall. 
During hot days, the hair erector muscles relax causing the hairs to lie flat on the skin surface. This expose most of the air trapped by the hairs and also heat from the body is lost as the air evaporates. 
 
SWEATING: 
The sweat gland is usually active during hot periods and there's large sweat production. As the sweat evaporate from the skin, latent heat of evaporation is also extracted from the body hence the heat of the body is reduced. 
 
On a cold day or weather, the following processes are done by the skin to regulate the body temperature. 
 
RAISING OF THE HAIRS: 
The hair erector muscle contract to raise the hair and trap more air during a cold weather. Since air is a bad conductor of heat, the layer of air next to the skin acts as an insulator and prevent heat loss from the body and conserves the normal body temperature. 
 
VOSOCONSTRICTION: There's constriction of capillaries close to the skin surface and also a dilation of capillaries in deeper layer of the skin. This brings about small volume of blood flow near the skin surface and hence prevents loss of heat and conserves body heat or temperature. 
 
INCREASE IN METABOLIC ACTIVITY: The skin increases the metabolic activity of the body especially the respiratory activity of the liver that release large amount of energy and heat. This help to generate the heat necessary to keep the body's temperature from dropping during cold weather. 
 
SWEATING: 
THE sweat gland become inactive on a cold day and hence there is very little production of sweat that gets evaporated thereby conserving the latent heat of vaporization and rather use it to keep the body temperature constant by ensuring no drop 'in temperature rate throughout the body. 
This is the very reason</div>

Skin As Body Temperature Regulator

The skin as we all know is the largest organ in the body. Also with exception of the bones and cartilages, it's the toughest tissue in t...