Science Buddies Blog (3 results)

Depending on where you live, you may find that even local corner stores have sections that are kept under lock and key. Over-the-counter drugs and even toys often end up under "please ask for assistance" supervision. It can be frustrating to have to get a clerk to help you get your cold medicine, batteries, or the newest pack of trading cards, but it makes sense. From surveillance technologies to exploding ink security tags to simple lock-and-key access, businesses are doing what they can to… Read more

Do you wrinkle up your nose at the taste of something bitter? That's partly what your taste buds do—help warn your body against something that is bitter and could be poisonous. While your tongue may or may not like the bitter taste of foods like radishes and dandelion greens, your lungs might react differently! A team of researchers from the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins recently discovered that the lungs have "taste receptors" (like the ones on your tongue). That was a… Read more

Smallpox, typhoid fever, bubonic plague, cholera... These may be health problems you know best from history class—or even from novels in your literature class. In a world in which super-bugs lurk on the medical fringe and new viruses like H1N1 and SARS have threatened to explode to pandemic proportions, it's sometimes easy to discount diseases, viruses, and bacteria that have proven epidemic in the past. But many of these bugs from "long ago" haven't ever completely disappeared. A bit… Read more