The Microbial Community Inside Us

Your body is home to trillions of bacteria, and in fact, you have more bacteria in and on your body than human cells. It's estimated that the human microbiome, which consists of bacteria, fungi, viruses, and other microorganisms, contains about 39 trillion bacterial cells, while the human body has roughly 30 trillion human cells. These bacteria liv

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The Myth of the Great Wall's Visibility

For many years, it has been a popular myth that the Great Wall of China is the only man-made object visible from space with the naked eye. However, this is not true. The Great Wall, though impressive in size, is not wide enough or distinctive enough to be seen from the Moon without assistance. The myth likely originated because the Wall is long, bu

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The Surprising Breathing Mechanism of Turtles

Turtles have some very unique features, and one of the most surprising is their ability to breathe through their butts. This ability, known as cloacal respiration, is made possible by a specialized part of their anatomy called the cloaca. The cloaca is a common opening for the digestive, excretory, and reproductive systems, and in some species of t

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The Longevity of Honey

Honey is one of the few foods that can last indefinitely without spoiling. Archaeologists have discovered pots of honey in ancient Egyptian tombs that are over 3,000 years old and still perfectly edible. The secret to honey’s eternal shelf life lies in its natural composition  it has a low moisture content and is highly acidic, which creates an

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