The Modern Plague: Identifying the Virus and Its Effects
In record time, using technical means not available a few years earlier, scientists isolated and identified the virus they called HIV--Human Immunodeficiency Virus. The virus, which multiplies rapidly in the body, attach..
The Modern Plague: Protecting Yourself, Your Community Against HIV
To lessen the devastating impact HIV has on people's lives, healthcare professionals advise that you maintain a monogamous relationship with an HIV negative person, abstain from sexual intercourse, or use a condom 100% o..
The Modern Plague: Rumblings, New Disease Rumored
The year was 1981. Reports of a strange disease that was attacking seemingly healthy young men began to spread through the medical community. The most important thing initially was to construct a case definition for what..
The Modern Plague: Search for an HIV Vaccine
The development of a vaccine against HIV is proving to be a daunting task. Alexandra Levine talks of her work with Jonas Salk on what was to be his last major project, looking for either a way to kill the virus or use it..
The Modern Plague: Victims of HIV: A Changing Picture
The death rate due to AIDS continues to decline as a result of more sophisticated testing and treatment, but the incidence of HIV infection continues is increasing among women, minorities, heterosexuals, and adolescents...
The Modern Plague: Worldwide Efforts to Stem the Spread of HIV
HIV and AIDs are decimating populations in Africa, parts of Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent, affecting whole generations of families In resource-poor areas of the world and major population areas, public hea..
The Moon, The Sun and Tides
Renowned oceanographer and geophysicist Walter Munk talks about the relative roles of the Sun and the Moon in tidal processes. He observes that, over time, the Moon is moving further away from the Earth. While the gravit..
The Most Amazing Machine: Brain Injuries
When a brain injury occurs, the deficits that follow depend on which parts of the brain are injured and the degree of damage. Matt Dykas was an 18-year-old high school senior when he suffered a paralyzing stroke after ru..
The Most Amazing Machine: Brain Specialization: What It Involves and Does Not Involve
The brain has developed clever strategies to invest more in the development of specific abilities on one side than the other. Because the brain engages in this kind of specialization some people ask where the element..
The Most Amazing Machine: Control Center, The
The brain is the command center that organizes and coordinates all body processes. The central nervous system comprises the brain and spinal cord and therefore has access to control all vital organs.