Bacteria and Foodborne Illness

Foodborne illness results from eating food contaminated with bacteria (or their toxins) or other pathogens such as parasites or viruses. The illnesses range from upset stomach to more serious symptoms, including diarrhea, fever, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and dehydration. Although most foodborne infections are undiagnosed and unreported, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that every year about 76 million people in the United States become ill from pathogens in food. Of these, about 5,000 die.

Bacteria and Foodborne Illness

Egyptian Life

Egyptian Life

Daily life in ancient Egypt revolved around the Nile and the fertile land along its banks. The yearly flooding of the Nile enriched the soil and brought good harvests and wealth to the land.








Most ancient Egyptians worked as field hands, farmers, craftsmen and scribes. A small group of people were nobles. Together, these different groups of people made up the population of ancient Egypt.

Egyptian Life

Great Rivers - Ecosystem Services

Valuing Ecosystem Services

For years, economists and ecologists faced off against each other. Ecologists felt persecuted by economists, and economists thought ecologists were naive about the world.

"Thank goodness, we woke up and realized that economics and ecology are inextricably connected, and that working together can yield great insights,” said Gretchen Daily, one of the world’s leading ecologists and co-author of The New Economy of Nature: The Quest to Make Conservation Profitable.

Great Rivers - Ecosystem Services

:::: What is a Desert Like? ::::

The desert is a land of extremes: extreme heat and extreme dryness; sudden flash floods and cold nights. Because deserts are such a harsh environment, deserts often have names likes "Death Valley," "the empty quarter," and "the place from where there is no return."

Believe it or not, deserts come in two varieties: hot and cold.

:::: Where do You Live? ::::

Best Hubble Space Telescope Images

Space Phenomenon Imitates Art

This image resembling Vincent van Gogh's painting, "Starry Night," is an expanding halo of light around a distant star, named V838 Monocerotis (V838 Mon). This Hubble Telescope image was obtained with the Advanced Camera for Surveys on February 8, 2004.
Image Credit: NASA, Hubble Heritage Team.

Best Hubble Space Telescope Images

The Ingredients of Life

THE INGREDIENTS FOR LIFE
1) Liquid water

2) Chemical building blocks like carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen

3) An energy source
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In one corner of the Solar System, life abounds. From the frozen lakes in Antarctica to the boiling ocean-floor springs of the Pacific, planet Earth is teeming with life. But these diverse locations all share some common ground. They all contain the essential ingredients needed to create life."

BBC - Science & Nature - Space - The Ingredients of Life: " THE INGREDIENTS FOR LIFE

A brief History of Rome

The founding of Rome goes back to the very early days of civilization. It is so old, it is today known as 'the eternal city'. The Romans believed that their city was founded in the year 753 BC. Modern historians though believe it was the year 625 BC.

Early Rome was governed by kings, but after only seven of them had ruled, the Romans took power over their own city and ruled themselves.

They then instead had a council known as the 'senate' which ruled over them. From this point on one speaks of the 'Roman Republic'.

The word 'Republic' itself comes from the Latin (the language of the Romans) words 'res publica' which mean 'public matters' or 'matters of state'.

A brief History of Rome