ScienceIQ.com

Cosmos Provides Astronomers with Planet-Hunting Tool

If only astronomers had a giant magnifying glass in space, they might be able to uncover planets around other stars. Now they do -- sort of. Instead of magnifying a planet, astronomers used the magnifying effects of one star on a more distant star to reveal a planet around the closer star. The discovery marks the first use of a celestial phenomenon ...

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PlanetHuntingTool
Geology

The Importance Of Clouds And Aerosols To Climate Change

Everything, from an individual person to Earth as a whole, emits energy. Scientists refer to this energy as radiation. As Earth absorbs incoming sunlight, it warms up. The planet must emit some of ... Continue reading

CloudsAerosols
Geology

What Causes The Blue Color That Sometimes Appears In Snow And Ice?

Generally, snow and ice present us with a uniformly white face. This is because most all of the visible light striking the snow or ice surface is reflected back without any particular preference for a ... Continue reading

BlueColorSnowIce
Biology

Diadromous Fish

Diadromous fish are fish that migrate between freshwater and saltwater. The migration patterns differ for each species and have seasonal and lifecycle variations. Only one percent of all fish in the ... Continue reading

DiadromousFish
Biology

Welcome to1984

You've probably heard reports about a recently-developed technological device that may help quadriplegics regain control of their limbs. The device is designed to read the quadriplegic's brain waves, ... Continue reading

Welcometo1984

What Are Blood Types, and Why Are They Important?

BloodTypesIf your medical report reads A, Rh+, M, s, P1, Lua, K+, Kp(a-b+), Le(a-b+). Fy(a+), Jk(a+b+), don't run for a foreign language dictionary. The letters aren't Greek. They are simply the names given to various proteins that may or may not be present on the membranes of your blood cells. The proteins are grouped under names such as the Lutheran, Kell, Lewis, Duffy, and Kidd systems.

The most familiar blood proteins - and the first to be typed - are today known as the A-B-O blood groups. People with type A blood have the A protein (also called antigen) in their blood, but not the B. Type B blood means the B protein is present, but not the A. If both proteins occur, the type is called AB. Type O means neither protein is present. Another well-known blood protein is named Rh. If you are Rh+ (read R H positive), you have the protein. Rh- (read R H negative) means you don't.

In most cases, the presence or absence of these antigens means nothing in terms of health. The types are simply differences among healthy people. There are, however, exceptions. For example, it's not likely that you are missing both of the Duffy system proteins, Fy a and Fy b, unless you live in a country where malaria is common. In such countries, many more people have the Fy(a-b-) Duffy type. They enjoy a certain degree of immunity against malaria that people who are positive for either protein lack. Why? Because the organism that causes malaria, Plasmodium falciparum, uses the Duffy antigens to enter red blood cells. Without them, the malarial parasite cannot infect.