Science and Nature

In addition to your body's own ‘average Joe working cells’, you are internally patrolled by a microscopic police force; the cells and molecules of your immune system. These cellular cops are constantly on the lookout for bad guys, finding interlopers and eliminating them. Bad guy micr..
(Read full article on The Immune System - Your Body’s Police Force)

Those of us who live in temperate climates get a clear and beautiful sign of the approaching winter when autumn leaves begin to change color. This brilliant show is also big business, inspiring many travelers to head north for breathtaking fall color tours. But what is it that actually causes lea..
(Read full article on Why Do Leaves Change Color in Fall?)

Diffusion Diffusion is the passive transport of molecules from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration; and, surprisingly, you are very familiar with this process, whether you realize it or not. When you put on perfume or aftershave..
(Read full article on What Are Diffusion, Osmosis and Tonicity?)

Why Don’t Antibiotics Kill Our Cells? Bacterial cells are prokaryotic; primitive cells that are very different than the eukaryotic cells that make up the human body. The MOA of antibiotics exploits the difference between these cell types so that the drugs harm bacter..
(Read full article on Mode of Action (MOA) of Different Classes of Antibiotics)

Interested in donating money to an environmental charity, but don’t know which one to pick? Here is a list of the top ten green charities, ranked on how effectively they apply your money to their conservation efforts. Which Environmental Charity Should I Choose?..
(Read full article on Top Ten Nature and Environmental Charities)

A fabric merchant and self-made scientist, Anthon (Anthony) van Leeuwenhoek had boundless curiosity and an open mind, free of scientific dogma. Although he is often mistakenly credited with invention of the microscope, his improvements to the instrument and subsequent observations made hi..
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To understand equine behavior, it is important to keep in mind that horses are prey animals, potential lunch for someone else. Plants, at the bottom of the food chain are eaten by herbivores, the consumer category that horses fall into. Then carnivores, the top ranking members of the food chain, ..
(Read full article on Prey vs Predator Psychology of Horse Behavior)

To understand the binomial nomenclature of scientific names, it helps to have at least a general understanding of how scientists categorize living things. The science of taxonomy and systematics involves the classification of organisms according to evolutionary relationships. Prior to the science..
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Both natural and artificial selection produce changes in living organisms over time. However, the selective force of natural selection is the environment, while the agent of change in artificial selection arises from human whim. Here’s more on these two evolutionary processes. ..
(Read full article on Comparison of Natural and Artificial Selection)

Although we do many things, such as washing our hands and using hand sanitizer, to reduce our chance of catching an infection, it is impossible to avoid germs. It is our own body's immune system that does the most to protect us from infectious disease. Our innate, or specific, immune system is li..
(Read full article on Skin: The Body’s First Line of Nonspecific Immune Defense)