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At 11.40pm on 14 April 1912, the famously 'unsinkable' ocean liner, Titanic, struck an iceberg. Two hours and 40 minutes later she sank deep into the freezing Atlantic waters. Less than a third of the people on board survived.

Over the years, the BBC has heard from some of the men and women who lived through that 'night to remember'. Their memories are gathered together here to tell the story of the disaster.

Hear the survivors describe a night they could never forget.

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At 11.40pm on 14 April 1912, the famously 'unsinkable' ocean liner, Titanic, struck an iceberg. Two hours and 40 minutes later she sank deep into the freezing Atlantic waters. Less than a third of the people on board survived. Over the years, the BBC has heard from some of the men and women who lived through that 'night to remember'.

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Detailed RMS Titanic deckplans. Explore the design of the Titanic in high resolution deckplans.

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Icebergs are large chunks of ice that break off from glaciers

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List of commercial cargo carried aboard RMS Titanic...

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Life aboard the Titanic - source 5 - The National Archives

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Telegram received by the Russian liner Birma (MT 9/920c)

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Explore the collections of National Museums NI.

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The North faces a Titanic challenge as melting ice lures more luxury liners

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The North faces a Titanic challenge as melting ice lures more luxury liners

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Newsela | Instructional Content Platform

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Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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Titanic: Rediscovered, Still Holding Secrets

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Titanic: Rediscovered, Still Holding Secrets

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Titanic: Rediscovered, Still Holding Secrets

The giant ocean liner Titanic, which sank on April 15, 1912, was presumed lost for several decades but was eventually discovered in 1985. Since that discovery, several expeditions have brought back artifacts and images galore from the wreckage on the Atlantic Ocean floor.

On September 1, 1985, a team of French and American explorers discovered the wreck. One of the team was Dr. Robert Ballard, a famed underwater explorer who returned the following year in the one-man submersible Alvin and gained further evidence of what happened when the boat sank.

Initial theories were that the boat sank intact. What Ballard and his team saw, however, contradicted that: They saw a ship that had split in two. The bow rested 1,970 feet from the stern, and the two parts faced in opposite directions. The bow was found to be embedded 60 feet into the ocean floor. The stern was found to be more damaged, likely due to an implosion caused by release on impact of air trapped in the decks.

Ballard didn't bring back any artifacts, but other expeditions did. More than 6,000 mementoes now rest in the hands of public and private collectors, most notably the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England.

Film director and adventurer James Cameron, who directed the 1997 hit Titanic, also produced a 2003 documentary titled Ghosts of the Abyss, which featured new footage of the ship from the ocean floor.

Private expeditions, though costing tens of thousands of dollars, are routine.

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Titanic: Rediscovered, Still Holding Secrets

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The giant ocean liner Titanic, which sank on April 15, 1912, was presumed lost for several decades but was eventually discovered in 1985.

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The Titanic was one of three Olympic-class ocean liners built by the White Star Line in the early 20th Century. The other two Olympic-class ships were the Britannic, sunk by a German mine in 1916, and Olympic, which served out many years of passenger transport before being retired in 1935.

Workers at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Ireland, built the Titanic between 1909 and 1911. The shipyard had built ships for the White Star Line since 1867.

The Titanic was 882 feet 6 inches in length and 175 feet tall. The rudder alone was 78 feet 8 inches tall and 15 feet 3 inches long, weighing more than 100 tons.

The two massive engines weighed 720 tons each and got their power from 29 boilers that ran on more than 600 tons of coal a day.

The 11 decks could house nearly 2,500 passengers and nearly 900 crew.

The Boat Deck had the lifeboats along the outside. (A total of 64 lifeboats could be installed, but the Titanic had just 20.) Inside the edges, the deck contained the bridge and wheelhouse, captain's and officers' quarters, four promenades that were segregated by economic class (officers, First Class, engineers, and Second Class — the Third Class promenade was on B Deck).

A Deck and B Deck were reserved for First Class passengers, although the Second Class smoking room were also on this deck.

C Deck had some mingling of First Class and Second Class cabins, and some crewmembers had their cabins on this deck.

D Deck, which was known as the Saloon Deck, had three large rooms (two dining and reception) designated for First Class or Second passengers, an open space designated for Third Class passengers, and some cabins for people of all classes.

E Deck, F Deck, and G Deck contained accommodation for Second Class and, mainly, Third Class passengers, many of whom had portholes that were just above the waterline. Food was stored on G Deck.

The lowest decks were for cargo space and the ship's boilers, electrical generators, engines, and turbines.

The Titanic really was a luxury liner, with many First Class passengers enjoying large, sumptuous cabins, some including their own bathrooms. Also onboard were numerous palm trees, a swimming pool, a Turkish bath, a gymnasium, a squash court, a barber shop, a travelling post office, and dog kennels.

After a few test voyages, the Titanic set off on its maiden voyage, calling at Cherbourg, France, and Queenstown, Ireland, before making the turn west toward the United States. It never returned.

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The Titanic was one of three Olympic-class ocean liners built by the White Star Line in the early 20th Century.

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Titanic: Still Capturing the Popular Imagination

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Titanic: Still Capturing the Popular Imagination

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Titanic: Still Capturing the Popular Imagination

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Titanic has been and still is a powerful draw for popular culture.

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Titanic Captain Edward John Smith: Facts and Information

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Titanic Captain Edward John Smith: Facts and Information

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Here are ten facts about Edward John Smith, the Captain of RMS Titanic who lost his life when the ship sank in 1912 after hitting an iceberg.

Edward John Smith was born on 27th January 1850 in Hanley, Staffordshire.

He joined the White Star Line in 1880 and worked his way up to commanding the Republic in 1887, the Majestic in 1895, the Baltic, the Adriatic and the Olympic. His reputation as a good, safe captain grew and he became known as the 'Millionaires' Captain' because some of the wealthiest people in England would only travel on ships he was captaining.

He was married to Eleanor Smith and they had one daughter, Helen Melville.

It is believed that Captain Smith considered retirement before accepting command of the Titanic.

Captain Smith was in bed when the ship collided with an iceberg. He was woken up by the sound of the collision and was told what had happened by William Murdoch, the First Officer.

Smith has been criticised for failing to properly manage the evacuation of passengers. He knew that the ship was going to sink, but he didn't pass this information on to all of his officers.

Very little is known about what Captain Smith did in time between the Titanic colliding with the iceberg and sinking.

It is also unclear how Smith lost his life. Most historians believe that he locked himself in the wheelhouse and went down with his ship, but some of the survivors claimed to have encountered him when he passed an infant child into a lifeboat from the water. His body was never recovered.

Legend has it that the final words to his crew were 'Be British', but this is probably not true.

A statue of Captain Smith stands in Beacon Park, Lichfield.

More Facts About Captain Smith

He has been portrayed by many different actors over the years. According to Smith's daughter, Helen Melville (Mel), Laurence Naismith, the actor who played Smith in A Night to Remember, looked very much like her father. Bernard Hill took on the role of Captain smith in the 1997 movie Titanic directed by James Cameron.

Captain Smith was 62 when he died in 1912.

What next? Discover some facts about the Titanic.

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Titanic Captain Edward John Smith: Facts and Information - Primary Facts

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Here are ten facts about Edward John Smith, the Captain of RMS Titanic who lost his life when the ship sank in 1912 after hitting an iceberg. Edward John Smith was born on 27th January 1850 in Hanley, Staffordshire. He joined the White Star Line in 1880 and worked his way up to commanding the [...]

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Finding the TitanicHow did science help explorers find the Titanic?

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Finding the TitanicHow did science help explorers find the Titanic?

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100 Years After Titanic Sinking, a LEGO Replica Sails On

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100 Years After Titanic Sinking, a LEGO Replica Sails On

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100 Years After Titanic Sinking, a LEGO Replica Sails On

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To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking, a team of 15 LEGO builders gave a sneak peak of their cruise liner replica made of toy bricks. The ship, which took 200 hours and used thousands of bricks, was built by a team called the Brickomaniacs. The Titanic scale model measures ab…

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Titanic Facts for Kids | 8 Hidden Facts about Titanic

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Titanic Facts for Kids | 8 Hidden Facts about Titanic

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Titanic Facts for Kids | 8 Hidden Facts about Titanic

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Everybody knows the story of Titanic and the iceberg it hit on the night of April 14, 1912. When it first set sail, the Titanic was known for its extraordinary size and was thought to be “The Unsin…

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Read about the tragic shipwreck in the frigid North Atlantic Ocean.

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Titanic facts for kids | History | National Geographic Kids

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Learn about the most famous ship in history with our twenty Titanic facts. How big was the Titanic? Where did she sink? How many people died on the Titanic?

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Titanic: Passengers Famously Separated by Class

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Titanic: Passengers Famously Separated by Class

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Titanic: Passengers Famously Separated by Class

In many ways, the Titanic passenger list reflected the wide class divide of the times. Of the 1,296 total passengers onboard the massive ocean liner, 319 were labeled as first class, 269 were termed second class, and 699 were called third class, or steerage.

A closer look at the casualty figures reveals that of the 319 first-class passengers, 200 survived and of the 269 second-class passengers, 117 survived. Only 172 of 699 third-class passengers survived. A similar percentage can be found among crew and staff: 215 of 918 survived.

First-class passengers included wealthy businessmen, famous entertainers, high-ranking members of the military, and professional athletes. Among the second-class numbers were professors, authors, tourists, and clergymen. Most of the third-class passengers were immigrants seeking a new life in the U.S. or Canada.

Some of the people aboard the Titanic were very famous in their day.

The most prominent name was probably John Jacob Astor IV (right), the latest millionaire in a family of rich businessmen. He and his wife, Madeleine, were returning to the U.S. so Madeleine could give birth to their first child at home.

Also onboard were these famous people:

Isidor Straus, owner of the Macy's department store, and his wife, Ida

Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company founder George Wick

Charles Hays, the president of Canada's Grand Trunk Railway

John Thayer, a vice-president with the Pennsylvania Railroad

George Widener, owner of the Philadelphia Traction (streetcar) Company

Benjamin Guggenheim, a member of the powerful mining family whose brother Solomon established the eponymous New York museum.

All of these famous people died when the Titanic sank.

Among the famous people surviving the disaster were J. Bruce Ismay, chairman of White Star Line; Thomas Andrews, the ship's builder; millionaire and women's rights activist Margaret Brown; and silent film star Dorothy Gibson.

Among the more than 700 survivors were the "Titanic Orphans," Michel Jr. and Edmond Navratil, infant sons of Michel Navratil, who kidnapped his sons and took them aboard the Titanic to get them away from their mother, who lived in Nice, France. Michel, the father, died, but the boys survived and were cared for by fellow survivor Margaret Hays until their mother arrived in New York to take them home. (Hays had widely circulated photographs of the twins, and their mother had eventually seen the pictures.)

Also surviving was Violet Jessop, a nurse who was working as a stewardess on the Titanic and went on to survive the sinking of the Britannic four years later. Jessop went on to work for another ship company, the Red Star Line, and went on two round-the-world cruises.

The last remaining survivor was Elizabeth Dean, who was only a few months old when she and her family boarded the Titanic in hopes of immigrating to the American Midwest. Elizabeth, known as Millvina, and her mother and brother survived. Elizabeth died in 2009, at age 97.

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Titanic: Passengers Famously Separated by Class

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In many ways, the Titanic passenger list reflected the wide class divide of the times.

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Titanic: Captain Went Down with the Ship

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Titanic: Captain Went Down with the Ship

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Titanic: Captain Went Down with the Ship

The Titanic had eight officers, including Captain Edward Smith.

Smith was a veteran, decorated sailor, having been with the White Star Line since 1880. He was captain of the Majestic for nine years, including a stint transporting British troops to the Boer War.

Beginning in 1904, he was the captain on all of White Star Line's new ships. He was captain of the Baltic when it sailed from Liverpool to New York in June 1904 and of the Adriatic when it made a similar voyage three years later.

Smith was captain of the Olympic, a ship as big as the Titanic, in September 1911, when the Olympic collided with another ship, the Hawke, resulting in the Hawke's losing its prow and the Olympic's losing one of its giant propeller shafts. Smith and the Olympic got the blame for this incident.

Despite this incident, the White Star Line appointed Smith captain of its newest ship, the Titanic, for its maiden voyage. His first major action was to ensure that the Titanic didn't collide with the New York, a ship that broke free from its moorings because of the huge amount of water displaced when Titanic initially sailed.

Smith did not survive the sinking of the Titanic. Various accounts of his last actions have him jumping into the sea at the last second, standing in the wheelhouse as the ship went down, and even rescuing a child as his final act.

His body was not recovered. He left behind a wife and daughter. A statue of him stands in Beacon Park in Lichfield, Staffordshire, in England.

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Titanic: Captain Went Down with the Ship

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The Titanic captain was experienced in the extreme.

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DK Learning: Make every lesson your best yet

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DK's uniquely visual approach engages students, enhancing their learning experience

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More and more private companies are being hired by NASA to do space work

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More and more private companies are being hired by NASA to do space work

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Newsela | Instructional Content Platform

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Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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A little more than 40 years ago, an American astronaut climbed down the ladder of his lunar landing module - the Eagle - and became the first human to touch the moon's surface. As he steadied himself, he said: "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." Around the globe, an estimated 530 million people watched on their televisions as Neil Armstrong uttered those now-famous words. On August 25, this American hero died at age 82.

Armstrong and fellow moon walker Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin briefly became the first ambassadors to another world on July 20, 1969. Setting foot on another celestial body was a massive and breathtaking achievement. And Armstrong's words brought the human scale of that accomplishment to households around the world.

"Neil was among the greatest of American heroes - not just of his time, but of all time," said President Barack Obama. "When [Armstrong] and his fellow crew members lifted off aboard Apollo 11 in 1969, they carried with them the aspirations of an entire nation." These men showed the world "that with enough drive and ingenuity, anything is possible," the president added. And these brave individuals "delivered a moment of human achievement that will never be forgotten."

Preparing for a life of exploration

Armstrong fell in love with flying at a young age. By 15 he was already taking lessons. He picked up odd jobs around his hometown to pay for flight time in a small airplane. He got his student's flying permit, at 16, before he got his driver's license.

In college, he trained as an aeronautical and aerospace engineer. In this field, people learn how to design and control not only aircraft but also jets and other propulsion systems.

But before he could finish college, Armstrong was called up for military service. He signed on to become a Navy fighter pilot. He flew 78 combat missions in Korea. During one, his plane was hit and he had to parachute out. It was an event that could have killed him. But it didn't frighten him off of flying. Instead, he went back to school and finished his studies. Then he joined a federal agency that would become the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA.

There, for 17 years, Neil Armstrong held a number of different jobs. He started as a test pilot for many pioneering aircraft. These included the X-15, an experimental vehicle that could zoom through the atmosphere at more than 4,000 miles per hour! He made seven flights on that space plane, at one point reaching an altitude of 63,198 meters (207,500 feet). That's about six times higher than today's standard jumbo jets. And he didn't just pilot the X-15. He also worked closely with the aircraft's engineers and designers to improve the plane's flight controls. In all, Armstrong flew more than 200 different models of aircraft, including jets, helicopters and gliders.

That all changed in 1962 when Armstrong joined NASA's astronaut corps. Suddenly, his focus became rocketry and space exploration. Within four years, he was given the command of the Gemini 8 spacecraft, from which he controlled the first successful docking, or linkup, of two vehicles in space.

But the highlight of his career was Apollo 11, that famous mission to the moon. And almost 1 in 5 people alive at the time shared in the excitement, watching as blurry television images showed Armstrong descending to the lunar surface.

His team's landing module had set down in a region known as the Sea of Tranquility. Within 20 minutes, Aldrin joined him. There, the two took photos, collected moon rocks and set up some science experiments.

They also left mementos for future space travelers. These included a patch carrying the names of Virgil Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee - Apollo 1 crew members who died in a launchpad fire. Armstrong and Aldrin also left medals inscribed with the names of Vladimir Komarov and Yuri Gagarin, two Russian astronauts (called cosmonauts) who died during space flights in 1967 and 1968. Finally, they left a small silicon disc that carried a miniature goodwill message from 73 world leaders (its message is so small that you would need a microscope to see the words).
Neil Armstrong walking on the moon for the first time.
Aldrin returned to the Eagle after 93 minutes on the moon's surface. Armstrong, the mission's commander, stayed 40 minutes longer. He savored the last bits of this huge adventure. Then the pair rejoined Michael Collins aboard the Apollo 11 space capsule for their return trip home. In all, the team spent more than eight days in space and traveled 953,054 miles (more than 1.5 million kilometers).

And still their trip wasn't really over. The men couldn't step out of their space suits and rush to hug their families for another three weeks. Once back on Earth, the men had to remain in quarantine. It was a precautionary measure to make sure no one had picked up a dangerous germ during their lunar trek and carried it home.

After his Apollo 11 trip to the moon, Armstrong stayed on at NASA and eventually rose to become its deputy associate administrator, in Washington, D.C. Later, he became a college professor, teaching aerospace engineering. He then worked for several aerospace companies. It seems the man never could get enough of the idea of cruising through - and occasionally outside of - Earth's atmosphere.

After his death, Armstrong's family issued a statement. They said, in part: "While we mourn the loss of a very good man, we also celebrate his remarkable life and hope that it serves as an example to young people around the world to work hard to make their dreams come true, to be willing to explore and push the limits, and to selflessly serve a cause greater than themselves."

Observes NASA Administrator Charles Bolden: "As long as there are history books, Neil Armstrong will be included in them, remembered for taking humankind's first small step on a world beyond our own."

As a mark of respect for Armstrong and what his achievements represented, President Obama ordered that flags throughout the country and at U.S. embassies abroad be lowered to half-staff on the day Armstrong is buried.

aerospace A research field devoted to the study of Earth's atmosphere and the space beyond or to aircraft that travel in the atmosphere and space.

astronautics A research field specializing in the design and construction of aircraft - including those created for space travel.

Apollo missions NASA's third human spaceflight program. It sought to develop the technologies needed for long-distance space travel. It got a big kick-start after President John F. Kennedy proposed in 1961 creating the national goal of "landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth."

astronaut People trained to travel into space for research and exploration.

celestial body Any naturally formed objects of substantial size in space. Examples include comets, asteroids, planets, moons, stars and galaxies.

cosmonaut Russian term for astronaut.

docking The act of bringing together and inserting one thing into another.

engineer An individual who applies science to practical purposes, such as the design or development of machines, structures or systems.

lander A special, small vehicle designed to ferry humans between a spacecraft and the celestial body they will explore.

lunar Relating to Earth's moon.

propulsion The act or process of driving something forward, using a force. For instance, jet engines are one type of propulsion for keeping airplanes aloft.

Janet Raloff is the Editor, Digital of Science News Explores. Prior to this, she was an environmental reporter for Science News, specializing in toxicology. To her never-ending surprise, her daughter became a toxicologist.

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Forty-five years ago, an American astronaut climbed down the ladder of his lunar landing module - the Eagle - and became the first human to touch the moon's surface.

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The historic event captivated the world—and helped people look to the future.

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You've now reached the outer edges of our own solar system

It would take you about 23 million years of continuous scrolling on this scale to get to the farthest regions of the observable universe, another 435,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 km
or 46 billion light years away.

We think we'll stop here.

Live long and prosper

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Buckle up and ride a rocket through our interactive view of the Solar System to explore our cosmic neighbourhood

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International Space Station Virtual Tour

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International Space Station Virtual Tour

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Cosmos4Kids.com: Exploration: U.S. Programs II

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Cosmos4Kids.com! This astronomy tutorial introduces more US space programs. Other sections include the Universe, galaxies, stars, and the Solar System.

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You have probably heard of the Space Shuttle. The shuttle Columbia was the first one to make it into orbit on April 12, 1981. They are the first reusable spacecraft on Earth. NASA designed the Shuttle to be a cost-effective way of getting cargo into space and conducting short-term experiments. Over the years, it has carried over 500 humans into orbit.

The space shuttle is the most complex machine ever built. It needs to survive a traumatic launch, spend weeks in the vacuum of space, provide facilities to conduct experiments and transport equipment, and return through the atmosphere for a gliding landing on Earth. The shuttle is broken into three sections. The forward fuselage holds the crew cabins (middeck) and flight deck. You will find the payload bay and wings in the mid-fuselage. The aft fuselage is home to the orbital maneuvering systems and three main engines.

During a shuttle launch, you will see three main pieces. There are two solid rocket boosters on the sides of the launch vehicle. These boosters are released soon after launch and their fuel has been used up. They fall back to the ocean and are retrieved. The large external tank is the orange fuel container in the center. It's fuel is used to power the three shuttle engines. The external tank is also released after launch (but not reused). The shuttle itself is called the orbiter. It only takes a few minutes to get the shuttle into orbit.

Landing is technically much easier than launch. The shuttle adjusts its orbit and glides to the surface. As it passes through the atmosphere, it has to survive very hot temperatures. The temperatures increase because friction is created as the atmosphere moves against the surface of the shuttle. One of the shuttle disasters happened because there were damaged heat shields on the shuttle's wing. When the heat shields are damaged, heat inside the structure can increase and start fires.

Even though it has been an exceptional spacecraft, the days of the Space Shuttle will soon be over. There are technical problems that will be improved, but realistically, the initial concepts for the space shuttle were developed in the early 1970s. After 30 years, it is time for a new reusable spacecraft. NASA is also planning more missions to the Moon and Mars. These missions will have a different set of requirements and new features will need to be developed. NASA is currently working on a new project called Orion. Announced in August 2006, Orion will be a crew exploration vehicle that will travel to the Moon and beyond. It is being developed by the NASA Constellation Program.

Encyclopedia.com:
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/space_shuttle.aspx
Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_shuttle
Encyclopædia Britannica:
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/557444/space-shuttle
NASA (Space Shuttle Home Page):
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

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Cosmos4Kids.com! This astronomy tutorial introduces the space shuttle. Other sections include the Universe, galaxies, stars, and the Solar System.

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Astronomy is the study of space. If you were an astronomer, you might focus on galaxies, stars, planets, or traveling objects such as comets and asteroids. Don't get astronomy confused with astrology. Astrology is a form of mystical prediction based on the stars and the time of year. Horoscopes are based on astrology. Astronomy is grounded in science. Astronomy uses math and science to study and predict the actions of the universe.

To be a good astronomer, you need to understand its history of scientific discoveries. Over thousands of years, humans have developed and proved many ideas about space. Proving the fact that the Earth revolved around the Sun was one of the first major accomplishments of modern astronomy. As you learn more, you will find out that ancient societies understood the movement of the Earth long before it was accepted by ruling powers. We are now using orbiting telescopes to photograph possible black holes (Hubble, Chandra). There are still thousands of unanswered questions. This science will depend on a long future of exploration.

Humans rarely visit other planets. Humans do take pictures of other universal bodies. From those pictures we study the colors, movement, and composition of other objects in the universe. Astronomers need to understand the sciences of Earth because this is the only place we can study firsthand. Astronomers work with chemistry when studying the atmospheres on other planets. Astronomers need to understand geology to explain the structure of planets and stars. Astronomers also need to know physics to explain how objects move through the universe.

The countries of the world are currently building a space station that orbits the Earth. This is the first step in our efforts to colonize and study the Solar System. One day (maybe in your lifetime), there may be groups of scientists working on the Moon and Mars. As time passes, Earth will also send more probes into deep space to study the outer planets and the interstellar region outside of our system. Even though the study of space has been going on for thousands of years, we have only been able to study the universe firsthand for about 40 years.

In 2006, NASA announced that its new exploration vehicle would be called Orion. The Constellation Program will develop the new spacecraft and its launching technology (Ares rockets). The new manned capsule will have the latest technology and be the foundation for missions to the Moon and Mars.

Encyclopedia.com (Space Program):
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Space_Program.aspx
Wikipedia (Space Exploration):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_exploration
Encyclopædia Britannica:
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/557348/space-exploration

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Cosmos4Kids.com! This astronomy tutorial introduces space exploration. Other sections include the Universe, galaxies, stars, and the Solar System.

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Earth 's sole satellite has loomed large in human history since ancient times. Its orbit around Earth inspired our calendar month. Its gravitational pull coaxes Earth's oceans (and large lakes) into daily cycles of high and low tide. The moon might even affect how you toss and turn at night (one study showed that people sleep worse during a full moon). In fact, scientists suspect that our satellite's stabilizing effect on Earth's wobble and climates helped life evolve here. Without the moon, there might not have been moon gazers.

Our satellite is literally a chip off the old block, formed around 4.5 billion years ago when a roving body the size of Mars collided with the infant Earth and knocked a cloud of debris into orbit. That debris coalesced into the moon. But while an atmosphere protected Earth from all but the largest meteor impacts, the moon's airless surface came under constant assault over billions of years. The powdery lunar dust is pocked by craters and dented by dark basins people once thought were seas (they're dry, although the moon may contain ice in it deepest crevices). Our satellite is also the only heavenly body visited by human beings, whose footsteps are easy enough to follow when you touch down in your spaceship. They remain unchanged on the charcoal-gray surface.

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Earth 's sole satellite has loomed large in human history since ancient times. Its orbit around Earth inspired our calendar month. Its gravitational pull coaxes Earth's oceans (and large lakes) into daily cycles of high and low tide. The moon might even affect how you toss and turn at night (one study showed that people sleep worse during a full moon).

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Earth 's sole satellite has loomed large in human history since ancient times. Its orbit around Earth inspired our calendar month. Its gravitational pull coaxes Earth's oceans (and large lakes) into daily cycles of high and low tide. The moon might even affect how you toss and turn at night (one study showed that people sleep worse during a full moon). In fact, scientists suspect that our satellite's stabilizing effect on Earth's wobble and climates helped life evolve here. Without the moon, there might not have been moon gazers.

Our satellite is literally a chip off the old block, formed around 4.5 billion years ago when a roving body the size of Mars collided with the infant Earth and knocked a cloud of debris into orbit. That debris coalesced into the moon. But while an atmosphere protected Earth from all but the largest meteor impacts, the moon's airless surface came under constant assault over billions of years. The powdery lunar dust is pocked by craters and dented by dark basins people once thought were seas (they're dry, although the moon may contain ice in it deepest crevices). Our satellite is also the only heavenly body visited by human beings, whose footsteps are easy enough to follow when you touch down in your spaceship. They remain unchanged on the charcoal-gray surface.

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Earth 's sole satellite has loomed large in human history since ancient times. Its orbit around Earth inspired our calendar month. Its gravitational pull coaxes Earth's oceans (and large lakes) into daily cycles of high and low tide. The moon might even affect how you toss and turn at night (one study showed that people sleep worse during a full moon).

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The first earthling to orbit our planet was just two years old, plucked from the streets of Moscow barely more than a week before her historic launch. Her name was Laika. She was a terrier mutt and by all accounts a good dog. Her 1957 flight paved the way for space exploration back when scientists didn't know if spaceflight was lethal for living things.

Humans are explorers. Since before the dawn of civilization, we've been lured over the horizon to find food or more space, to make a profit, or just to see what's beyond those trees or mountains or oceans. Our ability to explore reached new heights-literally-in the last hundred years. Airplanes shortened distances, simplified travel, and showed us Earth from a new perspective. By the middle of the last century, we aimed even higher.

Our first steps into space began as a race between the United States and the former Soviet Union, rivals in a global struggle for power. Laika was followed into orbit four years later by the first human, Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri A. Gagarin. With Earth orbit achieved, we turned our sights on the moon. The United States landed two astronauts on its stark surface in 1969, and five more manned missions followed. The U.S.'s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched probes to study the solar system. Manned space stations began glittering in the sky. NASA developed reusable spacecraft-space shuttle orbiters-to ferry astronauts and satellites to orbit. Space-travel technology had advanced light-years in just three decades. Gagarin had to parachute from his spaceship after reentry from orbit. The space shuttle leaves orbit at 16,465 miles an hour (26,498 kilometers an hour) and glides to a stop on a runway without using an engine.

Space travel is nothing like in the movies. Getting from A to B requires complex calculations involving inertia and gravity-literally, rocket science-to "slingshot" from planet to planet (or moon) across the solar system. The Voyager mission of the 1970s took advantage of a rare alignment of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune to shave off nearly 20 years of travel time. Space is also dangerous. More than 20 astronauts have died doing their job.

That hasn't stopped people from signing up and blasting off. NASA's shuttle program has ended, but private companies are readying their own space programs. A company called Planetary Resources plans to send robot astronauts to the Asteroid Belt to mine for precious metals. Another company named SpaceX is hoping to land civilian astronauts on Mars-the next human step into the solar system-in 20 years. NASA and other civilian companies are planning their own Mars missions. Maybe you'll be a member of one? Don't forget to bring your dog.

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The first earthling to orbit our planet was just two years old, plucked from the streets of Moscow barely more than a week before her historic launch. Her name was Laika. She was a terrier mutt and by all accounts a good dog.

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In 2008, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope discovered carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a Jupiter-sized planet orbiting another star. This was seen as an important step in the search for evidence of life on other worlds.

Some 300 planets have so far been discovered in orbit around distant stars. Unfortunately, these extrasolar planets are so faint and so far away that it is extremely difficult to study them. However, with modern instruments, scientists are gradually beginning to learn more about these alien worlds and the gases which make up their atmospheres.

Carbon dioxide is the gas that plants give out during the night and use to grow. Animals and humans breathe it out every few seconds. As one of the main greenhouse gases, it traps heat and helps to warm up a planet. Carbon is also the basis of so-called organic compounds, which are among the building blocks of life. Now Hubble has shown that we can detect carbon dioxide on distant planets and estimate how much is present. This is a major advance in the long-term effort to find out what these worlds are made of and if they could support life.

The planet, called HD 189733b, is too hot for life. However, it is a good planet to observe because it disappears behind its companion star once every 2.2 days. By studying the regular changes in the light reaching Earth, scientists can analyse the planet's atmosphere. Water vapour and methane have already been found. The new Hubble observations prove that the basic chemistry for life can be measured on planets orbiting other stars.

Are we alone?

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In 2008, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope discovered carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a Jupiter-sized planet orbiting another star. This was seen as an important step in the search for evidence of life on other worlds.

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Astronauts have very busy lives. Each day in orbit (apart from rest days) is carefully planned by mission control. The times used by the crew are based on those at the mission control centres in Houston, Texas, or Moscow.

The 12-hour working day on the International Space Station begins with a wake-up call. After a quick rub down with a soapy cloth, the crew have breakfast and run through the jobs for the day with mission control.

Space stations are like large, complicated houses that need constant care and attention. A lot of time has to be spent on housekeeping chores - such as cleaning and repairs.

There are three meal sessions - breakfast, lunch and dinner - though drinks and snacks are always available. Much of the crew's time is spent preparing and carrying out scientific experiments. This may involve speaking to scientists on the ground.

At least two hours each day are spent on exercise. This is essential to keep the crew fit and healthy. Loading ferry craft with rubbish and unloading fresh supplies is a major task. Many hours can also be spent getting ready for spacewalks.

Last modified 30 June 2010

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Living in space

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Astronauts have very busy lives. Each day in orbit (apart from rest days) is carefully planned by mission control. The times used by the crew are based on those at the mission control centres in Houston, Texas, or Moscow.

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Imagine walking in space and flying around the Earth at more than 27,000 km/h! This is what hundreds of spacewalkers have experienced in the last 50 years. Spacewalks (officially known as Extravehicular Activity or EVA) are an essential part of working in space. They are used to install new equipment and experiments, and to carry out repairs. Almost 1,000 hours of spacewalks have been needed to build and maintain the International Space Station since 1998.

Spacewalkers wear protective suits when they enter the airless vacuum of space. These suits have many different layers which keep the wearers at the right temperature, enable them to breathe, and protect them from harmful radiation. The oxygen pressure inside the suits is lower than in the Space Station. As a result, astronauts have to spend about four hours breathing oxygen inside an airlock before they can step outside.

There are two different pressure suits stored on the ISS. The American suit has two sections: a hard upper torso and a flexible lower torso. These sections connect at the waist. The astronaut's legs are pushed into the trousers, then the arms and upper body are placed in the upper section. The Russian suit has a hard upper section with a back door which also houses the life support system. This makes it easier to put on single-handed. Both suits have separate gloves and helmets.

Spacewalkers are often carried from place to place on the end of a robotic arm. There are also special hand rails to help them move around. To stop them floating away and being lost in space, they are connected to the Station by thin cords. Spacewalks can last for many hours. The record is held by Susan Helms and James Voss, who spent nearly 9 hours in space in March 2001.

Last modified 26 June 2013

mascot bouncer 0

Living in space

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Imagine walking in space and flying around the Earth at more than 27,000 km/h! This is what hundreds of spacewalkers have experienced in the last 50 years. Spacewalks (officially known as Extravehicular Activity or EVA) are an essential part of working in space. They are used to install new equipment and experiments, and to carry out repairs.

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We rely on our muscles to walk, lift objects and climb stairs. However, in space muscles become weaker when there is no gravity to overcome. When astronauts come back to normal gravity on Earth, they suddenly feel very heavy and find it hard to keep their balance. Similar effects occur in elderly p…

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Astronauts are far from the shops, so they have to rely on regular deliveries of food. Every few months an automated spacecraft, such as ESA’s Automated Transfer Vehicle or the Russian Progress, arrives loaded with fresh fruit, water and pre-packed meals.

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The International Space Station is the biggest object ever flown in space. It travels around the Earth at an average speed of 27,700 km/h, completing 16 orbits per day. At night it can easily be seen from Earth, as it flies 320 kilometres above us. 16 countries, including the USA, Russia, Japan, Canada and many ESA member states worked together to build the Station.

The largest part of the ISS is a central truss to which 16 huge solar panels are attached. The modules where the astronauts live and work are attached to the centre of the truss. Europe's biggest ISS project is the Columbus science laboratory, where astronauts can carry out scientific experiments in weightless conditions. Many different types of experiments can take place both inside and outside this space laboratory.

ESA also makes the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), a series of uncrewed spacecraft designed to take supplies to the ISS. The cargo craft delivers food, fuel, equipment and other supplies.

Last modified 02 May 2014

SPACE STATIONS

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The International Space Station is the biggest object ever flown in space. It travels around the Earth at an average speed of 27,700 km/h, completing 16 orbits per day. At night it can easily be seen from Earth, as it flies 320 kilometres above us.

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Training at the European Astronaut Centre

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Training at the European Astronaut Centre

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ESA - Space for Kids - Training at the European Astronaut Centre

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If a human space mission is to be a success, astronauts (and mission teams on the ground) have to be familiar with every aspect of spacecraft operations. Training in Europe is based mainly at the European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany. Today, the EAC is the home base of ESA’s 14 astron…

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ESA - Space for Kids - Would you like to be an astronaut?

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You do not have to be superman or superwoman to fly in space. Many men and women, from many different countries, have become astronauts. ESA, for example, now has 14 astronauts from eight different countries.

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What Happens to you in Space Without a Space Suit

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What Happens to you in Space Without a Space Suit

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Ask Smithsonian: What Happens to Your Body in Space Without a Spacesuit?

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Obviously it's a bad idea to go out into space without a trusty spacesuit, but what exactly happens?

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Christmas Comes Late to the International Space Station

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Christmas Comes Late to the International Space Station

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Though the Girl Scouts of the USA initially declared itself a space for all girls, the reality was different for girls of color

Erin Blakemore

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Space station supply ship delivers espresso

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Space station supply ship delivers espresso

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As of Monday, October 24, content that was on TweenTribune.com will now be available here on our new educational resources page and on our learning pages. While much of the content that you enjoyed will still exist, educators will unfortunately no longer be able to assign content to students. Tween…

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Space Probe Transmits Stunning New Views of Pluto

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Space Probe Transmits Stunning New Views of Pluto

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Fists hit the air and tiny American flags fluttered overhead this morning as a huge crowd in a Laurel, Maryland, conference room cheered for the New Horizons spacecraft's closest approach to Pluto. At 7:50 a.m. ET, the spacecraft swept past Pluto's surface at a distance of about 7,706 miles, closer to the tiny world than most GPS satellites get to Earth.

After an afternoon of nervous anticipation, the jubilation hit a crescendo at 8:52 p.m. ET, as Alice Bowman, the mission operations manager at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, announced to the world that the spacecraft had made its anticipated "phone home" signal-confirmation that the flyby was truly successful and that the spacecraft is healthy and ready to transmit some of its first data from the encounter.

"There's a little bit of drama, because this is true exploration. New Horizons is flying into the unknown," mission manager Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute said during a morning briefing just after the flyby.

"If you think it was big today, wait until tomorrow and the next day. This is just the beginning," NASA's associate administrator for science missions, John Grunsfeld, later told the crowd during a post-signal briefing. "As a team, we all have made history. This can never be repeated. This is in the history books."

As part of its last safety check before the flyby, New Horizons beamed back one high-resolution color picture of Pluto, seen above, showing the surprisingly varied terrain on this alien world. With a resolution of about 2.5 miles per pixel, the stunning image hints at a dynamic planet with possible tectonic activity and strong atmospheric cycles, Stern says.

"This image is oriented with north at the top. The dark regions are near Pluto's equator," he says. "We can see a history of impacts, a history of surface activity. But by tomorrow we will show you images with ten times this resolution. Pluto has a lot more to teach us with the data coming down."

The reason for the long delay between the flyby and the signal home is tied to the long journey New Horizons was designed to endure, says Bowman. To ensure its health during the voyage, the team wanted the spacecraft to have as few moving parts as possible, and so the antenna that transmits data is a fixed instrument. The spacecraft must take aim to Earth whenever it wants to communicate, and that's not always the best position for collected data.

"This is the closest approach, and this is when it gets the best science," Bowman told reporters during the pre-encounter briefing. "We don't want it to turn to Earth and talk to us-we want it to do science." Even though the spacecraft is out of touch during this scientifically critical time, the mission team remains confident that everything in its choreographed dance is happening as planned.

"We always talk about the spacecraft being like a child, like a teenager," Bowman said at the time. "Right now there's nothing the operations team can do. We just have to trust that we have prepared it well and send it off on its journey."

Stern was also resolute, noting that the team had done hours of modeling and had collected reams of data on any safety hazards, like debris around Pluto that could damage the fast-moving spacecraft. The odds of something going wrong, he said, were extremely low. "The probability of loss has an upper limit at around 2 parts in 10,000-you could fly hundreds of New Horizons through the Pluto system and expect them to survive," he said.

On the chance that something did break, New Horizons had been taking failsafe data, collecting and transmitting key snippets for the main mission objectives each time it sent back a health status report. That includes the newly arrived image, as well as shots of the large moon Charon, mapping, spectroscopy, thermal data and information about the dust and plasma environments around Pluto and its moons. Tonight's signal, while a sign of success, did not include any additional teasers.

"The signal we got tonight was entirely engineering data ... no science data came home tonight," Stern said during the evening briefing. "We wanted that report to be as brief as possible because as soon as it was over, New Horizons went back to work to collect that data."

Now that mission managers know the craft is safe and loaded with data, the team is eagerly awaiting a fresh round of scientific wonders due tomorrow morning.

"It is truly amazing ... the recovery was flawless. We were up to the challenge-we met it," Bowman added. "And on a personal note, I can't express how I'm feeling to have achieved a childhood dream of space exploration. I'm pretty overwhelmed at this momet. Please tell your children and anybody out there: Do what you're passionate about. Give yourself that challenge and you will not be sorry for it."
Note: This story has been updated with news of the successful signal from the New Horizons probe.

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The New Horizons Probe Has Made Its Closest Approach to Pluto

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Mission scientists have received the confirmation signal that the pre-programmed event went as planned and the craft is healthy

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Something new for space travelers: fresh salad!

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Something new for space travelers: fresh salad!

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As of Monday, October 24, content that was on TweenTribune.com will now be available here on our new educational resources page and on our learning pages. While much of the content that you enjoyed will still exist, educators will unfortunately no longer be able to assign content to students. Tween Tribune has been a valued educational brand of Smithsonian magazine, and we appreciate your continued support.

Though the Girl Scouts of the USA initially declared itself a space for all girls, the reality was different for girls of color

Erin Blakemore

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For centuries, people dreamed about leaving Earth and travelling to other worlds. Then, in 1957, the Soviet Union made the first small step into space by launching a small satellite, called Sputnik. The Space Age had begun.

Early space activities were dominated by the United States and the Soviet Union. However, as time went by, Europe and Japan also learned how to build their own satellites and rockets. Today, countries such as China, India, South Korea, Israel and Brazil are developing their own space industries.

During the last 60 years, unmanned probes have been sent towards all of the planets in the Solar System, as well as many satellites, asteroids and comets. Spacecraft have soft-landed on half a dozen worlds, while rovers have driven over the surfaces of the Moon and Mars. The Sun has also been explored in great detail by a fleet of spacecraft.

Many space observatories, such as the Hubble Space Telescope, have been launched to look at the distant Universe. They have sent back some amazing pictures taken in visible light. But they can also observe stars and galaxies at wavelengths that are invisible to human eyes - radio, infrared, ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays. The flood of discoveries has changed the way we look at the Universe.

More than 500 people have also flown in space since Yuri Gagarin paved the way in 1961. 20 people have travelled to the Moon and 12 of them have walked on the Moon. Space stations have been built, and astronauts have learned to live and work in space for many months, or even years.

Last modified 26 January 2011

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For centuries, people dreamed about leaving Earth and travelling to other worlds. Then, in 1957, the Soviet Union made the first small step into space by launching a small satellite, called Sputnik. The Space Age had begun.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
As of Monday, October 24, content that was on TweenTribune.com will now be available here on our new educational resources page and on our learning pages. While much of the content that you enjoyed will still exist, educators will unfortunately no longer be able to assign content to students. Tween Tribune has been a valued educational brand of Smithsonian magazine, and we appreciate your continued support.

Though the Girl Scouts of the USA initially declared itself a space for all girls, the reality was different for girls of color

Erin Blakemore

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How'd You Like to Spend Thanksgiving in Space?

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How'd You Like to Spend Thanksgiving in Space?

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Though the Girl Scouts of the USA initially declared itself a space for all girls, the reality was different for girls of color

Erin Blakemore

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U.S. may return to moon soon with help from private businesses

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U.S. may return to moon soon with help from private businesses

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Liberia declared Ebola free, though risks remain, WHO warns

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Liberia declared Ebola free, though risks remain, WHO warns

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(Abbas Dulleh / Associated Press)

Just over 13 months since Liberia's first case of Ebola, the West African nation Saturday was declared free of the deadly disease, 42 days after the burial of the last fatal victim on March 28.

In the world's worst outbreak since Ebola's discovery in 1976, more people were killed in Liberia than any other nation, as the disease swept through densely populated neighborhoods of the capital city, Monrovia.

Amid the celebration Saturday, there was a note of caution from the World Health Organization because neighbors Sierra Leone and Guinea continue to struggle with the disease..

"While WHO is confident that Liberia has interrupted transmission, outbreaks persist in neighboring Guinea and Sierra Leone, creating a high risk that infected people may cross into Liberia over the region's exceptionally porous borders," the organization said in a statement Saturday.

After the first case in Liberia was reported in late March of 2014, the outbreak was at first limited and appeared contained. But by June, the contagious disease had hit Monrovia, the first time it ever spread to a densely populated African city. Thousands would die, and health experts feared the disease would spin out of control, and become endemic -- an awful new part of everyday life in Liberia -- before the number of infections finally began to decline in October.

Confirmed and probable deaths from Ebola have surpassed 11,000 in West Africa, including more than 4,700 in Liberia.

Guinea has seen 2,387 deaths attributed to Ebola, while Sierra Leone has seen more than 3,900, according to WHO figures.

Ebola first appeared in Guinea in December 2013, spread to Sierra Leone and then skipped across the border into Liberia. One reason the virus spread so rapidly was because of the large volume of cross-border traffic and the persistence of unsafe burial practices, with the touching of the dead an important part of the region's culture. People traveled across borders to attend funerals and returned home with the illness, infecting family members and neighbors.

Many of those who died were health workers, community nurses and faith healers, who treated people without protection, particularly in the early stages of the epidemic. In Liberia, 375 health workers were infected and 189 died. More than 500 health workers died in the region and more than 860 were infected.

The WHO said Liberia's eradication of the virus was "a monumental achievement" in dealing with the most complex outbreak of the disease ever seen.

The incubation period for the virus is 21 days, and a country can only be declared free of Ebola after twice the incubation period, or 42 days, has passed.

As of May 6, the total number of suspected cases during the outbreak was close to 27,000. As the disease peaked in Liberia in August and September, the number of cases was increasing rapidly, by 300 to 400 cases a week.

Patients often mistook their symptoms for typhoid or malaria and tragically delayed seeking treatment, infecting members of their families. Treatment facilities were swamped with cases, and patients often died in terrible circumstances at the gates of treatment centers because there was no room to treat them safely inside.

Taxis ferrying sick passengers for treatment may also have spread the disease.

Entire families were wiped out. Some orphans were left as sole survivors in their families.

To help stop the spread of the virus, schools were closed and public gatherings were banned. Ambulances struggled to reach patients on time. In some cases community members left bodies in the streets; in others family members carried their loved ones to the hospital in wheelbarrows.

Survivors of the disease told horror stories of the conditions inside treatment units, with people suffering and dying next to them, or mothers dying, leaving sick children behind. Other patients often stepped in to help when children were left alone in treatment centers.

As late as September, the world's response had lagged disastrously behind, and the lack of sufficient beds in treatment units resulted in a failure to avert thousands of deaths.

"At one point, virtually no treatment beds for Ebola patients were available anywhere in the country. With infectious cases and corpses remaining in homes and communities, almost guaranteeing further infections, some expressed concern that the virus might become endemic in Liberia, adding another -- and especially severe -- permanent threat to health," the World Health Organization said in its statement.

"It is a tribute to the government and people of Liberia that determination to defeat Ebola never wavered, courage never faltered. Doctors and nurses continued to treat patients, even when supplies of personal protective equipment and training in its safe use were inadequate.

"Local volunteers, who worked in treatment centers, on burial teams, or as ambulance drivers, were driven by a sense of community responsibility and patriotic duty to end Ebola and bring hope back to the country's people," the WHO statement said.

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said for many in the country, it will take a generation before the pain and grief heal. She referred to the slow response of the international community when she told the Associated Press that the epidemic was a "scar on the conscience of the world."

A White House statement urged vigilance to prevent the return of the disease to Liberia.

"We must not let down our guard until the entire region reaches and stays at zero Ebola cases," the statement said.

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Liberia declared Ebola free, though risks remain, WHO warns

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Just over 13 months since Liberia's first case of Ebola, the West African nation Saturday was declared free of the deadly disease, 42 days after the burial of the last fatal victim on March 28.

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What's the differences between bacteria and viruses?

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What's the differences between bacteria and viruses?

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Ask Smithsonian: Whats the Difference Between Bacteria and Viruses?

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Rabies is caused by a virus. A virus is a very tiny germ. You can only see that germ if you have a special microscope. Here´s a picture of the rabies virus:

Scientists have discovered more than 300 viruses in animals. Some won´t hurt you. Others cause disease. The common cold and measles are caused by viruses. So are the flu, chickenpox, and AIDS.

Viruses cannot eat food or grow on their own, but they can make more of themselves if they live inside the cells of other organisms, called "hosts".

The viruses attack those host cells and make more of themselves. Then the viruses move on to other host cells and do it all over again.

The rabies virus wants to make its home in a nerve cell, the smallest part of our central nervous system. The central nervous system is made up of our brain and spinal cord and all the other parts of our bodies that control everything we do from breathing to walking.

When there´s a bite from an animal with rabies, the virus attaches to a healthy nerve cell. Then the virus multiplies, making a lot more viruses like itself. Those viruses move on and attach to other nerve cells until eventually they get to the brain. There the virus can cause the brain to swell, and the person with rabies may go into a coma and die.

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Rabies is caused by a virus. A virus is a very tiny germ. You can only see that germ if you have a special microscope. Here´s a picture of the rabies virus: Scientists have discovered more than 300 viruses in animals. Some won´t hurt you. Others cause disease.

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Newsela | Instructional Content Platform

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History is dotted with epidemics and plagues, but a certain number of them stand out as unique for their severity and impact on future generations. This is a list of the worst plagues in man's recorded history.

SEE ALSO: 10 Of Human History's Most Atrocious Plagues

The first signs of plague in Moscow appeared in late 1770, which would turn into a major epidemic in the spring of 1771. The measures undertaken by the authorities, such as creation of forced quarantines, destruction of contaminated property without compensation or control, closing of public baths, etc., caused fear and anger among the citizens. The city's economy was mostly paralyzed because many factories, markets, stores, and administrative buildings had been closed down. All of this was followed by acute food shortages, causing deterioration of living conditions for the majority of the Muscovites. Dvoryane (Russian nobility) and well-off city dwellers left Moscow due to the plague outbreak. On the morning of September 17, 1771, around 1,000 people gathered at the Spasskiye gates again, demanding the release of captured rebels and elimination of quarantines. The army managed to disperse the crowd yet again and finally suppressed the riot. Some 300 people were brought to trial. A government commission headed by Grigory Orlov was sent to Moscow on September 26 to restore order. It took some measures against the plague and provided citizens with work and food, which would finally pacify the people of Moscow.

The Great Plague of Marseille was one of the most significant European outbreaks of bubonic plague in the early 18th century. Arriving in Marseille, France in 1720, the disease killed 100,000 people in the city and the surrounding provinces. However, Marseille recovered quickly from the plague outbreak. Economic activity took only a few years to recover, as trade expanded to the West Indies and Latin America. By 1765, the growing population was back at its pre-1720 level. This epidemic was not a recurrence of the European Black Death, the devastating episodes of bubonic plague which began in the fourteenth century. Attempts to stop the spread of plague included an Act of Parliament of Aix that levied the death penalty for any communication between Marseille and the rest of Provence. To enforce this separation, a plague wall, the Mur de la Peste, was erected across the countryside (pictured above).

The Antonine Plague (also known as the Plague of Galen, who described it), was an ancient pandemic, of either smallpox or measles, brought back to the Roman Empire by troops returning from campaigns in the Near East. The epidemic claimed the lives of two Roman emperors - Lucius Verus, who died in 169, and his co-regent who ruled until 180, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, whose family name, Antoninus, was given to the epidemic. The disease broke out again nine years later, according to the Roman historian Dio Cassius, and caused up to 2,000 deaths a day at Rome, one quarter of those infected. Total deaths have been estimated at five million. The disease killed as much as one-third of the population in some areas, and decimated the Roman army. The epidemic had drastic social and political effects throughout the Roman Empire, particularly in literature and art. (Pictured above is a plague pit containing the remains of people who died in the Antonine Plague.)

The Plague of Athens was a devastating epidemic which hit the city-state of Athens in ancient Greece during the second year of the Peloponnesian War (430 BC), when an Athenian victory still seemed within reach. It is believed to have entered Athens through Piraeus, the city's port and sole source of food and supplies. The city-state of Sparta, and much of the eastern Mediterranean, was also struck by the disease. The plague returned twice more, in 429 BC and in the winter of 427/6 BC. Modern historians disagree on whether the plague was a critical factor in the loss of the war. However, it is generally agreed that the loss of this war may have paved the way for the success of the Macedonians and, ultimately, the Romans. The disease has traditionally been considered an outbreak of the bubonic plague in its many forms, but re-considerations of the reported symptoms and epidemiology have led scholars to advance alternative explanations. These include typhus, smallpox, measles, and toxic shock syndrome.

The Italian Plague of 1629-1631 was a series of outbreaks of bubonic plague which occurred from 1629 through 1631 in northern Italy. This epidemic, often referred to as Great Plague of Milan, claimed the lives of approximately 280,000 people, with the cities of Lombardy and Venice experiencing particularly high death rates. This episode is considered one of the last outbreaks of the centuries-long pandemic of bubonic plague which began with the Black Death. German and French troops carried the plague to the city of Mantua in 1629, as a result of troop movements associated with the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). Venetian troops infected with the disease retreated into northern and central Italy, spreading the infection. Overall, Milan suffered approximately 60,000 fatalities out of a total population of 130,000.
SEE ALSO: 10 Twisted Facts About The Dancing Plagues
Before the European arrival, the Americas had been largely isolated from the Eurasian-African landmass. First large-scale contacts between Europeans and native people of the American continents brought overwhelming pandemics of measles and smallpox, as well as other Eurasian diseases. These diseases spread rapidly among native peoples, often ahead of actual contact with Europeans, and led to a drastic drop in population and the collapse of native American cultures. Smallpox and other diseases invaded and crippled the Aztec and Inca civilizations in Central and South America in the 16th century. This disease, with loss of population and death of military and social leaders, contributed to the downfall of both American empires and the subjugation of American peoples to Europeans. Diseases, however, passed in both directions; syphilis was carried back from the Americas and swept through the European population, decimating large numbers.

The Great Plague (1665-1666) was a massive outbreak of disease in England that killed 75,000 to 100,000 people, up to a fifth of London's population. The disease was historically identified as bubonic plague, an infection by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, transmitted through fleas. The 1665-1666 epidemic was on a far smaller scale than the earlier "Black Death" pandemic, a virulent outbreak of disease in Europe between 1347 and 1353. The Bubonic Plague was only remembered afterwards as the "great" plague because it was one of the last widespread outbreaks in England. Although the disease causing the epidemic has historically been identified as bubonic plague and its variants, no direct evidence of plague has ever been uncovered. Some modern scholars suggest that the symptoms and incubation period indicate that the causal agent may have been a disease similar to a viral hemorrhagic fever. (Pictured above is a list of mortalities from the time of the plague.)

The Plague of Justinian was a pandemic that afflicted the Byzantine Empire, including its capital Constantinople, in the years 541-542 AD. The most commonly accepted cause of the pandemic is bubonic plague, which later became infamous for either causing or contributing to the Black Death of the 14th century. Its social and cultural impact is comparable to that of the Black Death. In the views of 6th century Western historians, it was nearly worldwide in scope, striking central and south Asia, North Africa and Arabia, and Europe as far north as Denmark and as far west as Ireland. The plague would return with each generation throughout the Mediterranean basin until about 750. The plague would also have a major impact on the future course of European history. Modern historians named it after the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I, who was in power at the time and himself contracted the disease. Modern scholars believe that the plague killed up to 5,000 people per day in Constantinople at the peak of the pandemic. It ultimately killed perhaps 40 percent of the city's inhabitants. The initial plague went on to destroy up to a quarter of the human population of the eastern Mediterranean.

The "Third Pandemic" is the name given to a major plague pandemic that began in the Yunnan province (pictured above) in China in 1855. This episode of bubonic plague spread to all inhabited continents, and ultimately killed more than 12 million people in India and China alone. According to the World Health Organization, the pandemic was considered active until 1959, when worldwide casualties dropped to 200 per year. The bubonic plague was endemic in populations of infected ground rodents in central Asia, and was a known cause of death among migrant and established human populations in that region for centuries; however, an influx of new people due to political conflicts and global trade led to the distribution of this disease throughout the world. New research suggests Black Death is lying dormant.

The Black Death (also known as The Black Plague or Bubonic Plague), was one of the deadliest pandemics in human history, widely thought to have been caused by a bacterium named Yersinia pestis (Plague), but recently attributed by some to other diseases. The origins of the plague are disputed among scholars. Some historians believe the pandemic began in China or Central Asia in the late 1320s or 1330s, and during the next years merchants and soldiers carried it over the caravan routes until in 1346 it reached the Crimea in southern Russia. Other scholars believe the plague was endemic in southern Russia. In either case, from Crimea the plague spread to Western Europe and North Africa during the 1340s. The total number of deaths worldwide is estimated at 75 million people, approximately 25 to 50 million of which occurred in Europe. The plague is thought to have returned every generation with varying virulence and mortalities until the 1700s. During this period, more than 100 plague epidemics swept across Europe.

(This article is licensed under the GFDL because it contains quotations from Wikipedia.)

SEE ALSO: 8 Fascinating Facts About Plague Doctors

Jamie is the founder of Listverse. When he's not doing research for new lists or collecting historical oddities, he can be found in the comments or on Facebook where he approves all friends requests!

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Top 10 Worst Plagues In History - Listverse

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History is dotted with epidemics and plagues, but a certain number of them stand out as unique for their severity and impact on future generations. This

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The best step you can take to prevent influenza (flu) and its potentially serious complications is getting a yearly flu vaccine.

Flu Vaccine Benefits:
While flu vaccines vary in how well they work, flu vaccination is the best way to prevent flu and its potentially serious complications.

Flu vaccines prevent millions of illnesses, tens of thousands of hospitalizations and thousands of deaths every season.

Flu vaccines are safe. Hundreds of millions of flu vaccines have been safely given to Americans for more than 50 years.

CDC kicks off the 2019-2020 seasonal flu vaccination campaign on Thursday, September 26 at 10 a.m. at the National Foundation for Infectious Disease (NFID) press conference in Washington, D.C.

Vaccination helps protect women during and after pregnancy. A CDC multi-year, multi-country study showed it reduced the risk of flu hospitalization among pregnant women by 40% on average. Flu vaccination during pregnancy also helps protects babies from flu for the first several months after birth when they are too young to be vaccinatedFlu vaccination can lower the risk of serious outcomes from heart disease and diabetes.

Getting vaccinated yourself may also protect people around you, including those who are more vulnerable to serious flu illness, like babies and young children, older people, and people with certain chronic health conditions.

While some people who get vaccinated do still get sick, there is a growing amount of data showing that vaccination makes illness less severe, helping to prevent serious outcomes.

For more information, visit What are the benefits of flu vaccination?

CDC kicks off the 2019-2020 seasonal flu vaccination campaign on Thursday, September 26 at 10 a.m. at the National Foundation for Infectious Disease (NFID) press conference in Washington, D.C.

What flu vaccines are available this season?
For the 2019-2020 flu season, options include:

CDC and its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommend providers use any licensed, age-appropriate flu vaccine with no preference for one vaccine over another.
Where to Get Vaccinated:
Flu vaccines are offered in many locations, including doctor's offices, clinics, health departments, pharmacies, and college health centers, as well as by many employers, and even in some schools. To find flu vaccine in your area, use the HealthMap Vaccine Finder.

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Everything you need to know about the flu illness, including symptoms, treatment and prevention.

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Flea bite is likely cause of Oregon teen's bubonic plague

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Flea bite is likely cause of Oregon teen's bubonic plague

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Newsela | Instructional Content Platform

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Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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When she was 9 years old, Ann Albright went to the doctor with odd flulike symptoms. She was exhausted. She had to go to the bathroom frequently in the middle of the night. She was always thirsty. Even her vision was blurry.

After a few tests, the doctor pulled Albright's mother aside.

"I still remember it very vividly," says Ann Albright, now more than 40 years later. "My mom left the room with the doctor and came back in with tears running down her cheeks."

The verdict: diabetes, a disease that affects the way people process food.

At the time, the 1960s, the diagnosis meant that young Ann would never have the carefree childhood her mother wanted for her. For the rest of her life, she would have to give herself shots several times a day. She would need to be very careful about what she ate. And she might not realize all of her dreams in life.

"In the era I was diagnosed, most people were told they'd have a shorter life span," Albright says. "As a little girl with diabetes moving into adulthood, I wondered would I be able to have kids? Would I be able to have a life?"

Science has come a long way since then, says Albright, partly as a result of her own efforts: She's now a doctor and diabetes researcher at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Since her diagnosis, researchers have developed better technologies, more effective medicines and a sharper understanding of how diabetes works.

Despite the advances, though, scientists still can't answer a lot of basic questions about what causes diabetes. There still is no cure. And living with the disease remains difficult.

"Everything changes" after a diabetes diagnosis, says Ali Reed, a pediatric endocrine fellow at the University of California, San Francisco. "Life becomes more complicated."

What's more, diabetes is on the rise - in both adults and kids. One version of the disease, called type 2 diabetes, is increasing at an especially alarming rate.

Scientists have linked type 2 diabetes with obesity. So now, more than ever, doctors are urging young people to start developing healthy habits as early as possible.
Breakdown
Diabetes refers to a group of diseases, but there are two main kinds: type 1 and type 2. In both types, the trouble begins with the body's ability to deal with sugar.

Sugar is the body's main fuel source. When you eat, your digestive system breaks down your food into basic parts, including proteins, fats and a simple sugar called glucose. Glucose gets absorbed through the intestines. From there, it enters the bloodstream. Circulating blood delivers glucose to all the cells, which convert it into energy.

At least, that's what's supposed to happen. In people with diabetes, however, sugar can't get from the bloodstream into the cells. A hormone, or messenger molecule, called insulin is normally responsible for that transfer. But in diabetics, insulin doesn't do its job.

As a result, sugar builds up in the bloodstream. When levels of sugar in the blood stay high, the condition is called chronic. And for reasons scientists don't yet understand, chronically high blood sugar can lead to blindness, kidney damage, limb amputations, heart attacks and more.

"It's not a death sentence, but it's a very serious disease," Albright says.
Two types
Exactly how diabetes affects a patient's life depends in part on which type of diabetes a person has. There are important differences between the two main types.

Type 1 diabetes is the kind Albright has. In this version of the disease, the body stops producing insulin. Symptoms usually begin in kids or teenagers.

After they're diagnosed and for the rest of their lives, type 1 diabetics need to regularly test their blood sugar levels with a pinching tool that draws a little blood. They also have to give themselves shots of insulin several times a day to control blood sugar levels. So far, scientists don't know how to prevent type 1 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetics make insulin, but their bodies don't use the hormone properly. Type 2 diabetes is far more common than type 1, and most people who have type 2 are adults. These days, though, more and more kids are coming to their doctors with symptoms of type 2 diabetes.

Doctors already know that adults who develop type 2 diabetes tend to be overweight or obese. And as kids have become increasingly overweight, the disease has started appearing at younger and younger ages.

Shorrocks/iStockphoto

As recently as a decade ago, type 2 diabetes was called "adult-onset" because kids just didn't get it.

"When this disease we used to only see in adults started happening in adolescents, it was just shocking to people," Albright says. "Pediatricians just didn't know what to do."
Healthy living
Doctors already knew that adults who develop type 2 diabetes tend to be overweight or obese. (Scientists can't yet explain why.) And as kids have become increasingly overweight, the disease has started appearing at younger and younger ages.

In the United States, two out of three adults are now overweight, according to the CDC. Nineteen percent of kids between the ages of 6 and 11 are overweight, compared with 7 percent just 20 years ago. Over the same period, the proportion of overweight teens rose from 5 percent to 17 percent.

(You can find out whether you are overweight by plugging numbers into a calculator at an online site. Also, see the sidebar "Understanding Body Mass Index" at the bottom of this article.)

Like their type 1 peers, type 2 diabetics have to monitor blood sugar levels. But they often rely on drugs instead of insulin shots. Frequently, they can get the disease under control by simply exercising more and eating reasonable portions of healthy foods.

"We now know that we can prevent or postpone type 2 diabetes by having [adults] at very high risk lose 5 to 7 percent of their body weight," Albright says.

Scientists don't yet know whether the same is true for overweight kids. The trend is so new that CDC researchers are still working to gather basic information about how the disease works in young people.

But it can't hurt to play soccer instead of video games, and to choose fruits and vegetables over junk food.

"There's no harm in having healthier lifestyle habits," Albright says. "Get to know what's going into your body. Make it fun."
Seeking answers
Weighing more than you should doesn't mean you're doomed to develop diabetes. The disease is far more complex than that. And while research has come a long way, plenty of questions remain.

Doctors don't know, for example, why certain ethnic groups have particularly high rates of diabetes, including American Indians, Hispanics and African Americans. Nor can doctors say for sure why the chances of getting diabetes go up if your parents or siblings have it.

Both relationships suggest that genes play a role in setting people up for diabetes. But something in the environment has to push those genes into action, and scientists aren't sure what those triggers are. It's also not clear which genes are involved.

"People spend their whole careers trying to understand this stuff," Albright says.

If you learn you have diabetes, don't despair. There's plenty you can do to live a long and healthy life. Also, know you're not alone.

Reed encourages all newly diagnosed kids to go to one of the nation's many diabetes camps. It can be hugely reassuring, she says, to be surrounded by other kids who feel like you do.

"It's really amazing," Reed says. "It's a very supportive and tolerating environment for kids who are often the only ones at their school with diabetes. At diabetes camp, everyone is going through it together."
Going Deeper:

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When she was 9 years old, Ann Albright went to the doctor with odd flulike symptoms. She was exhausted. She had to go to the bathroom frequently in the middle

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Chipotle Faces Another Foodborne Illness Outbreak, This Time In Boston

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Chipotle Faces Another Foodborne Illness Outbreak, This Time In Boston

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Is it those holiday parties filled with people eating together? We're not sure, but we keep hearing about new clusters of people getting poisoned by their meals.

The latest outbreak sickened at least 120 people in Boston, most of them students at Boston College.

This included eight members of the college's basketball team. The team is scheduled to play Providence this evening, and as of this morning, it's unclear whether the game will happen.

Most of the sick students reported eating at a nearby Chipotle Mexican Grill. (The college updated the number of students sickened from 80 to 120 students at 12:26 p.m. on Wednesday.)

This provoked suspicions of a link to an earlier outbreak of E. coli poisoning in the Pacific Northwest traced to Chipotle restaurants there.

It appears, however, that the two outbreaks are unrelated. According to preliminary tests, the Boston College students were sickened by another disease-causing organism, called norovirus.

Norovirus is sometimes overlooked, because it is less likely to kill you than disease-causing forms of E. Coli or salmonella. But it is by far the most common source of foodborne illness, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Chipotle has closed the restaurant near Boston College while the investigation continues. Government inspectors cited the company for allowing an employee to work there while ill last week, although the illness was not specified. Norovirus is highly contagious and is generally spread from person to person. (For more on what it's like when this nasty bug strikes, read Emily Sohn's essay over at Shots.)

On the other side of the country, meanwhile, prominent food safety lawyer Bill Marler tells us by email that an outbreak of foodborne illness has dampened spirits in his own office building. Last week, 200 people complained that they didn't feel well after a catered event in that building. Three went to the hospital. They were infected with norovirus.

Today, all the restaurants in that building are closed, including a Starbucks. "People look a bit uncomfortable on crowded elevators," Marler writes.

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Chipotle Faces Another Foodborne Illness Outbreak, This Time In Boston

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Outbreaks of foodborne illness are ruining the holiday spirit for Chipotle. The latest cases erupted over the past few days among students at Boston College.

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Hunting the Mysterious Force of a Global Illness

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Hunting the Mysterious Force of a Global Illness

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aerosol A group of tiny particles suspended in air or gas. Aerosols can be natural, such as fog or gas from volcanic eruptions, or artificial, such as smoke from burning fossil fuels.

agent A compound or activating form of energy (such as light or other types of radiation) that has a role to play in getting something done.

air masses Large volumes of air, sometimes covering many hundreds or thousands of square kilometers (square miles), that typically have a consistent temperature or water-vapor content. Air masses are often classified by their source, such as continental, arctic or tropical. Air masses and other weather systems are steered across Earth's surface by jet streams and by differences in atmospheric pressure.

CandidaA genus of yeasts that are ubiquitous across the globe. More than 20 species have been linked to disease in people and animals.

cell The smallest structural and functional unit of an organism. Typically too small to see with the naked eye, it consists of watery fluid surrounded by a membrane or wall.

chemistry The field of science that deals with the composition, structure and properties of substances and how they interact with one another. Chemists use this knowledge to study unfamiliar substances, to reproduce large quantities of useful substances or to design and create new and useful substances.

climate The weather conditions prevailing in an area in general or over a long period.

clot (in medicine) A collection of blood cells (platelets) and chemicals that collect in a small region, stopping the flow of blood.

computer model A program that runs on a computer that creates a model, or simulation, of a real-world feature, phenomenon or event.

current A fluid body - such as of water or air - that moves in a recognizable direction.

DNA (short for deoxyribonucleic acid) A long, double-stranded and spiral-shaped molecule inside most living cells that carries genetic instructions. In all living things, from plants and animals to microbes, these instructions tell cells which molecules to make.

environment The sum of all of the things that exist around some organism or the process and the condition those things create for that organism or process. Environment may refer to the weather and ecosystem in which some animal lives, or, perhaps, the temperature, humidity and placement of components in some electronics system or product.

epidemic A widespread outbreak of an infectious disease that sickens many people (or other organisms) in a community at the same time. The term also may be applied to non-infectious diseases or conditions that have spread in a similar way.

fungus (plural: fungi) One of a group of single- or multiple-celled organisms that reproduce via spores and feed on living or decaying organic matter. Examples include mold, yeasts and mushrooms.

haze Fine liquid or solid particles scattered through the atmosphere that make it hard to see. Haze can be caused by harmful substances such as air pollutants or by water vapor.

heart attack Permanent damage to the heart muscle that occurs when one or more regions of it become starved of oxygen, usually due to a temporary blockage in blood flow.

infection A disease that can spread from one organism to another. It's usually caused by some sort of germ.

nucleus Plural is nuclei. (in biology) A dense structure present in many cells. Typically a single rounded structure encased within a membrane, the nucleus contains the genetic information.

organ (in biology) Various parts of an organism that perform one or more particular functions. For instance, an ovary is an organ that makes eggs, the brain is an organ that interprets nerve signals and a plant's roots are organs that take in nutrients and moisture.

outbreak The sudden emergence of disease in a population of people or animals. The term may also be applied to the sudden emergence of devastating natural phenomena, such as earthquakes or tornadoes.

Pacific The largest of the world's five oceans. It separates Asia and Australia to the west from North and South America to the east.

particle A minute amount of something.

pathologist Someone who studies disease and how it affects people or other infected organisms.

pediatrics A field of medicine that has to do with children and especially child health. A doctor who works in this field is known as a pediatrician.

physics The scientific study of the nature and properties of matter and energy. Classical physics is an explanation of the nature and properties of matter and energy that relies on descriptions such as Newton's laws of motion

red blood cell Colored red by hemoglobin, these cells move oxygen from the lungs to all tissues of the body. Red blood cells are too small to be seen by the naked eye.

tissue Any of the distinct types of material, comprised of cells, which make up animals, plants or fungi. Cells within a tissue work as a unit to perform a particular function in living organisms. Different organs of the human body, for instance, often are made from many different types of tissues. And brain tissue will be very different from bone or heart tissue.

toxin A poison produced by living organisms, such as germs, bees, spiders, poison ivy and snakes.

vaccine A biological mixture that resembles a disease-causing agent. It is given to help the body create immunity to a particular disease. The injections used to administer most vaccines are known as vaccinations.

virus Tiny infectious particles consisting of RNA or DNA surrounded by protein. Viruses can reproduce only by injecting their genetic material into the cells of living creatures. Although scientists frequently refer to viruses as live or dead, in fact no virus is truly alive. It doesn't eat like animals do, or make its own food the way plants do. It must hijack the cellular machinery of a living cell in order to survive.

weather Conditions in the atmosphere at a localized place and a particular time. It is usually described in terms of particular features, such as air pressure, humidity, moisture, any precipitation (rain, snow or ice), temperature and wind speed. Weather constitutes the actual conditions that occur at any time and place. It's different from climate, which is a description of the conditions that tend to occur in some general region during a particular month or season.

yeast One-celled fungi that can ferment carbohydrates (like sugars), producing carbon dioxide and alcohol. They also play a pivotal role in making many baked products rise.

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Hunting the mysterious source of a global illness

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Doctors and scientists around the world are scouring the environment for the elusive cause of Kawasaki disease, a harmful childhood illness.

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Zika can damage the brains of even adults

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Zika can damage the brains of even adults

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(for more about Power Words, click here)

cell The smallest structural and functional unit of an organism. Typically too small to see with the naked eye, it consists of watery fluid surrounded by a membrane or wall. Animals are made of anywhere from thousands to trillions of cells, depending on their size. Some organisms, such as yeasts, molds, bacteria and some algae, are composed of only one cell.

development (v. develop) In biology, the growth of an organism from conception through adulthood, often undergoing changes in chemistry, size and sometimes even shape.

epidemic A widespread outbreak of an infectious disease that sickens many people (or other organisms) in a community at the same time. The term also may be applied to non-infectious diseases or conditions that have spread in a similar way.

fetus (adj. fetal ) The term for a mammal during its later-stages of development in the womb. For humans, this term is usually applied after the eighth week of development.

flu Short for influenza. A highly contagious viral infection of the respiratory passages causing fever and severe aching. It often occurs as an epidemic.

Guillain-Barré Pronounced Gee-YAHN Bur-RAY. A rare condition that begins as the body's immune system attacks peripheral nerves, causing weakness or tingling in the lower extremities. In severe cases, total paralysis can result. Three to 5 percent of people with Guillain-Barré die from complications, scientists estimate. The syndrome is thought to be a complication of several infectious diseases, including HIV, dengue, influenza and Zika.

hippocampus A seahorse-shaped region of the brain. It is thought to be the center of emotion, memory and the involuntary nervous system.

immune system The collection of cells and their responses that help the body fight off infections and deal with foreign substances that may provoke allergies.

infection A disease that can spread from one organism to another. It's usually caused by some sort of germ.

journal (in science) A publication in which scientists share their research findings with the public. Some journals publish papers from all fields of science, technology, engineering and math, while others are specific to a single subject. The best journals are peer-reviewed: They send out all submitted articles to outside experts to be read and critiqued. The goal, here, is to prevent the publication of mistakes, fraud or sloppy work.

mature (verb) The process of growth and development that occurs as an individual moves toward adulthood.

microcephaly A condition that leaves babies with abnormally small heads and partially developed brains.

nerve A long, delicate fiber that communicates signals across the body of an animal. An animal's backbone contains many nerves, some of which control the movement of its legs or fins, and some of which convey sensations such as hot, cold, pain.

neuroscience Science that deals with the structure or function of the brain and other parts of the nervous system. Researchers in this field are known as neuroscientists.

risk The chance or mathematical likelihood that some bad thing might happen. For instance, exposure to radiation poses a risk of cancer. Or the hazard - or peril - itself. Among cancer risks that the people faced were radiation and drinking water tainted with arsenic.

STEM An acronym (abbreviation made using the first letters of a term) for science, technology, engineering and math.

stem cell A "blank slate" cell that can give rise to other types of cells in the body. Stem cells play an important role in tissue regeneration and repair.

symptom A physical or mental indicator generally regarded to be characteristic of a disease. Sometimes a single symptom - especially a general one, such as fever or pain - can be a sign of any of many different types of injury or disease.

syndrome Two or more symptoms that together characterize a particular disease, disorder or social condition.

ventilator (in medicine) A device used to help a person breathe - take in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide - when the body cannot easily do that on its own.

virus Tiny infectious particles consisting of RNA or DNA surrounded by protein. Viruses can reproduce only by injecting their genetic material into the cells of living creatures. Although scientists frequently refer to viruses as live or dead, in fact no virus is truly alive. It doesn't eat like animals do, or make its own food the way plants do. It must hijack the cellular machinery of a living cell in order to survive.

womb Another name for the uterus, the organ in mammals in which a fetus grows and matures in preparation for birth.

Zika A viral disease that can be transmitted to humans via mosquitoes. About 20 percent of infected people get sick. Symptoms include a slight fever, rash and pinkeye and usually fade quickly. A growing body of evidence suggests that the virus could also cause a devastating birth defect - microcephaly. Evidence suggests it may also cause neurological conditions such as Guillain-Barré syndrome.

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Zika can damage the brains of even adults

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The Zika virus can damage a developing baby's brain. The infection can also kill off an important type of cells in adult brains, a new mouse study finds.

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Mental Health In Schools: A Hidden Crisis Affecting Millions Of Students

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Mental Health In Schools: A Hidden Crisis Affecting Millions Of Students

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Part One in an NPR Ed series on mental health in schools.
You might call it a silent epidemic.

Up to one in five kids living in the U.S. shows signs or symptoms of a mental health disorder in a given year.

So in a school classroom of 25 students, five of them may be struggling with the same issues many adults deal with: depression, anxiety, substance abuse.

And yet most children - nearly 80 percent - who need mental health services won't get them.

Whether treated or not, the children do go to school. And the problems they face can tie into major problems found in schools: chronic absence, low achievement, disruptive behavior and dropping out.

Experts say schools could play a role in identifying students with problems and helping them succeed. Yet it's a role many schools are not prepared for.

Educators face the simple fact that, often because of a lack of resources, there just aren't enough people to tackle the job. And the ones who are working on it are often drowning in huge caseloads. Kids in need can fall through the cracks.
"No one ever asked me"
Katie is one of those kids.

She's 18 now. Back when she was 8, she had to transfer to a different school in Prince George's County, Md., in the middle of the year.

"At recess, I didn't have friends to play with," she recalls. "I would make an excuse to stay inside with the teachers and finish extra work or do extra credit."

We're not using Katie's last name to protect her privacy. She's been diagnosed with bulimia and depression.

She says that in the span of a few months, she went from honor roll to failing. She put on weight; other kids called her "fat." She began cutting herself with a razor every day. And she missed a ton of school.

"I felt like every single day was a bad day," she says. "I felt like nobody wanted to help me."

Katie says teachers acted like she didn't care about her schoolwork. "I was so invisible to them."

Every year of high school, she says, was "horrible." She told her therapist she wanted to die and was admitted into the hospital.

During all this time, she says, not a single principal or teacher or counselor ever asked her one simple question: "What's wrong?"

If someone had asked, she says, she would have told them.
Who should have asked?
We talked to educators, advocates, teachers and parents across the country. Here's what they say a comprehensive approach to mental health and education would look like.
The family
The role: The first place to spot trouble is in the home, whether that trouble is substance abuse, slipping grades or a child who sleeps too much. Adults at home - parents, siblings, other relatives - are often the first to notice something going on.

The reality: Many families do not know what to look for. Sometimes a serious problem can be overlooked as "just a phase." But it's those sudden changes - angry outbursts, declining grades, changes in sleeping or eating - that can signal problems. When something unusual crops up, families can keep in close touch with the school.
The teacher
The role: During the week, many students see their teachers even more than their own families. Teachers are in a prime spot to notice changes in behavior. They read essays, see how students relate with other kids and notice when they aren't paying attention.

The reality: Teachers already have a ton on their plates. They're pressured to get test scores up, on top of preparing lessons and grading assignments. Plus, many teachers receive minimal training in mental health issues. But when they do see something concerning, they can raise a flag.
The social worker
The role: Social workers act like a bridge. If teachers come to them with a concern - maybe a child is acting withdrawn - one of the first things they'll do is call home. They see each child through the lens of their family, school and community. They might learn that a family is going through a divorce or homelessness.

The reality: There aren't enough of them. According to one model, every school should have one social worker for every 250 students. The reality is that in some schools, social workers are responsible for many more.
The counselor
The role: In some schools, counselors focus solely on academics: helping students pick classes and apply to college. But in others, they also act a lot like social workers, serving as a link to families and working with students who need support.

The reality: Like school social workers, there just aren't enough counselors. On average nationwide, each counselor is responsible for nearly 500 students. The American School Counselor Association recommends a caseload nearly half that size.
The special education teacher
The Role: Special education teachers may start working with students when a mental health problem affects the ability to do school work. They are primarily responsible for working on academic skills.

The reality: Again, there aren't enough of them. Nearly every state has reported a shortage of special education teachers. Half of all school districts say they have trouble recruiting highly qualified candidates.
The school psychologist
The Role: Here's one job that, on paper, is truly dedicated to student mental health. School psychologists are key players when it comes to crisis intervention and can refer students to outside help, such as a psychiatrist.

The reality: If you sense a pattern here, you're right. In the U.S., there is just one school psychologist for every 1,400 students, according to the most recent data available from the National Association of School Psychologists.
The school nurse
The role: Most any school nurse will tell you, physical and mental health are tough to separate. That puts nurses in a prime spot to catch problems early. For example: A kid who comes into the nurse's office a lot, complaining of headaches or stomach problems? That could be a sign of anxiety, a strategy to avoid a bully, or a sign of troubles at home.

The reality: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends at least one nurse for every 750 students, but the actual ratio across the country can be much higher.
The principal
The role: As the top dogs in schools, principals make the big decisions about priorities. They can bring in social-emotional, anti-bullying and suicide-prevention programs.

The reality: Principals also have a lot on their plates: the day-to-day management of student behavior, school culture and teacher support.
Getting help, and "excited for life"
Katie says things started to turn around for her when she met a nurse at the Children's National Health System in Washington, D.C., who finally showed interest in what was wrong.

Now, she's begun college and wants to be a pediatric nurse.

"I'm doing a lot better now" she says. " Obviously, I mean, I'm a lot happier. I'm excited for school. I'm excited to graduate. I'm excited for life."

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Mental Health In Schools: A Hidden Crisis Affecting Millions Of Students

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An estimated 20 percent of children show signs or symptoms of a mental health problem. It's a destructive force in schools, but most educators don't have the training or resources to help.

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This sounds gross, but some scientists think worms may help treat allergies

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This sounds gross, but some scientists think worms may help treat allergies

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Newsela | Instructional Content Platform

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Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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Plague is best known as the killer disease that wiped out nearly half of Europe during the 1300s. But the germ infected people up to 3,000 years earlier than that, DNA from ancient teeth now show.

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(by Betsy McKay and Gautam Naik, WSJ.com) - The swine flu epidemic crossed new borders Tuesday with the first cases confirmed in the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region, as world health officials said they suspect American patients may have transmitted the virus to others in the U.S.

Most people confirmed with the new swine flu were infected in Mexico, where the number of deaths blamed on the virus has surpassed 150. But confirmation that people have been infecting others in locations outside Mexico would indicate that the disease was spreading beyond travelers returning from Mexico, World Health Organization spokesman Gregory Hartl told reporters on Tuesday in Geneva.

Mr. Hartl said the source of some infections in the U.S., Canada and Britain was unclear. The swine flu has already spread to at least six countries besides Mexico, prompting WHO officials to raise its alert level on Monday.

"At this time, containment is not a feasible option," said Keiji Fukuda, assistant director-general of the World Health Organization.

The United Nations public-health agency raised its global alert to phase 4 from phase 3. The change recognizes that the new A/H1N1 virus spreads from person to person, and signals that governments should prepare for outbreaks. Phase 6 is a pandemic.

Fifty cases - none fatal and most of them mild - were confirmed in the U.S. Including the New Zealand, Israeli and new Spanish reports, there were 92 confirmed cases world-wide on Tuesday. That included six in Canada, one in Spain and two in Scotland.

New Zealand confirmed that 11 people who recently returned from Mexico contracted the virus, Health Minister Tony Ryall said. Laboratory tests on samples from three of the 11 came back positive and "on that basis we are assuming" the eight others are also infected, he said.

Those infected had suffered only "mild illness" and were expected to recover, Public Health Director Mark Jacobs said.

In the Israeli city of Netanya, hospital officials said a 26-year-old patient recently returned from Mexico was the region's first confirmed case of swine flu, but didn't know whether the patient had the same strain as the one that appeared in Mexico. Avinoam Skolnik, Laniado Hospital's medical director, said Israeli Health Ministry laboratory tests confirmed the virus but the patient has fully recovered and is in "excellent condition."

Meanwhile, a second case was confirmed Tuesday in Spain, Health Minister Trinidad Jimenez said, a day after the country reported its first case. The 23-year-old student, one of 26 patients under observation, was not in serious condition, Mr. Jimenez said.

The European Union health commissioner suggested that Europeans avoid nonessential travel both to Mexico and parts of the U.S. Russia, Hong Kong and Taiwan said they would quarantine visitors showing symptoms of the virus.

Governments in Asia - with memories of previous flu outbreaks - were especially cautious. Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines dusted off thermal scanners used in the 2003 SARS crisis and were checking for signs of fever among passengers from North America. South Korea, India and Indonesia also announced screening.

Teams of doctors, nurses and government officials boarded flights arriving in Japan from Mexico, the U.S. and Canada to check passengers for signs of the flu, Japanese Health Ministry official Akimori Mizuguchi said.

World stock markets fell Tuesday as investors worried that any swine flu pandemic could derail a global economic recovery.

Cases Increase in the U.S.

With the virus spreading, the U.S. prepared for the worst even as President Barack Obama tried to reassure Americans. At the White House, a swine flu update was added to Mr. Obama's daily intelligence briefing. Mr. Obama said Monday the outbreak is "not a cause for alarm," even as the U.S. stepped up checks of people entering the country and warned U.S. citizens to avoid nonessential travel to Mexico.

"We are proceeding as if we are preparatory to a full pandemic," said Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.

The number of U.S. cases rose to 50, the result of further testing at a New York City school, although none was fatal. Other U.S. cases have been reported in Ohio, Kansas, Texas and California.

The Food and Drug Administration issued emergency guidance that allows certain antiviral drugs to be used in a broader range of the population in case mass dosing is needed to deal with the outbreak. The agency originally approved the use of the antiviral drug Tamiflu for the prevention and treatment of influenza in adults and children age 1 and older. Another antiviral drug, Relenza, was originally approved to treat people 7 years and older and to help prevent flu in those 5 and older.

Late Monday, the FDA said it issued emergency guidance to allow Tamiflu to treat and prevent flu in children under 1 year old and to provide doses other than originally approved in children over 1. The drugs may be distributed to larger segments of the population without complying with the approved label requirements, the FDA said. The agency also authorized a swine flu diagnostic test for testing samples from people with certain flu infections who virus subtypes cannot be identified by currently available tests.

On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention raised its number of confirmed cases to 40 people, who ranged in age from 7 years old to 54.

The new cases tallied by the CDC were linked to the outbreak at the St. Francis Preparatory School in Queens, New York, where eight people had been identified earlier. The new cases came after further testing and weren't new outbreaks, said Richard Besser, the CDC's acting director.

The new cases in Texas include a 24-year-old, a 7-year-old and a 3-month-old in Dallas County. The Dallas County city of Richardson, where the 7-year-old is enrolled, will close an elementary school for the rest of the week, school-district spokeswoman Liz Morse said.

None of the Richardson students have required hospitalization, Ms. Morse said. She said the district made the decision to close Canyon Creek Elementary School on Monday afternoon after consulting with county health officials. She said parents of all Canyon Creek students, even those without symptoms, should keep their children out of public places to avoid spreading the disease.

"We really want the students to not be in public places, to stay maybe a little secluded so that if they've caught it they won't be spreading it around," Ms. Morse said.

The flu outbreak comes as the Obama administration seeks a new head of its Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the CDC. The Senate on Tuesday is expected to begin debating the nomination of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as HHS secretary. Democratic and Republican aides in the Senate said they expected Senate approval.

The U.S. government is far better prepared for an outbreak than it was when SARS awakened politicians and the public to the notion that infectious diseases continue to be deadly, even with modern vaccines.

Prodded by SARS and the avian flu scare that followed, President George W. Bush in 2005 issued a pandemic flu preparedness plan. Since 2006, $6.2 billion has been appropriated to stockpile antivirals, step up surveillance and improve vaccine-making and technology.

But state and local health departments - which are often the first to detect new infectious threats - haven't received federal funds for pandemic flu preparedness since 2006. Many of the agencies have cut staff and services in the recession.

"You can't stand up to this kind of capacity overnight if you haven't had resources to keep people on staff," said Jeffrey Levi, executive director of Trust for America's Health, a public health advocacy organization.

Investigation Intensifies

Mexico, where the number of deaths believed caused by swine flu rose by 50% on Monday to 152, is suspected to be ground zero of the outbreak. Health officials said they were stumped over why the strain has been so deadly in Mexico, where the number of suspected cases has surpassed 2,000 people.

Amid the alarm, there was a spot of good news. The number of new cases reported by Mexico's largest government hospitals has been declining the past three days, Mr. Cordova said, from 141 on Saturday to 119 on Sunday and 110 Monday.

In a bid to prevent mass contagion, Mexico canceled school nationwide until May 6, and the Mexico City government is considering a complete shutdown, including all public transportation. The Cinco de Mayo parade celebrating Mexico's defeat of a French army on May 5, 1862 and Mexico City's traditional May 1 parade were canceled. More than 100 museums nationwide were closed.

Three games involving Mexico City soccer clubs were played with no spectators over the weekend. Decio de Maria, secretary general of the Mexican soccer federation, said plans for future matches would be announced on Wednesday.

"The idea is to look for the fewest number of games that have to be played behind closed doors," he said. "If it's necessary, we'll play all the matches behind closed doors. We don't foresee canceling any games."

Many residents of Mexico City wore blue surgical masks, though the CDC said most masks offer little protection. Many victims have been in their 30s and 40s - not the very old or young who typically succumb to the flu. So far, no deaths from the new virus have been reported outside Mexico.
-Betsy McKay, Gautam Naik, Janet Adamy, Shai Oster, J.R. Wu, Ben Casselman, Jennifer Martinez, Alicia Mundy and Jonathan D. Rockoff contributed to this article. Write to Betsy McKay at betsy.mckay@wsj.com and Gautam Naik at gautam.naik@wsj.com.
Copyright 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted here for educational purposes only. Visit the website at wsj.com.

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(by Betsy McKay and Gautam Naik, WSJ.com) - The swine flu epidemic crossed new borders Tuesday with the first cases confirmed in the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region, as world health officials said they suspect American patients may have transmitted the virus to others in the U.S.

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*The Rüppell's griffon vulture is believed to be the world's highest-flying bird, with confirmed sightings at more than 35,000 feet (10,668 meters).

* Turkey vultures have such a good sense of smell that they've helped natural gas companies detect gas leaks. The gas contains the same chemical found in a dead animal, which attracts the vultures to the leak.

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Vultures may be gross, but they play an important role in the ecosystem.

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One out of five children have mental illness, and schools often don’t help

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One out of five children have mental illness, and schools often don’t help

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SPARTANBURG, S.C. - On a hot summer day last month, Sydney, 15, and Laney, 8, were enjoying their last two weeks of freedom before school started. The sisters tried to do flips over a high bar at a local playground.

"You've got to pull your hips into the bar, like you've got to kick up like that," explained their mother, Selena.

"I tried to kick! I did this - you told me not to stick out," said Laney indignantly.

Both girls have been diagnosed with mental illnesses - Sydney with bipolar disorder and Laney with a similar illness called disruptive mood dysregulation disorder. The family asked that their last name not be used to protect the girls' privacy.

School has been a real challenge for them. That's not unusual for the 1 in 5 children with a mental illness. They often suffer anxiety, difficulty focusing and social challenges. Half of them drop out of high school, in part because many schools don't manage to meet their needs.

Selena has spent the past eight years trying to get the girls the resources to help them succeed. Like a lot of parents of kids with mental health issues, she's had to be her children's biggest advocate.

"It's definitely a journey. It wasn't easy," she said, even though she's a school guidance counselor herself.

"I used to cry the night before, because I didn't want to go to school."

Sydney describes class as "boring, distracting. It's hard to pay attention. It's overwhelming." She struggles to focus or process information, which makes her so anxious and depressed that she often has to leave school in the middle of the day.

She wants to be a rock star like Courtney Love. Every so often she pretends to take drag from a bubble gum cigarette. But she's an extremely sensitive kid, and school has been a painful experience.

"I used to cry the night before, because I didn't want to go to school," she said.

Laney on the other hand is a ball of chaotic energy. At school, she often gets frustrated and acts out. Sometimes, she is sent home.

Schools do not all screen students for mental health issues, and the practice varies widely across states. Even if students are successfully identified, many areas lack the community-based mental health treatment options that would be needed to help them. Just 38 percent of youth with a mood disorder such as depression or bipolar disorder receive treatment services. In 2014, the federal government announced $48 million in new grants to support teachers, schools and communities in recognizing and responding to mental health issues. Still, many students' mental health problems continue to go unidentified and untreated.

When Selena first noticed the girls were having problems, she took them to the doctor. Sydney started taking medication at the age of 7 and Laney at just 4, but it wasn't a quick fix.

"The brain is complex," said Selena. "It's not like you just take a medicine and it fixes it." It took years to get the girls' diagnoses and prescriptions right.

Selena said she needed to educate teachers about her daughters' illnesses. "I really tried to do my homework. I did a lot of research. Obviously I talked to parents online in a support group," she said.

Schools are starting to better recognize that mental health is key to academic and social success, said Darcy Gruttadaro, director of advocacy at the National Alliance on Mental Illness, a grassroots organization headquartered outside Washington, D.C.

"Kids spend six hours a day in school, and mental health is essential to learning.

"Kids spend six hours a day in school, and mental health is essential to learning. So schools that are very data-driven understand that in order for some kids to succeed, their mental health needs must be met," she said.

Nonetheless, schools vary greatly in the degree to which they are willing and able to accommodate mental health issues. "Some are doing a lot and training teachers on how to recognize warning signs and talk to families. And others are doing very little to understand the needs of students and how to work with families," said Gruttadaro.

Sydney's and Laney's public schools were willing to make accommodations - but the girls' struggles continued. So, Selena transferred both to a smaller charter school called High Point Academy.

Principal John Hurley said he's seen a growing number of students coming in with mental health diagnoses. The school wants to help - but teachers are not well prepared to handle these issues.

"My training in mental health was one chapter in a book that we covered in one day," recalled Hurley. Many teachers have experience with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, he said, but they don't have the tools to draw on when dealing with mood disorders.

"Because we're left in the dark, we have to fumble around to figure out what works best."

"Because we're left in the dark, we have to fumble around to figure out what works best," explained Hurley. "Sometimes you can be wildly successful, and sometimes you can fail miserably and you could have done the exact same thing for two different students."

That's a pretty good description of what happened with Laney and Sydney.

Laney started High Point in the second grade and, by October, had already begun acting out.

"A lot of the times she didn't like to write, so ... she'd get frustrated and she might tear up her paper just depending on how she was feeling," said her second grade teacher, Erica Smith. Occasionally, Laney would also tear up other students' assignments.

Selena was thrilled when Smith reached out and asked for advice. They started communicating almost daily, sharing tips about how best to reach Laney. They developed an individualized education plan, and Smith had a "safe spot" in the classroom where Laney could go to cool down until she could rejoin the class.

At the same time, Laney's doctor adjusted her medications to help balance her mood. The solutions worked - pretty soon Laney was thriving. But Selena knew from experience that what works with one kid doesn't always work with the other.

Selena helped get Sydney an individualized education plan that gave her extra time on tests, fewer assignments and two periods a day with special education teacher Pam Smith, who has a background in mental health.

"I really feel we had everything we could have had that was available to us to meet her needs," said Pam Smith. "I really feel that we went over and above sometimes."

"I started realizing it just wasn't working. I can't send my child somewhere every day and ignore the fact that it's having a negative impact on her mental health."

But nothing seemed to work. Sydney had trouble making friends and often shut down in class. She kept falling further behind.

"I started realizing it just wasn't working. I can't send my child somewhere every day and ignore the fact that it's having a negative impact on her mental health," said Selena.

So in March, she pulled Sydney out of High Point and home-schooled her for the rest of the year.

She looked for a therapeutic school for Sydney to attend this year, but she couldn't find one in her area. So this year, Sydney is attending an online school from home, while Selena works and Laney goes to the third grade at High Point. It's not an ideal solution. Selena wanted Sydney to be in a brick and mortar school with other kids, but she said she's had to learn to be flexible.

"You think as a parent you're supposed to just say, 'Get up and go back to school' the next day. And so you really have to sometimes stop and take stock of what's going on and maybe change the path," she said.

As for Sydney, she said she was looking forward to studying from home. For the first time in years, she said she hadn't been crying ahead of the first day of school.

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One out of five children have mental illness, and schools often don't help

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School has been a real challenge for them. That's not unusual for the 1 in 5 children with a mental illness. They often suffer anxiety, difficulty focusing and social challenges.

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Cell vs. virus: A battle for health - Shannon Stiles

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Cell vs. virus: A battle for health - Shannon Stiles

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Cell vs. virus: A battle for health - Shannon Stiles

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Two studies prove Ebola virus infects humans more easily, is deadlier

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Two studies prove Ebola virus infects humans more easily, is deadlier

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Newsela | Instructional Content Platform

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Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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How to Wash Your Hands – Read the Science Behind the Recommendations

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CDC recommends washing your hands in a specific way to avoid getting sick and spreading germs. Learn why each of the 5 handwashing steps – wet, lather, scrub, rinse, and dry – is important.

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Show Me the Science - How to Wash Your Hands

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Show Me the Science - How to Wash Your Hands

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How to Wash Your Hands – Read the Science Behind the Recommendations

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CDC recommends washing your hands in a specific way to avoid getting sick and spreading germs. Learn why each of the 5 handwashing steps – wet, lather, scrub, rinse, and dry – is important.

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Common Plant could Help Fight Zika Virus 

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Common Plant could Help Fight Zika Virus 

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Aedes aegypti A species of mosquito that can transmit the viruses responsible for several tropical diseases, including dengue fever, yellow fever, chikungunya and West Nile disease.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC An agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC is charged with protecting public health and safety by working to control and prevent disease, injury and disabilities. It does this by investigating disease outbreaks, tracking exposures by Americans to infections and toxic chemicals, and regularly surveying diet and other habits among a representative cross-section of all Americans.

chikungunya A tropical disease that has been crippling large numbers of people in Africa and Asia. It's caused by a virus that is spread by mosquitoes. It recently has been spreading widely throughout warm nations. More than 3 million people have suffered through its initial flu-like symptoms. A large share may also go on to develop intense pain in their muscles and joints that can last months to years. There is no cure or vaccine.

dengue fever A potentially lethal infectious disease transmitted by mosquitoes. No vaccine yet exists to prevent infection with the virus responsible for the disease, which causes high fevers, severe headache, joint pain, pain behind the eyes, rash, bone pain and sometimes mild bleeding. A more severe form of the disease, known as dengue hemorrhagic fever can cause uncontrolled bleeding if not treated right away.

extract (v.) To separate one chemical (or component of something) from a complex mix. (noun) A substance, often in concentrated form, that has been removed from its natural source. Extracts are often taken from plants (such as spearmint or lavender), flowers and buds (such as roses and cloves), fruit (such as lemons and oranges) or seeds and nuts (such as almonds and pistachios). Such extracts, sometimes used in cooking, often have very strong scents or flavors.

larva (plural: larvae) An immature life stage of an insect, which often has a distinctly different form as an adult. (Sometimes used to describe such a stage in the development of fish, frogs and other animals.)

perennial (in botany) A plant that lives for many years. Some may die back in harsh weather (extreme heat or cold), but then come back months later when conditions improve.

Society for Science and the Public (or SSP) A nonprofit organization created in 1921 and based in Washington, D.C. Since its founding, SSP has been not only promoting public engagement in scientific research but also the public understanding of science. It created and continues to run three renowned science competitions: The Intel Science Talent Search (begun in 1942), the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (initially launched in 1950) and Broadcom MASTERS (created in 2010). SSP also publishes award-winning journalism: in Science News (launched in 1922) and Science News for Students (created in 2003). Those magazines also host a series of blogs (including Eureka! Lab).

toxic Poisonous or able to harm or kill cells, tissues or whole organisms. The measure of risk posed by such a poison is its toxicity.

tropics The region near Earth's equator. Temperatures here are generally warm to hot, year-round.

subtropics A geographic region that reaches to the beginning of the temperate climate zone (around 40° North and 40° South latitudes) from the edges of tropics, that band of hot climate spanning the outer belly of the planet. The tropics reach out to the Tropic of Cancer (around 23.5° north latitude) and Tropic of Capricorn (around 23.5° south latitude). The subtropics tend to be reliably warmer than temperate climates, but may experience brief periods of frost that would be unexpected in the true tropics.

temperate In geography, referring to areas that are cooler than the tropics but warmer than polar regions.

virus Tiny infectious particles consisting of RNA or DNA surrounded by protein. Viruses can reproduce only by injecting their genetic material into the cells of living creatures. Although scientists frequently refer to viruses as live or dead, in fact no virus is truly alive. It doesn't eat like animals do, or make its own food the way plants do. It must hijack the cellular machinery of a living cell in order to survive.

Zika virus A virus that can be transmitted to humans via mosquitoes. About 20 percent of infected people get sick. Symptoms include a slight fever, rash and pinkeye and usually fade quickly. A growing body of evidence suggests that the virus could also cause a devastating birth defect - microcephaly. Evidence suggests it may also cause neurological conditions such as Guillain-Barré syndrome.

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Common plant could help fight Zika virus

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A teen discovered that extracts from leaves of the San Francisco plant (Codiaeum variegatum) kill larvae of the mosquito that helps spread the Zika and dengue fever viruses.

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How to Cancer Cells Behave Differently from Healthy Ones

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How to Cancer Cells Behave Differently from Healthy Ones

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How do cancer cells behave differently from healthy ones? - George Zaidan

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So there I was at a kid's birthday party, my 13-month-old daughter playing merrily with her brother in the sandbox, when she suddenly decided that she was hungry. Into her mouth it went-all of the sand-and though I was up with a leap and a "No," I was too late. I laughed nervously while furiously fishing sand out of her mouth (it's surprisingly hard to do, by the way) as other parents looked on with a mixture of unease and relief- Gross, but thank God it wasn't mine. My friend, the host who owned the sandbox, appeared. "Did I ever tell you," she said, "that I think my cat poops in there?"

Kids love sandboxes. Parents do not, and for good reason. When public health-testing organization NSF International sampled 26 different items in public places-toys at doctors' offices, children's library books, playground sandboxes-for a 2008 study on germs, they found that sandboxes were far and away the germiest of all, harboring nearly 2,000 times more bacteria, yeast, and mold per square inch than the door handles of public restrooms.

Of course, bacteria, yeast, and mold aren't all bad. Many are actually quite good for us. Not so for the other microbial gifts that sandboxes sometimes leave for kids: parasitic worms. Like giant litter boxes, uncovered sandboxes invite animals-raccoons, dogs, cats-to use them as bathrooms, which essentially turns them into giant parasite Petri dishes. And that's bad, because even if your kids don't eat handfuls of sand like mine do, they probably do put their fingers in their mouths an awful lot-and parasites are transmitted by what is not-so-euphemistically called the fecal-oral route, meaning they go from one animal (or kid's) butt straight to the next kid's mouth. Bon appétit!

OK, I know you're rolling your eyes, thinking: But most kids who play in sandboxes don't get sick. Fair enough. But it's also possible that kids are getting sick and we just don't know it. Doctors are not required to notify the government when they diagnose these infections-so no one is closely monitoring them or their epidemiology-and many kids who get parasites probably either never get diagnosed with them, as symptoms can be mild and spontaneously resolve, or their diagnoses are kept quiet. (Are you really going to tell your friends that your kid just got dewormed?) And when little Annie does get parasites, her parents also aren't going to tie it back to that time three weeks ago when she played in a sandbox. The fact is that a large proportion of Americans-many of them kids-are infected by parasites, and sandboxes are a known hot spot. "There is a real threat," says Laila Woc-Colburn, an infectious disease specialist at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

Consider what happened when researchers at McGill University tested the surface sand from sandboxes at 10 local day care centers in 1991. Two of the sandboxes, they discovered, were contaminated with eggs of a parasite called . Once a child eats them, the eggs hatch in his or her body into larvae, which can burrow into the liver, lungs, central nervous system, or eyes. Sometimes the infection is asymptomatic, but when it's not and is not properly diagnosed and treated, it can cause liver damage, lung damage, or blindness. (An earlier 1979 study found that a whopping 39 percent of residential sandboxes in Kansas contained Toxocara eggs. Perhaps unsurprisingly, research suggests that 1 out of every 7 Americans over the age of 6 has been infected with this parasite.)

The McGill study also reported that one of the sandboxes with Toxocara eggs was co-contaminated with the eggs of , a parasitic worm that can, occasionally, cause intestinal blockage and stunted growth. Another parasite kids can get from sandboxes is Toxoplasma gondii, which is spread by cats and believed to chronically infect more than 1 out of every 6 Americans. In one study, researchers in Japan spied on three urban sandboxes at night using camcorders and found that over the course of five months, cats pooped in the boxes 961 times, and dogs pooped in them 11 times. They calculated that one of the sandboxes contained more than 1.5 million viable Toxoplasma eggs per square foot of sand, yet children need only ingest a single egg to get sick.

Although Toxoplasma infections are typically mild-some people get flu-like symptoms, while others feel fine, though most will harbor the parasite for the rest of their lives-individuals with compromised immune systems can fall very ill, and when women become infected during pregnancy, their babies can develop brain or vision damage or become sick later in life. (Some research also suggests that the parasite can affect behavior and personality. So the next time an aggressive driver cuts you off, calm yourself with the thought that he might be infested.)

Let's also not forget pinworms, the tiny little worms that live in your intestines, scurry down to your anus while you sleep, and lay their eggs there every night. Nearly half of all American kids are believed to have pinworms at any given time (and when they do, their parents usually have them too), but they're tough to diagnose: You basically have to set an alarm for a few hours after you go to sleep and then inspect your anus for crawling worms. (No, I'm not kidding.) As Austin, Texas-based pediatrician Ari Brown wrote in her best-selling book Toddler 411, sandboxes are an excellent place for kids to catch pinworms, because pinworms cause kids' butts to itch; then they scratch their butts, getting pinworm eggs on their fingers; then they build sandcastles studded with worm eggs.

I've left my favorite (as in: most absolutely terrifying) sandbox parasite for last. It's called Baylisascaris procyonis, and it is a roundworm that typically infects raccoons.

As many as 4 out of 5 raccoons carry this parasite, and infected coons typically poop out thousands, if not millions, of eggs a day-perhaps right on your lawn. In a 2009 study, researchers found raccoon poop in more than half of the suburban Chicago backyards they sampled. Once there, the parasite's eggs are virtually indestructible, except with exposure to very high heat. One scientist who has studied them recommends using an acetylene torch to incinerate the bastards.

Human infections with Baylisascaris seem to be very, very rare, although no one really knows why, considering everything I wrote above. But thank goodness, because the parasites are extremely dangerous. "If eggs are accidentally ingested by a human," a recent clinical report explained, "larval infection can lead to devastating neurological disease and death." One-third of cases are fatal. In 2009, two kids from Brooklyn caught it; one developed permanent brain damage, and the other went blind in one eye. Another child fell ill with it in Canada in 2009, presumably after-you guessed it!-playing in a sandbox. He was lucky because he was diagnosed and treated quickly, but the infection nevertheless robbed him of the ability to speak, gave him a seizure disorder, and damaged his eyesight.

So, yes, sandboxes are gross and can be dangerous. This is not to say that you should never let your kids play in them, because the danger is remote-they only rarely cause serious illness (my daughter's sandy snack seems to have done her no harm, although I haven't had her tested). If you own your own sandbox, though, consider covering it at night to keep out animals. If you have dogs or cats, make sure they are regularly checked for worms, and keep them out of the sandbox so they never wonder whether it might work well as a toilet. If you suspect that raccoons are pooping on your lawn, check out this Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guide to cleaning up their hazardous excrement.

As for public sandboxes: It kind of goes without saying, but if they smell bad, stay away. Also, (try to) keep your kids from putting their hands (or all the sand) in their mouths when they play, and make them wash their hands afterward. (Hand sanitizer won't kill worm eggs, Woc-Colburn says, so best to do it the old-fashioned way.) Would it be crazy to steer your kids away from public, always-uncovered sandboxes just in case? No, particularly if your kids have other sources for creative hands-on play. Brown, for one, has advised parents against them. And if your sandbox-frequenting kid does get really sick-symptoms of parasitic infections vary but can include fever, coughs, stomach pain, eye pain, or seizures-of course, take him to the pediatrician, and mention his sandbox use and any other relevant info, such as that you suspect your cat poops in it. Chances are high that your kid is never going to get really sick from sand play, but it's good to know about the risk just in case, even though it means-and for this I apologize-that you will never be able to look at a sandbox the same way again.
Read more of Slate's parenting coverage, including:

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Sandboxes Are Disgusting! Are You Sure You Want Your Kids Playing in Them?

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So there I was at a kid's birthday party, my 13-month-old daughter playing merrily with her brother in the sandbox, when she suddenly decided that she...

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History for kids - Free history network for kids

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The Black Death

The Black Death : Bubonic Plague

In late 1347, the Black Death killed approximately 30 to 45 percent of the European population (although some people put this rate even higher at around 60 percent). No one knew what caused the plague so people in the Middle Ages tried a number of methods to combat the disease but they didn't help. The only thing people could do was to simply run away from any place that was infected.

What Is It?

The Black Death is a bacterial disease. This simply means it is caused by bacteria. The official name of the bacteria is Yersina pestis. It was named after the French scientist, Alexandre Yersin, who discovered this germ. This bacteria actually causes three different types of plague: bubonic plague, pneumonic plague, and septicemic plague.

Bubonic Plague: This was the most common form of the plague and got its name from the swollen areas (called buboes) that develop when a person is infected. These buboes appear in the groin, armpit, and neck. They can be the size of a golf ball or as big as an apple. The bubonic plague would typically kill its victim within a week but some people were able to recover from the disease (although not very many).

A flea that was infected with the disease would bite a person .Around six days after being bitten, a black blister would appear around the bite. Shortly after this, the buboes would appear followed by purple blotches on the skin. These blotches were caused by bleeding under the skin of the infected person. Bubonic plague killed around 50 to 60 percent of people who have been infected.

Pneumonic plague: This plague was much more deadly than bubonic plague but didn't happen as often. It entered a victim's lungs and caused pneumonia. The infected person would come down with a fever and begin coughing up blood. This coughing would help pass the disease on to other people. About 95 to 100 percent of people infected with pulmonary plague would die within three days.

Septicemic Plague: Septicemic plague occurs when the bacteria enters the victim's bloodstream. The victim will develop a rash and die within the day. Septicemic plague was always fatal but was very rare. The victim died so quickly that there wasn't time for the disease to be passed on to another person.

How Was It Spread?

The bacteria that causes the plague lives in the stomachs of fleas. These fleas are responsible for the spread of the disease. The fleas live on rats which were numerous throughout the Middle Ages. For some reason (people don't really know why) the bacteria builds up in the flea's stomach. As a result, there is so much bacteria, that the flea "throws up" while feeding. Unfortunately, what the flea is feeding on is a person. The flea bites a person and begins drinking the person's blood. At the same time, the flea throws up and the bacteria enters the blood of the person the flea is biting resulting in the person being infected with the plague.

When Did It Start and Where Did It Come From?

The plague first arrived in Europe in 1347 and came from the steppes area of Central Asia. The disease had been in the area for a while but did not cause a big problem because the people who lived in the area were the Mongols. The Mongols lived closely with their horses and fleas don't like the smell of horses so they did not cause a big problem.

Later trade and trading ports in Central Asia were created to help develop trade. The trading posts were areas where rats could gather. The rats brought the infected fleas with them. Any area that had a lot of rats was in danger of having the plague as well.

The plague probably made it into Europe as the result of an attack on the trading port of Kaffa by the Mongols. As the Mongols laid siege to the city, the army was destroyed by the plague. The Mongol leader, Yannibeg, wanted the people who lived in Kaffa to get the plague as well so he used a catapult to throw infected bodies over the city walls and into the city.

The people who lived in the city tried to stop the plague by quickly throwing the dead bodies into the sea, but the plague quickly spread through the city. In fact, these dead bodies were not responsible for the spread of the plague. A dead body isn't going to breath on anyone and the infected fleas that carry the plague would have almost immediately left the dead body for a living person.

A more likely answer for the spread of the plague into Kaffa is, once again, rats. Rats probably made their way into the city and carried the infected fleas with them. The plague took hold in the city and when the people fled the city in their ships, they took the plague with them. When these ships docked at the town of Messina, most of the crew were infected or already dead. The city government quickly had the ships towed out of the harbour but it was too late. The plague had arrived and began its spread throughout Europe.

Was There A Cure?

During the Middle Ages, there was no cure for the Black Death although a number of things were tried. In fact, doctors had no idea how the disease was spread. To combat the disease, doctors (when they were willing to actually see patients infected with the plague) would use bloodletting and boil lancing. Bloodletting simply means a doctor would cut a person and let some blood drain out. Boil lancing occurred when a doctors would cut open the swollen areas of a person (the buboes) and let them drain.

In addition, people would use burning herbs and bath in vinegar to fight the disease. Another method people would use was to simply run away. People would leave the area as soon as any plague cases were reported (and sometimes even before cases were reported).

Many people believed that the plague was visited upon them by God to punish society for being sinful. To atone for these sins, some people would beat themselves with leather straps or pieces of metal in an effort to lift God's curse.

When Did It End?

This outbreak of the plague ended in the early 1350s (around 1353) although there were a number of outbreaks of the plague over the centuries. In fact, even today, there are plague outbreaks. In 2003, more than 2,100 cases of the plague were reported as well as 180 deaths. In 2006, an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo resulted in the death of at least fifty people. In recent years, cases of the plague have been reported in China, India, Vietnam, and Mongolia as well as in the United States.

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The Black Death : Bubonic Plague In late 1347, the Black Death killed approximately 30 to 45 percent of the European population (although some people put this rate even higher at around 60 percent).

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Bacteria and other microbes can make us sick. But there's a lurking danger with some germs that's far more frightening than a bout of food poisoning or an infected wound. Today, drugs exist to fight most of these germs. They're called antibiotics. Before these medicines came along, common infections frequently killed people. And that's where the danger lies: What will happen if antibiotics no longer kill germs?

Already some antibiotics have lost their superpowers. Many others are beginning to lose theirs. Biologists describe this problem as resistance. Across the globe, germs are becoming resistant to antibiotic medicines. In a sense, these "superbugs" have begun to laugh at those former wonder drugs.

But resistance is no laughing matter. As germs toughen up against drugs that are supposed to slay them, treatable conditions such as TB - tuberculosis - can spread. And surgeries that rely on antibiotics could turn from life-saving to life-threatening.

The threat is huge

"Alarming levels" of drug-resistant bacteria already exist in many parts of the world. That's the conclusion of a 257-page report published in April. It was issued by the World Health Organization (WHO).

This United Nations agency, based in Geneva, Switzerland, recently reviewed how well these germ slayers perform in 114 countries. In some places, it found, antibiotics no longer work for half of all people being treated against common diseases. Those diseases include pneumonia and gonorrhea.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), based in Atlanta, Ga., also has been investigating the problem . It estimates that in the United States alone, antibiotic-resistant infections now sicken some two million people each year. At least 23,000 of them die.

But even antibiotic-resistant germs that don't kill can be a problem. Their infections become harder to treat - and more expensive. Consider one estimate - $233 million - published May 20 in the journal Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control. That's how much researchers calculated that it costs the United States each year to deal with just one resistant superbug. That germ causes a lung disease known as pneumonia.

Drug-immune bugs that flourish in the human gut can enter the environment with every flush of the toilet. Researchers discovered how big this problem is when they analyzed wastewater from 11 sites in one French city. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria tainted 96 percent of their samples. A May 1 paper in Clinical Infectious Diseases describes the disturbing details.

Some scientists have scouted for such germs in the environment. They collected superbugs at hospitals. Then they probed the germs, identifying parts of their genes that appear to make them resistant to antibiotics. Next, the researchers looked in the outdoor environment for that same genetic fingerprint of superbugs. And they turned up that superbug DNA in 71 places - from the soil and sea water to human wastes. The researchers reported their findings May 8 in Current Biology.

Why it's happening

Drug designers have created antibiotics to kill bacteria, as well as some fungi and other germs. But sometimes, a few treated germs survive. They survive because they're stronger. Or they may have certain genetic mutations that allow them to break down the drug. They might even have evolved a way to keep the drugs from harming their operational machinery. Over time, all germs susceptible to a drug will die off. That will leave behind only superbugs - those microbes that medicines can't kill.

This is not surprising. In fact, it's quite natural. Part of evolution, it's known as survival of the fittest.

Scientists stumbled onto the first antibiotic, penicillin, around 1930. Since then, research has produced a medicine cabinet full of additional ones. It appeared that these would make many of the worst bacterial infections ever more manageable. So, during the 1970s, drug developers began focusing on noninfectious health problems, such as cancer and heart disease. As a result, in the past 30 years, no new types of antibiotics have been developed.

Right now, bacteria are outsmarting antibiotics faster than developers can make new ones. And there are no signs things will change, says Stewart Cole. He directs the Global Health Institute at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland.

Writing in the May 12 Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, he argues that the "golden age" of antibiotic development "is a distant memory, and the likelihood of there being another seems slim." This lack of new types of germ killers, he says, has been allowing superbugs to morph and thrive.

One of the most famous of them is known as MRSA (pronounced MER-sah). The letters stand for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus . Methicillin is a widely used antibiotic. And Staph aureus is a germ that can cause boils, food poisoning, toxic-shock syndrome and more. These bacteria sicken (and sometimes kill) by releasing potent natural poisons - called toxins - into the body.

Despite its name, MRSA is resistant to far more antibiotics than just methicillin. That makes this superbug particularly nasty in hospitals and prisons. These are places where people often have open wounds or weak immune systems. Both increase a person's chance of picking up an infection.

Too much of a good thing

Drug resistance can develop at any time. But its likelihood climbs as the use of an antibiotic increases. And this is especially true when an antibiotic is overused. That's when a doctor prescribes it for infections it has no hope of curing.

For instance, doctors sometimes prescribe antibiotics to treat an infection before they learn if the disease is caused by bacteria. If viruses are responsible, then antibiotics will be useless. The reason: Antibiotic medicines do not kill viruses. Yet by giving an antibiotic to someone with a viral infection, that drug will reach good bacteria living in our bodies. And over time, some of these bacteria will become resistant to the drug.

Last year, the CDC reported that up to half of the antibiotics that U.S. doctors prescribed went to people who didn't actually need them.

Take, for example, someone who visits a doctor for a lingering cough. Viral infections cause most coughs. So a viral cough won't be helped by drugs and will tend to go away on its own. Yet 71 percent of the time, doctors will still prescribe antibiotics for patients coming in with a common cough, a May 21 study finds.

"I think there's this perception among both doctors and patients that coughs don't go away without antibiotic treatment," Jeffrey Linder told Science News for Students . Linder, who coauthored the new report, is a doctor at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston, Mass. He and Michael Barnett, also from the hospital, tracked the drugs that doctors prescribed during more than 3,000 U.S. clinic visits between 1996 and 2010. They reported their findings in the Journal of the American Medical Association .

A small number of people who visit a doctor with a cough turn out to have bacterial pneumonia. These cases do require antibiotic treatment. But Linder says doctors should easily be able to recognize these few from the hordes of people coming in with a routine, viral cough.

Perilous profit

Antibiotic overuse also has become a problem on farms. In the United States, animals - not people - receive about 80 percent of all antibiotics. Sometimes the drugs are used to save an infected animal or prevent disease from spreading through a herd. More often, though, feed suppliers put small amounts of these drugs into the food that will be given to healthy animals. These antibiotics help speed the animals' growth. And this has boosted farmers' profits.

But using antibiotics just to beef up livestock is "a direct threat to human health," argues Kellogg Schwab. He's an environmental microbiologist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md. Earlier, he and his coworkers detected bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics in the exhaust air blowing out of farm buildings. That suggests these superbugs can spread through the air from animals to people.

SteveOehlenschlager / iStockphoto

Germs that are immune to antibiotics also can hitch a ride into your body through ground beef or the chicken breast on your cutting board. Biologists have found that much of the fresh beef, pork and poultry sold in grocery stores contains bacteria resistant to antibiotics.

Even if those germs don't sicken us or cause other immediate harm, they can offload their resistance genes into other bacteria that normally live inside our bodies. Sometimes, like with the MRSA superbug, resistance is carried on circular pieces of DNA called plasmids. These plasmids can slip easily from one bacterial cell into another.

In this way, our gut microbes can become "a reservoir of resistance," says Sharon Peacock. She's a microbiologist at the University of Cambridge in England. Later, "when we actually get sick and need an antibiotic, we may already carry a resistance gene" that may keep that drug from working, she says.

In the United States, farmers have fought against banning antibiotics as growth promoters. They say it will reduce their profits because more animals will get sick, slowing their growth. But that's not been the experience in other countries.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, has proposed banning antibiotic use in healthy animals. But for more than 30 years, the livestock industry and Congress have fought such action. Recently, the FDA stepped up its efforts to end this practice.

In December 2013, FDA laid out a plan to phase out within three years the use of antibiotics on farms to boost livestock growth. Its stated reason: concern that farm use of these drugs has made more germs immune to the antibiotics needed to fight life-threatening infections in people. And that's a worry because the same germs that sicken animals often sicken people.

Antibiotic resistance is a complex and growing problem. Many microbiologists worry that the time when antibacterial medicines no longer work could be coming. Thankfully, doctors and many patients are becoming more aware of the problem. Researchers also are hard at work creating new tools to keep superbugs from taking over.
Next: How scientists are trying to tackle the problem
Power Words

antibiotic A germ-killing substance prescribed as a medicine (or sometimes as a feed additive to promote the growth of livestock). It does not work against viruses.

bacterium (plural bacteria) A single-celled organism forming one of the three domains of life. These dwell nearly everywhere on Earth, from the bottom of the sea to inside animals.

boils (in medicine) A skin infection that starts as a hard, red, painful lump. Eventually, it gets bigger, softens and fills with pus. A common source of these is a bacterium known as Staphylococcus aureus.

bioengineer A researcher who applies technology for the beneficial manipulation of living things. Bioengineers use the principles of biology and the techniques of engineering to design organisms or products that can mimic, replace or augment the chemical or physical processes present in existing organisms. This field includes researchers who genetically modify organisms, including microbes. It also includes researchers who design medical devices such as artificial hearts and artificial limbs.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC An agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC is charged with protecting public health and safety by working to control and prevent disease, injury and disabilities. It does this by investigating disease outbreaks, tracking exposures by Americans to infections and toxic chemicals, and regularly surveying diet and other habits among a representative cross-section of all Americans.

cholera A bacterial disease that infects the small intestine, causing sever diarrhea, vomiting and dehydration. It is spread by germs from feces that contaminate water or food.

DNA (short for deoxyribonucleic acid) A long, spiral-shaped molecule inside most living cells that carries genetic instructions. In all living things, from plants and animals to microbes, these instructions tell cells which molecules to make.

evolution A process by which species undergo changes over time, usually through genetic variation and natural selection, that leave a new type of organism better suited for its environment than the earlier type. The newer type is not necessarily more "advanced," just better adapted to the conditions in which it developed.

fungus (plural: fungi) Any of a group of unicellular or multicellular, spore-producing organisms that feed on organic matter, both living and decaying. Molds, yeast and mushrooms are all types of fungi.

gene A segment of DNA that codes, or holds instructions, for producing a protein. Offspring inherit genes from their parents. Genes influence how an organism looks and behaves.

germ Any one-celled microorganism, such as a bacterium, fungal species or virus particle. Some germs cause disease. Others can promote the health of higher-order organisms, including birds and mammals. The health effects of most germs, however, remain unknown.

gonorrhea A serious disease that can infect the genitals, rectum and throat. This sexually transmitted disease is very common, especially among people between the ages of 15 and 24. Untreated, it can cause infertility or death. "Untreated gonorrhea may also increase your chances of getting or giving HIV - the virus that causes AIDS," according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

growth promoter (in livestock agriculture) A medicine, usually an antibiotic, added in small doses to the feed given to animals raised for meat. Used as a preventive medicine, it can reduce the risk that animals will become sick, which would slow their growth. And that would decrease a farmer's profits.

immune system The collection of cells and their responses that help the body fight off infection.

infection A disease that can be transmitted between organisms.

influenza (or flu) A highly contagious viral infection of the respiratory passages causing fever and severe aching. It often occurs as an epidemic.

livestock Animals raised for meat or dairy products, including cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens and geese.

microbe Short formicroorganism. A living thing that is too small to see with the unaided eye, including bacteria, some fungi and many other organisms such as amoebas. Most consist of a single cell.

microbiology The study of microorganisms, principally bacteria, fungi and viruses. Scientists who study microbes and the infections they can cause or ways that they can interact with their environment are known as microbiologists.

mutation Some change that occurs to a gene in an organism's DNA. Some mutations occur naturally. Others can be triggered by outside factors, such as pollution, radiation, medicines or something in the diet. A gene with this change is referred to as a mutant.

plasmid A small circular loop of DNA that is separate from the main chromosomal DNA of bacteria.

pneumonia A lung disease in which infection by a virus or bacterium causes inflammation and tissue damage. Sometimes the lungs fill with fluid or mucus. Symptoms include fever, chills, cough and trouble breathing.

resistance (as in drug resistance) The reduction in the effectiveness of a drug to cure a disease, usually a microbial infection. (as in disease resistance) The ability of an organism to fight off disease.

superbug A popular term for a disease-causing germ that can withstand medicines.

toxic shock syndrome A rare and potentially deadly bacterial infection caused by Staphylococcus aureus. This bacterium release toxins - natural poisons - into the body of its host. Symptoms include a sudden high fever, muscle aches, vomiting, diarrhea, a rash and sometimes seizures.

toxin A poison produced by living organisms, such as germs, bees, spiders, poison ivy and snakes.

tuberculosis A bacterial disease that causes unusual growths in the lungs or other tissues. Untreated, it can kill. The infection usually spreads when a sick individual coughs (or talks, sings or sneezes), spewing germs into the air.

virus Tiny infectious particles consisting of RNA or DNA surrounded by protein. Viruses can reproduce only by injecting their genetic material into the cells of living creatures. Although scientists frequently refer to viruses as live or dead, in fact no virus is truly alive. It doesn't eat like animals do, or make its own food the way plants do. It must hijack the cellular machinery of a living cell in order to survive.

World Health Organization An agency of the United Nations, established in 1948, to promote health and to control communicable diseases. It is based in Geneva, Switzerland. The United Nations relies on the WHO for providing international leadership on global health matters. This organization also helps shape the research agenda for health issues and sets standards for pollutants and other things that could pose a risk to health. WHO also regularly reviews data to set policies for maintaining health and a healthy environment.

Citations

E. Landhuis. " The war on superbugs." Science News for Students. July 16, 2014.

B. Harder. " Joining the Resistance: Drug-immune microbes waft over hogs." Science News. Jan. 1, 2005.

A.L. Mascarelli. " Infectious animals." Science News for Students. April 17, 2013.

J. Raloff. " Antibiotics afield." Science News. Nov. 26, 2005.

J. Raloff. " Growth-promoting antibiotics: On the way out?" Science News. March 23, 2012.

J. Raloff. " Retail meats host drug-resistant bacteria." Science News. Oct. 20, 2001.

N. Seppa. " Danes keeping drugs out of livestock." Science News. April 8, 2003.

Original Journal Source: M. Barnett and J. Linder. Antibiotic prescribing for adults with acute bronchitis in the United States, 1996-2010. Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Published May 21, 2014. doi: 10.1001/jama.2013.286141.

Original Journal Source: J. Nesme et al. Large-scale metagenomic-based study of antibiotic resistance in the environment. Current Biology. Published May 8, 2014. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2014.03.036.

Original Journal Source: S. Peacock. Health care: Bring microbial sequencing to hospitals. Nature. Published May 29, 2014. doi:10.1038/509557a.

Original Journal Source: B. Spellberg, J. Bartlett and D. Gilbert. The future of antibiotics and resistance. New England Journal of Medicine. Published Jan. 24, 2013. doi: 10.1056/NEJMp1215093.

Original Journal Source: S. Cole. Who will develop new antibacterial agents? Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. Published May 12, 2014. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2013.0430.

Original Journal Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Antibiotic-resistant threats in the United States, 2013.

Original Report Source: World Health Organization. Antimicrobial resistance global report on surveillance, 2014.

Teachers' questions: Superbugs: A silent health emergency

Esther Landhuis is a freelance journalist in the San Francisco Bay Area. She worked on her high school newspaper and spent a decade studying biology before discovering a career that combines writing and science.

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Have antibiotics become too popular? Overusing these medicines fuels resistant germs that pose a global health threat.

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Medieval human plague still lurking in western U.S. states

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Medieval human plague still lurking in western U.S. states

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Newsela | Instructional Content Platform

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Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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Kids learn about infectious diseases including pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi as well as transmission and other types of diseases.

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Keeping space missions from infecting Earth and other worlds

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Keeping space missions from infecting Earth and other worlds

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alien A non-native organism. (in astronomy) Life on or from a distant world.

annual Adjective for something that happens in every year.

astronaut Someone trained to travel into space for research and exploration.

constant Continuous or uninterrupted.

Enceladus The sixth largest of Saturn's more than 50 moons. Enceladus is bright white and covered with a thick shell of ice. Deep beneath that ice sits what appears to be a global ocean of salty liquid water. Enceladus is a round sphere, 500 kilometers (310 miles) across. It is a little less than one-third the width of Earth's moon.

environment The sum of all of the things that exist around some organism or some device and the condition those things create for that organism or device. Environment may refer to the weather and ecosystem in which some animal lives, or, perhaps, the temperature, humidity and placement of components in some electronics system or product.

Europa One of the moons of Jupiter and the sixth-closest satellite to the planet. Europa, 1,951 miles across, has a network of dark lines on a bright, icy surface.

extraterrestrial (ET) Anything of or from regions beyond Earth.

extremophile A microorganism that lives in conditions of extreme temperature, acidity, alkalinity or concentrations of chemicals.

germ Any one-celled microorganism, such as a bacterium, fungal species or virus particle. Some germs cause disease. Others can promote the health of higher-order organisms, including birds and mammals. The health effects of most germs, however, remain unknown.

geyser A vent (opening) in Earth's surface that intermittently sends up a tall spray of steam or hot water. The sometimes explosive discharge of water and steam is propelled by the geothermal heating of water below ground.

Jupiter (in astronomy) The solar system's largest planet, it has the shortest day length (10 hours). A gas giant, its low density indicates that this planet is composed of light elements, such as hydrogen and helium. This planet also releases more heat than it receives from the sun as gravity compresses its mass (and slowly shrinks the planet).

lander A special, small vehicle designed to ferry humans or scientific equipment between a spacecraft and the celestial body they will explore.

Mars The fourth planet from the sun, just one planet out from Earth. Like Earth, it has seasons and moisture. But its diameter is only about half as big as Earth's.

microbe Short for microorganism. A living thing that is too small to see with the unaided eye, including bacteria, some fungi and many other organisms such as amoebas. Most consist of a single cell.

NASA Short for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Created in 1958, this U.S. agency has become a leader in space research and in stimulating public interest in space exploration. It was through NASA that the United States sent people into orbit and ultimately to the moon. It also has sent research craft to study planets and other celestial objects in our solar system.

orbiter A spacecraft designed to go into orbit, especially one not intended to land.

organism Any living thing, from elephants and plants to bacteria and other types of single-celled life.

planet A celestial object that orbits a star, is big enough for gravity to have squashed it into a roundish ball and has cleared other objects out of the way in its orbital neighborhood. To accomplish the third feat, the object must be big enough to have pulled neighboring objects into the planet itself or to have slung them around the planet and off into outer space. Astronomers of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) created this three-part scientific definition of a planet in August 2006 to determine Pluto's status. Based on that definition, IAU ruled that Pluto did not qualify. The solar system now includes eight planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

robot A machine that can sense its environment, process information and respond with specific actions. Some robots can act without any human input, while others are guided by a human.

satellite A moon orbiting a planet or a vehicle or other manufactured object that orbits some celestial body in space.

Saturn The sixth planet out from the sun in our solar system. One of the four gas giants, this planet takes 10.7 hours to rotate (completing a day) and 29 Earth years to complete one orbit of the sun. It has at least 53 known moons and 9 more candidates awaiting confirmation. But what most distinguishes this planet is the broad and flat plane of seven rings that orbit it.

science fiction A field of literary or filmed stories that take place against a backdrop of fantasy, usually based on speculations about how science and engineering will direct developments in the distant future. The plots in many of these stories focus on space travel, exaggerated changes attributed to evolution or life in (or on) alien worlds.

terrestrial Having to do with planet Earth, especially its land. Terra is Latin for Earth.

viable Able to live and survive. (in biology) Able to survive and/or live a normal lifespan.

weed (in botany) A plant growing wild in, around - and sometimes smothering over - valued plants, such as crops or landscape species (including lawn grasses, flowers and shrubs). Often a plant becomes such a botanical bully when it enters a new environment with no natural predators or controlling conditions, such as hard frosts. (in biology, generally) Any organism may be referred to as a "weed" if it enters an environment and begins to overwhelm the local ecosystem.

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Keeping space missions from infecting Earth and other worlds

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Scientists are always looking for ways to stop Earthly microbes from polluting other planets. The same goes for bringing bits of other planets back to Earth.

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5 Revelations About Ceres That Are Blowing Scientists' Minds

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5 Revelations About Ceres That Are Blowing Scientists' Minds

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Permanently shadowed regions capable of accumulating surface ice were identified in the northern hemisphere of Ceres using images taken by NASA's Dawn mission combined with sophisticated computer modeling of illumination. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The journal just published six significant papers about the dwarf planet Ceres. We pored over them to see what has planetary scientists so excited.

Ceres is the only dwarf planet in the asteroid belt, located between Mars and Jupiter. On June 30, the Dawn spacecraft over Ceres completed its prime mission, and NASA has since extended its mission through at least April 2017, at which time the vessel will possibly run out of hydrazine fuel. (Yesterday it moved to a higher orbit, where it will have less of Ceres's gravity dragging on it, and can thus conserve fuel.) Dawn's continuing mission will involve studying Ceres as the world reaches perihelion-that is, as it reaches its closest point to the sun its elliptical orbit.

Since Dawn's arrival at Ceres last year-after first spending a year orbiting Vesta, a minor planet in the asteroid belt-the dwarf planet has proven captivating beyond anyone's expectation. Its mysterious white spots garnered unprecedented public interest. NASA even launched a poll for people to guess what they might be. (Those who suspected alien beacon were, sadly, incorrect; scientists believe the correct answer is salt.)

The spots are but a tiny part of the scientific bonanza delivered by Dawn, however, and 16 months after its arrival at Ceres, scientists have finally been able to get a grip on the libraries of data being returned from the spacecraft. Here are some of their key findings.

Ahuna Mons is an isolated mountain on the surface of Ceres that is, according to one paper published today, "distinct in its size, shape, and morphology." The mountain's formation, scientists suspect, is as such: cryomagma (ice lava!) erupted to the surface of Ceres, causing the development and spreading of an cryovolcanic ( ice volcano!) dome. This occurred much in the same manner as a volcano forms on Earth. As material erupted, it followed the grooves and fractures already present on the surface of Ceres. The ice volcano's formation and composition suggest that the surface of Ceres is warmer than that of icy moons, and within Ceres, there is or was some long-term heat source. Moreover, other "topographic rises" on Ceres might well "share a common formation process and imply that volcanic activity occurred over an extended period." Differing structures and shapes of said rises might be attributed to changes in flow and ascent over time.

Dawn's Framing Camera has mapped Ceres, and the revealed geology is a scientific bonanza, giving scientists clues necessary to piece together the history and geologic activities of the mysterious world. Debra Buczkowski is one of those scientists. She is the lead author of one of the papers published today. She tells mental_floss that what surprised her most about Ceres was the discovery of "floor-fractured craters," or craters with shallow floors cut by fractures of various shape.

"These are features found on the Moon and Mars," she said, "where they are thought to form due to magma upwelling beneath impact craters, pushing their floors upward and causing them to fracture." Such features were not predicted on Ceres. As to the implications, Buczkowski says, "Finding these features on Ceres means that there was at some point in time magmatic processes occurring on Ceres." She notes that evidence of magmatism (along with the identification of Ahuna Mons as a cryovolcanic feature) indicates that Ceres was at some point in time geologically active, "although we have yet to find evidence that it is still an active body."

Another of the Science papers found a relatively even composition (but unequal abundance) of clay-like phyllosilicate minerals-which need water to form-on Ceres' surface. This suggests that "widespread and extensive aqueous alteration processes have affected the dwarf planet at some point in its history."

Planetary scientists have long believed that the mantle of Ceres is rich in water ice (and perhaps water). According to another paper published today, data from the visible and infrared mapping spectrometer (VIR) identified "without ambiguity" H ₂O absorption bands in a young crater on Ceres called Oxo: "These bands are most likely due to surface materials," the scientists say. In other words, in at least this 10-kilometer crater, there is water ice on the surface of Ceres -and not billion-year-old ice that probably tastes awful, but the young, fresh stuff. At Oxo's latitude, water ice could at best last a few hundred years before disappearing, and would be undetectable in tens of years because of dust in the ice, which would quickly become "the dominant material within the optical thickness (a few micrometers at most)."

So where did this ice come from? The authors of the paper suggest four possible origins: exposure of internal ice due to a surface impact (i.e. giant rock smashing into Ceres); re-condensed water vapor that originated from within Ceres, much in the way the nuclei of comets release water vapor; a water-rich rock crashed into Ceres; or water molecules formed due to "implantation of protons" by solar winds. (This happens on our Moon, too.)

Craters tell an astonishing amount about celestial objects, from their age and composition to their history and internal processes. Ceres is heavily cratered and yet lacks craters larger than 300 kilometers, which is a bit unexpected. Moreover, the suspected composition of Ceres suggests that many of those craters should have "relaxed" over time, which by and large has not happened. This leads scientists to believe that the crust of Ceres possesses less ice than was expected or might be thicker than once thought. Rather than possessing a solid ice shell just below the surface, Ceres might have more of a rocky-ice (or icy-rock) shell.

An exosphere is the very outer limits of an atmosphere. (For reference, the Earth's exosphere begins around 300 kilometers beyond the altitude of the International Space Station.) It's where particles are gravitationally bound to an object but are very heavily influenced by the Sun. Before Dawn arrived at Ceres, instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope were unsuccessful in detecting an exosphere at the dwarf planet. Data returned by Dawn now tell a slightly different story. The Dawn spacecraft carries an instrument called the Gamma Ray and Neutron Detector (GRaND). On multiple orbits, GRaND detected bursts of energetic electrons. At those moments, scientists suspect that the weak atmosphere at Ceres was "ionized by the energetic particles in the solar wind, producing a bow shock as the solar wind was deflected," as the paper authors write. When the solar event stopped, ionization of the atmosphere ceased, and the exosphere vanished.

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5 Revelations About Ceres That Are Blowing Scientists' Minds

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Science just published six significant papers about the dwarf planet Ceres. We pored over them to see what has planetary scientists so excited.

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Apestronaut! Meet Ham, the chimp recruited by the U.S. 50 years ago to help beat Russia in the space race

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Apestronaut! Meet Ham, the chimp recruited by the U.S. 50 years ago to help beat Russia in the space race

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He may sound like a comic book character from the age of Dan Dare, but Ham the astro-chimp had a serious purpose.

One of a squadron of 40 chimpanzees specially trained by the U.S. to make a monkey out of the Soviet Union's attempt to win the space race, Ham made history 50 years ago as the first chimp to be launched into space.

With the Russians inching ever closer to the Holy Grail of sending a human into orbit, the Americans decided to use a three-year-old chimp - in the style of a gas-detecting canary in a mine - to find out whether humans would be able to survive in space.

The Soviet Union had previously sent dogs into space, but the U.S. chose chimps because of their similarities to humans.

Originally from Cameroon in Africa, and once the star attraction at a Florida zoo, Ham was purchased by the United States Air Force to boldly go where only fruit flies, rhesus monkeys and a dog called Laika had gone before.

Laika was a Russian hound who became the first animal to orbit the earth in November 1957 aboard the Sputnik 2 satellite. She survived for seven days before her oxygen ran out.

The difference with Ham - whose name was taken from the initials of the Holloman Aerospace Medical Center in New Mexico, where he was housed - was that he would not only go up into space, but also come down again safely.

He and his fellow chimps were prepared for the flight for two-and-a-half years, and taught to complete simple tasks in response to lights and sounds. Pushing a lever within five seconds of seeing a flashing blue light earned him a banana pellet; failure gave him a mild electric shock to the soles of his feet.

Teams of white-coated scientists put the apes to the test on machines that measured the stresses they could cope with in terms of gravity, velocity and heat. They were even fed the diet of banana capsules that would sustain them in space.

On January 31, 1961, Ham was launched on Mission MR-2 - but almost immediately there was a hitch. The flight path was a degree higher than it should have been, meaning the craft reached an altitude of 157 miles above the earth - higher than the planned target of 115, and oxygen levels began to drop.

For six minutes of the flight, Ham was weightless as the capsule sped across the sky at around 5,000mph.

It splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean 16 minutes and 39 seconds later, and when rescuers reached it, Ham gratefully accepted an apple and half an orange.

He was unharmed by his adventure, and went to live at the National Zoo in Washington for 17 years. He died at North Carolina Zoo at the age of 25.

The space race didn't end with his flight, though. Although the Americans could claim they had put a primate into space, the Russians argued that the flight was only sub-orbital - in other words, it hadn't gone right round the world.

On April 12, 1961, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin entered the history books when he became the first man in space aboard Vostok 1.

The Americans followed a month later on May 5 when Alan B. Shepard became their first astronaut. By then, Ham already had his feet up.

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Apestronaut! Meet Ham, the chimp recruited by the U.S. 50 years ago to help beat Russia in the space race

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One of a squadron of 40 chimpanzees specially trained by the U.S., Ham made history 50 years ago as the first chimp to be launched into space.

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Aboard the Soviet's Sputnik 2, Laika, a dog, became the very first living creature to enter orbit on November 3, 1957. However, since the Soviets did not create a re-entry plan, Laika died in space. Laika's death sparked debates about animal rights around the world.

Three Weeks to Build a Rocket

The Cold War was only a decade old when the space race between the Soviet Union and the United States began. On October 4, 1957, the Soviets were the first to successfully launch a rocket into space with their launch of Sputnik 1, a basketball-sized satellite.

Approximately a week after Sputnik 1's successful launch, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev suggested that another rocket should be launched into space to mark the 40th anniversary of the Russian Revolution on November 7, 1957. That left Soviet engineers only three weeks to fully design and build a new rocket.

Choosing a Dog

The Soviets, in ruthless competition with the United States, wanted to make another "first;" so they decided to send the first living creature into orbit. While Soviet engineers hurriedly worked on the design, three stray dogs (Albina, Mushka, and Laika) were extensively tested and trained for the flight.

The dogs were confined in small places, subjected to extremely loud noises and vibrations, and made to wear a newly created space suit. All of these tests were to condition the dogs to the experiences they would likely have during the flight. Though all three did well, it was Laika who was chosen to board Sputnik 2.

Into the Module

Laika, which means "barker" in Russian, was a three-year-old, stray mutt that weighed 13 pounds and had a calm demeanor. She was placed in her restrictive module several days in advance.

Right before launch, Laika was covered in an alcohol solution and painted with iodine in several spots so that sensors could be placed on her. The sensors were to monitor her heartbeat, blood pressure, and other bodily functions to understand any physical changes that might occur in space.

Although Laika's module was restrictive, it was padded and had just enough room for her to lay down or stand as she wished. She also had access to special, gelatinous, space food made for her.

Laika's Launch

On November 3, 1957, Sputnik 2 launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome (now located in Kazakhstan near the Aral Sea). The rocket successfully reached space and the spacecraft, with Laika inside, began to orbit the Earth. The spacecraft circled the Earth every hour and 42 minutes, traveling approximately 18,000 miles per hour.

As the world watched and waited for news of Laika's condition, the Soviet Union announced that a recovery plan had not been established for Laika. With only three weeks to create the new spacecraft, they did not have time to create a way for Laika to make it home. The de facto plan was for Laika to die in space.

Laika Dies in Space

Although all agree that Laika made it into orbit, there had long been a question as to how long she lived after that.

Some said that the plan was for her to live for several days and that her last food allotment was poisoned. Others said she died four days into the trip when there was an electrical burnout and the interior temperatures rose dramatically. And still, others said she died five to seven hours into the flight from stress and heat.

The true story of when Laika died was not revealed until 2002, when Soviet scientist Dimitri Malashenkov addressed the World Space Congress in Houston, Texas. Malashenkov ended four decades of speculation when he admitted that Laika had died from overheating just hours after the launch.

Long after Laika's death, the spacecraft continued to orbit the Earth with all its systems off until it reentered Earth's atmosphere five months later, on April 14, 1958, and burned up on reentry.

A Canine Hero

Laika proved that it was possible for a living being to enter space. Her death also sparked animal rights debates across the planet. In the Soviet Union, Laika and all the other animals that made space flight possible are remembered as heroes.

In 2008, a statue of Laika was unveiled near a military research facility in Moscow.

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How Did Laika the Dog Wind Up Being the First Animal in Space?

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Laika the dog became the very first living creature to enter orbit after being launched on board the Soviet's Sputnik 2 on November 3, 1957.

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Never before had so small and so harmless an object created such consternation.
-Daniel J. Boorstin, The Americans: The Democratic Experience

"Listen now," said the NBC radio network announcer on the night of October 4, 1957, "for the sound that forevermore separates the old from the new." Next came the chirping in the key of A-flat from outer space that the Associated Press called the "deep beep-beep." Emanating from a simple transmitter aboard the Soviet Sputnik satellite, the chirp lasted three-tenths of a second, followed by a three-tenths-of-a-second pause. This was repeated over and over again until it passed out of hearing range of the United States.

The mouse that roared

The satellite was silver in color, about the size of a beach ball, and weighed a mere 184 pounds. Yet for all its simplicity, small size, and inability to do more than orbit the Earth and transmit meaningless radio blips, the impact of Sputnik on the United States and the world was enormous and unprecedented. The vast majority of people living today, at the beginning of the 21st century, were born after Sputnik was launched and may be unaware of the degree to which it helped shape life as we know it.

Now is an especially good time to take a fresh and focused look at the event whose impact looms even larger with the passing of time. In the last decade an incredible amount of once-secret material has been declassified and made public. Scholars and writers both inside and outside government have coaxed key Cold War documents out of hiding. Collectively, this material has given new dimensions and twists to almost every aspect of the events leading up to and following the launch of Sputnik.

For example, one recently released document reveals evidence of a long-forgotten pre-Sputnik "olive branch" extended by Russian scientists, who asked their American counterparts to supply a piece of scientific equipment for a planned launch. By most indications, this piece of equipment was meant for the third Sputnik.

It was as if this orderly march into the future was a part of America's destiny.

It is not widely known even now that one of the reasons President Dwight D. Eisenhower and those around him did not react with alarm over Sputnik going into space ahead of an American satellite was that Eisenhower welcomed the launch to help establish the principle of "freedom of space" [the idea that outer space belonged to everyone, thereby allowing satellite flights over foreign countries].

At the time of the Sputnik "crisis," the White House, Central Intelligence Agency, Air Force, and a few highly select and trustworthy defense contractors were creating a spy satellite that was so secret that only a few dozen people knew of it. Even its name, CORONA, was deemed secret for many years. Instead of being concerned with winning the first round of the space race, Eisenhower and his National Security Council were much more interested in launching surveillance satellites that could tell American intelligence where every Soviet missile was located.

Heard 'round the world

For many of us born before the 1950s, the fascination and astonishment engendered by the launch of Sputnik remain fresh in our minds. Like many of my generation, I can recall exactly where I was when I heard about Sputnik's launch. I was 18 years old, a college freshman at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. A friend stopped me in the middle of the campus to say that he had heard about it on the radio. Instinctively, we both looked up.

Within hours I would actually hear its signal rebroadcast on network radio. Before the weekend was over, I got to hear it directly on a shortwave radio as it passed overhead.

Not only could you hear Sputnik, but, depending on where you were, it was possible to see it with the naked eye on certain days in the early morning or the late evening when the sun was still close enough to the horizon to illuminate it. While standing in the middle of the college football field a week or so after the launch, I first saw the satellite scooting across a dark evening sky orbiting the Earth at a speed of 18,000 miles per hour. Watching Sputnik traverse the sky was seeing history happen with my own eyes. To me, it was as if Sputnik was the starter's pistol in an exciting new race. I was electrified, delirious, as I witnessed the beginning of the Space Age.

A new world

Prior to Sputnik, popular interest in science and technology had been on the rise since as early as the 1939 "World of Tomorrow" World's Fair in Flushing Meadows, New York. I attended the fair, albeit in utero, as I was born three days after my parents' last visit. But they saved many artifacts of the fair for me, including an official guidebook, which fascinated me as a kid and jump-started my interest in all sorts of things, particularly space travel.

That guidebook turned out to be a preview of the future. Exhibits like Ford's "Road of Tomorrow," General Motors' "Futurama," and the multisponsored "Town of Tomorrow" were more than fanciful prototypes; many of their imagined advances made their way into everyday life within a couple of decades. The fair's centerpiece was "Democracity," and it heralded wartime dreams and postwar realities: superhighways, ranch-style houses, rec rooms, workshops for "do-it-yourselfers," and booming suburbs (known as "satellites" in the Democracity display) replete with prefab houses, two-car garages, and stereophonic sound. Something called "television" was actually demonstrated at the RCA exhibit.

The fair's Transportation Pavilion was devoted to space exploration. There was a rocketport, a moonport, and a rocketship shot from a "rocketgun." In one lavish demonstration you could simulate blastoff on a trip to Venus. Once there, you could stroll a primeval jungle inhabited by immense Venusian beasts and a colony of Martians. The fair promised a day when sleek vehicles would take passengers to the planets as easily as they could fly from New York to Chicago. It was as if this orderly march into the future was a part of America's destiny.

As it turned out, the real "world of tomorrow" was delayed because of World War II, but its vision was carried intact into the late 1940s and early 1950s, when it began to be realized. Americans who had struggled through the Great Depression and the war embraced the promise of a burgeoning middle class having goods, services, and comforts that formerly had been the province of European royalty. The average family's car had more pure horsepower than existed in all the stables of Buckingham Palace a generation earlier.

"No event since Pearl Harbor set off such repercussions in public life."

By 1957, a new world was at hand for the United States. The country was creating an interstate highway system; the suburbs were growing; families with two cars and color televisions were becoming the norm. The highest peacetime federal budget in history ($71.8 billion) was in place, and it was the first year in which more than 1,000 computers would be built, bought, and shipped. There were advances in public health, although none more stunning than Dr. Jonas Salk's discovery of a vaccine against polio, the scourge of an entire generation of children.

At the same time, social changes were beginning to transform the United States. A great struggle to achieve a more egalitarian society was beginning. The first civil rights legislation since Reconstruction had been enacted in Congress on September 9, less than a month before Sputnik's launch. The Arkansas National Guard was in Little Rock, Arkansas, enforcing the right of blacks to go to school with whites. Culturally as well, the country was moving to a different beat. Rock 'n' roll had come onto the scene, and Elvis Presley owned the summer of 1957 with his two-sided monster hit record of "Don't Be Cruel" and "Hound Dog."

The Army's Wernher von Braun, seen here with a model rocket, was prevented from making America's first attempt to put a satellite in orbit and was forced to defer to a team from the Naval Research Laboratory. When the Navy's Vanguard failed, von Braun put America in space with Explorer in January, 1958.

A Crisis of Confidence

Just when Americans were feeling self-confident and optimistic about the future, along came the crude, kerosene-powered Sputnik launch. The space race was under way, and the Soviets had won the first leg-the United States was agog and unnerved.

"No event since Pearl Harbor set off such repercussions in public life," wrote historian Walter A. McDougall in The Heavens and the Earth-A Political History of the Space Age. Simon Ramo, space pioneer and cofounder of Thompson Ramo Woolridge, later known as TRW, Inc., wrote in The Business of Science that "the American response to the accomplishment of the Soviet Union was comparable to the reaction I could remember to Lindbergh's landing in France, the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, and Franklin D. Roosevelt's death."

There was a sudden crisis of confidence in American technology, values, politics, and the military. Science, technology, and engineering were totally reworked and massively funded in the shadow of Sputnik. The Russian satellite essentially forced the United States to place a new national priority on research science, which led to the development of microelectronics-the technology used in today's laptop, personal, and handheld computers. Many essential technologies of modern life, including the Internet, owe their early development to the accelerated pace of applied research triggered by Sputnik.

On another level, Sputnik affected national attitudes toward conspicuous consumption as well, symbolically killing off the market for the Edsel automobile and the decadent automotive tail fin. It was argued that the engineering talents of the nation were being wasted on frivolities. Americans, wrote historian Samuel Flagg Bemis from the vantage point of 1962, "had been experiencing the world crisis from soft seats of comfort, debauched by [the] mass media..., pandering for selfish profit to the lowest level of our easy appetites, fed full of toys and gewgaws, our power, our manpower softened in will and body in a climate of amusement."

Spur for spacemen

Sputnik also changed people's lives in ways that filtered into modern popular culture. Sputnik was the instrument that gave Stephen King the "dread" that fuels his novels, caused the prolific Isaac Asimov to begin calling himself a science writer rather than a science fiction writer, inspired Ross Perot to create an electronics dynasty, and led others to become cosmonauts and astronauts.

NASA astronaut Franklin R. Chang-Díaz is a case in point. He was born on April 5, 1950, in San José, Costa Rica. On a trip to Venezuela in October 1957, the seven-year-old was told by his mother to look skyward to see the Russian satellite crossing the night sky. Although the young Franklin could not spot Sputnik, he became so infatuated with the fact that human influence had moved into space that he decided then and there that this was his future. Once the American manned space program was under way, he wrote to Wernher von Braun, director of the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, to find out how he might apply to become an astronaut. In the form letter that came back, he was advised to get a scientific or engineering degree and learn to fly. He also was told that he would have to become an American citizen. The United States, after all, was in a race with the Soviet Union.

At 18 he came to the United States from Costa Rica; he received a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Connecticut in 1973 and a doctorate in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1977. Along the way he became a U.S. citizen and then in 1981 an astronaut. Chang-Díaz hopes to go to Mars eventually.

The space race begins

Politically, Sputnik created a perception of American weakness, complacency, and a "missile gap," which led to bitter accusations, resignations of key military figures, and contributed to the election of John F. Kennedy, who emphasized the space gap and the role of the Eisenhower-Nixon administration in creating it. But although the Sputnik episode publicly depicted Eisenhower as passive and unconcerned, he was fiercely dedicated to averting nuclear war at a time when the threat was very real. His concern for national security took precedence over any concerns about beating the Russians into Earth orbit.

Without Sputnik, it is all but certain that there would not have been a race to the moon.

When Kennedy as president decided to put Americans on the moon, he did so with the belief that voters who had been kids at the time of Sputnik were more willing than their parents to pay the high price of going into space.

Diplomatically, Sputnik helped realign the United States and Great Britain as allies. For a decade, ties between the two nations had weakened partly due to the 1946 Atomic Energy Act, which had deprived the United Kingdom of American nuclear secrets, and partly because of the strong position that the United States had taken against the British and French during the Suez Crisis, which had been prompted by Egypt's seizure of the Suez Canal in July 1956. Now with the common threat of Soviet power implied by Sputnik, NATO was strengthened, guaranteeing the placement of American nuclear arms in Europe. The satellite touched off a superpower competition that may well have acted as a surrogate contest for universal power-perhaps even a stand-in for nuclear world war.

NASA chief historian Roger D. Launius wrote on the 40th anniversary of the launch: "To a remarkable degree, the Soviet announcement changed the course of the Cold War.... Two generations after the event, words do not easily convey the American reaction to the Soviet satellite." Without Sputnik, it is all but certain that there would not have been a race to the moon, which became the centerpiece contest of the Cold War.

To the moon

From the outset, wrangling among the branches of the military over control of the rockets that would take the United States into space threatened the success of the American space program even before Sputnik. Eisenhower was at odds with his generals over the program, and each branch of the service had its own aspirations of going into space. The main event pitted the Army's von Braun and his Rocket Team in Huntsville, Alabama against a team from the Naval Research Laboratory. The Army had the mighty Jupiter C rocket and its own Orbiter or Deal satellite (later to become Explorer) pitted against the Navy's experimental Viking rocket and Vanguard satellite.

The most powerful early rockets were developed as weapons-first as German V-2 technology from World War II and ultimately as intercontinental ballistic missiles. The space program seemed destined for civilian control just as the power of the atomic bomb had been taken from the military a decade earlier. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration began in 1958 as a reaction to Sputnik and as a means for turning missiles into launch vehicles for America's civilian space efforts.

President Eisenhower opposed sending men to the moon, but his successor, John F. Kennedy, made a lunar landing a national priority. Receiving virtual carte blanche in budget requests, NASA won the race for the United States, but victory was by no means an easy feat.

National insecurity, wounded national pride, infighting, political grandstanding, clandestine plots, and ruthless media frenzy were but a few of the things the United States had to overcome to bounce back from the blow dealt to the nation by Sputnik.

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Editor's Notes

This feature originally appeared on the site for the NOVA program Sputnik Declassified.

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Never before had so small and so harmless an object created such consternation. -Daniel J. Boorstin, The Americans: The Democratic Experience "Listen now," said the NBC radio network announcer on the night of October 4, 1957, "for the sound that forevermore separates the old from the new."

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China launches two-man crew to station module

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China launches two-man crew to station module

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A Chinese Long March rocket boosted two astronauts, or "taikonauts," into orbit Sunday evening for a planned month-long stay aboard the Tiangong-2 -- "Heavenly Palace" -- space station module, China's sixth and longest piloted space flight to date.

The Long March 2F booster lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China's Gobi Desert at 7:30 p.m. EDT (GMT-4; 7:30 a.m. Monday local time), roughly the moment Earth's rotation carried the pad into the plane of Tiangong-2's 240-mile-high orbit.

Video from on-board cameras showed mission commander Jing Haipeng, making his third spaceflight, and flight engineer Chen Dong, making his first, calmly monitoring cockpit displays as the Shenzhou-11 spacecraft streaked toward orbit.

Nine minutes after liftoff, Shenzhou-11 separated from the rocket's upper stage, unfolded its solar arrays and set off after Tiangong-2. If all goes well, the crew will monitor an automated docking on Tuesday, kicking off a month-long stay in orbit.

"The rocket is flying according to its original plan and the Shenzhou spacecraft has entered into its preliminary orbit," Gen. Zhang Youxia, chief commander of China's human space program, said through an interpreter. "The solar panel has been unfolded and the crew is in great condition. Hereby I announce the launch of Shenzhou-11 is a complete success."

Chinese President Xi Jinping sent congratulations to the launch team, saying the Shenzhou-11 mission with Tiangong-2 "marks a new milestone in our manned space flight mission in China."

Tiangong-2 is China's second experimental space station module, an upgraded habitat with improved life support systems, power, communications and research equipment.

The goal of the mission is to carry out a variety of experiments while testing the module's critical systems to pave the way toward construction of a large multi-module space station around the end of the decade.

Mission commander Jing spent 15-and-a-half days in space during the Shenzhou-7 and Shenzhou-9 missions in 2008 and 2012.

"The Olympic games are held every four years," he said through an interpreter at a pre-launch news conference. "I conducted my first space mission in 2008. Then again, my second in 2012. Now, another four years has just passed. I think I need to learn from (the) Chinese Olympic shooter who has participated in nine Olympic games. I still have a long way to go!"

Flight engineer Chen is a veteran fighter pilot making his first space flight.

"My current focus is on how to complete the mission perfectly," he said before launch. "I'm feeling relatively calm. But I was very excited when I was chosen. I felt so, so lucky. ... I didn't know much about aerospace, so I needed to spend extra time and energy to study basic theories. There was quite a tight schedule. We felt much pressure at that time."

Like Russia's Soyuz ferry craft, the Shenzhou spacecraft can carry three crew members. But to pull off a month-long mission aboard the prototype station module, China opted to launch just two crew members and to carry additional supplies instead.

"After entering Tiangong-2, the taikonauts will carry out many experiments, which show the roles, effects and value of humans in many space activities," said Wu Ping, a spokeswoman for China's Manned Space Engineering Office.

The crew members will carry out materials science experiments, medical research, three student experiments, plant growth studies and test orbital repair techniques.

At the conclusion of their mission, Jing and Chen will undock and return to Earth in the Shenzhou spacecraft's central descent module, landing under parachutes, Soyuz fashion, in Inner Mongolia.

The Shenzhou-11 flight is the latest in a series of incremental steps leading to assembly of an operational, Mir-class space station, an orbital laboratory that will reach maturity around the time the much larger International Space Station is being retired.

Taking a step-by-step approach, China became the third nation, after the United States and the Soviet Union/Russia, to launch a piloted spacecraft in October 2003 when Yang Liwei blasted off aboard the Shenzhou-5 spacecraft.

Shenzhou-6, carrying two crew members, was successfully launched in October 2005 and Shenzhou-7, carrying Jing, Zhai Zhigang and Liu Boming, flew in September 2008.

Tiangong-1, China's first prototype station module, was launched in September 2011 to serve as a target for rendezvous and docking missions. One month after launch, the unmanned Shenzhou-8 spacecraft carried out an automated rendezvous and televised docking with the research module.

China followed that flight by launching Jing, Liu Wang and Liu Yang on the Shenzhou 9 mission in June 2012. They carried out the program's first piloted rendezvous and docking.

Tiangong-2 will host astronauts "for up to 30 days whereas in the past it was short visits only," said Joan Johnson-Freese, a professor at the Naval War College and a noted expert on China's space program. "Life support systems was one of the areas that China really had no experience in whatsoever, so they've been taking it very slow and cautiously."

If all goes well, China will launch the unpiloted Tianzhou-1 cargo ship next spring to autonomously dock with Tiangong-2. Like Russian Progress space freighters, Tianzhou 1 will be capable of automatically transferring propellants, a crucial requirement for space station assembly and maintenance.

"That will further their docking capabilities needed for the larger space station," Johnson-Freese said. "Tiangong-2 is supposed to be able to stay in orbit for two years or longer, so that's taking them really close to 2019 or so. I think this will be their last big technology test phase before going to their large space station."

Tiangong-1, launched in September 2011, gave the Chinese experience with autonomous dockings. It was visited by two crews, including China's first two female astronauts, with stays lasting up to 15 days or so.

Like Tiangong-1, Tiangong-2 measuring 34 feet long and 11 feet across at its widest. But Tiangong-2 is a much more advanced spacecraft, with enhanced life support equipment, refueling systems, more than 40 experiments and accommodations to support two astronauts for a month at a time.

"The astronauts can now have a better dining and sleeping environment in the spacelab, and they have also physical exercises for experiments and recreation facilities," Wu Ping said in translated remarks last month. "These changes will make the 30-day life for the astronaut in space more comfortable, convenient and more colorful."

The Shenzhou spacecraft and the two Tiangong spacelab modules are critical elements of China's Project 921, which is aimed at perfecting low-Earth orbit space transportation, rendezvous and docking technology, in-orbit maintenance before the eventual construction of a large 65-ton space station.

For comparison, the International Space Station operated by the United States, Russia, Europe, Canada and Japan, is the size of a football field, weighs more than 450 tons and has a multi-module pressurized volume comparable to a 747 jumbo jet. It has been staffed with rotating crews of up to six astronauts and cosmonauts for the past 16 years.

William Harwood

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China launches two-man crew to station module

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Two Chinese astronauts, or "taikonauts," launched on a two-day flight to a space station module for a month-long stay

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The historic event captivated the world—and helped people look to the future.

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A little more than 40 years ago, an American astronaut climbed down the ladder of his lunar landing module - the Eagle - and became the first human to touch the moon's surface. As he steadied himself, he said: "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." Around the globe, an estimated 530 million people watched on their televisions as Neil Armstrong uttered those now-famous words. On August 25, this American hero died at age 82.

Armstrong and fellow moon walker Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin briefly became the first ambassadors to another world on July 20, 1969. Setting foot on another celestial body was a massive and breathtaking achievement. And Armstrong's words brought the human scale of that accomplishment to households around the world.

"Neil was among the greatest of American heroes - not just of his time, but of all time," said President Barack Obama. "When [Armstrong] and his fellow crew members lifted off aboard Apollo 11 in 1969, they carried with them the aspirations of an entire nation." These men showed the world "that with enough drive and ingenuity, anything is possible," the president added. And these brave individuals "delivered a moment of human achievement that will never be forgotten."

Preparing for a life of exploration

Armstrong fell in love with flying at a young age. By 15 he was already taking lessons. He picked up odd jobs around his hometown to pay for flight time in a small airplane. He got his student's flying permit, at 16, before he got his driver's license.

In college, he trained as an aeronautical and aerospace engineer. In this field, people learn how to design and control not only aircraft but also jets and other propulsion systems.

But before he could finish college, Armstrong was called up for military service. He signed on to become a Navy fighter pilot. He flew 78 combat missions in Korea. During one, his plane was hit and he had to parachute out. It was an event that could have killed him. But it didn't frighten him off of flying. Instead, he went back to school and finished his studies. Then he joined a federal agency that would become the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA.

There, for 17 years, Neil Armstrong held a number of different jobs. He started as a test pilot for many pioneering aircraft. These included the X-15, an experimental vehicle that could zoom through the atmosphere at more than 4,000 miles per hour! He made seven flights on that space plane, at one point reaching an altitude of 63,198 meters (207,500 feet). That's about six times higher than today's standard jumbo jets. And he didn't just pilot the X-15. He also worked closely with the aircraft's engineers and designers to improve the plane's flight controls. In all, Armstrong flew more than 200 different models of aircraft, including jets, helicopters and gliders.

That all changed in 1962 when Armstrong joined NASA's astronaut corps. Suddenly, his focus became rocketry and space exploration. Within four years, he was given the command of the Gemini 8 spacecraft, from which he controlled the first successful docking, or linkup, of two vehicles in space.

But the highlight of his career was Apollo 11, that famous mission to the moon. And almost 1 in 5 people alive at the time shared in the excitement, watching as blurry television images showed Armstrong descending to the lunar surface.

His team's landing module had set down in a region known as the Sea of Tranquility. Within 20 minutes, Aldrin joined him. There, the two took photos, collected moon rocks and set up some science experiments.

They also left mementos for future space travelers. These included a patch carrying the names of Virgil Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee - Apollo 1 crew members who died in a launchpad fire. Armstrong and Aldrin also left medals inscribed with the names of Vladimir Komarov and Yuri Gagarin, two Russian astronauts (called cosmonauts) who died during space flights in 1967 and 1968. Finally, they left a small silicon disc that carried a miniature goodwill message from 73 world leaders (its message is so small that you would need a microscope to see the words).
Neil Armstrong walking on the moon for the first time.
Aldrin returned to the Eagle after 93 minutes on the moon's surface. Armstrong, the mission's commander, stayed 40 minutes longer. He savored the last bits of this huge adventure. Then the pair rejoined Michael Collins aboard the Apollo 11 space capsule for their return trip home. In all, the team spent more than eight days in space and traveled 953,054 miles (more than 1.5 million kilometers).

And still their trip wasn't really over. The men couldn't step out of their space suits and rush to hug their families for another three weeks. Once back on Earth, the men had to remain in quarantine. It was a precautionary measure to make sure no one had picked up a dangerous germ during their lunar trek and carried it home.

After his Apollo 11 trip to the moon, Armstrong stayed on at NASA and eventually rose to become its deputy associate administrator, in Washington, D.C. Later, he became a college professor, teaching aerospace engineering. He then worked for several aerospace companies. It seems the man never could get enough of the idea of cruising through - and occasionally outside of - Earth's atmosphere.

After his death, Armstrong's family issued a statement. They said, in part: "While we mourn the loss of a very good man, we also celebrate his remarkable life and hope that it serves as an example to young people around the world to work hard to make their dreams come true, to be willing to explore and push the limits, and to selflessly serve a cause greater than themselves."

Observes NASA Administrator Charles Bolden: "As long as there are history books, Neil Armstrong will be included in them, remembered for taking humankind's first small step on a world beyond our own."

As a mark of respect for Armstrong and what his achievements represented, President Obama ordered that flags throughout the country and at U.S. embassies abroad be lowered to half-staff on the day Armstrong is buried.

aerospace A research field devoted to the study of Earth's atmosphere and the space beyond or to aircraft that travel in the atmosphere and space.

astronautics A research field specializing in the design and construction of aircraft - including those created for space travel.

Apollo missions NASA's third human spaceflight program. It sought to develop the technologies needed for long-distance space travel. It got a big kick-start after President John F. Kennedy proposed in 1961 creating the national goal of "landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth."

astronaut People trained to travel into space for research and exploration.

celestial body Any naturally formed objects of substantial size in space. Examples include comets, asteroids, planets, moons, stars and galaxies.

cosmonaut Russian term for astronaut.

docking The act of bringing together and inserting one thing into another.

engineer An individual who applies science to practical purposes, such as the design or development of machines, structures or systems.

lander A special, small vehicle designed to ferry humans between a spacecraft and the celestial body they will explore.

lunar Relating to Earth's moon.

propulsion The act or process of driving something forward, using a force. For instance, jet engines are one type of propulsion for keeping airplanes aloft.

Janet Raloff is the Editor, Digital of Science News Explores. Prior to this, she was an environmental reporter for Science News, specializing in toxicology. To her never-ending surprise, her daughter became a toxicologist.

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Forty-five years ago, an American astronaut climbed down the ladder of his lunar landing module - the Eagle - and became the first human to touch the moon's surface.

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SpaceX announces private mission to moon in 2018

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SpaceX announces private mission to moon in 2018

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It's been decades since a human traveled to the moon, but SpaceX plans to return in 2018 thanks to the interest of two individuals willing to pay for the awesome opportunity to join the ranks of astronauts.

Elon Musk's space company announced plans for a 2018 private moon mission on Monday. The mission, if successful, will be the most significant private space mission in world history.

"We are excited to announce that SpaceX has been approached to fly two private citizens on a trip around the moon late next year," the release stated. "They have already paid a significant deposit to do a moon mission."
RELATED: Relive the Apollo 11 moon landing

SpaceX did not reveal the identities of the presumably wealthy would-be space travelers. Both individuals will be required to pass a series of fitness tests before taking flight in order to ensure they are fit for a trip to space.
SEE MORE: UFO sightings are at an all-time high
If cleared for space flight, the private mission will use SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft, which will begin carrying crew and cargo the International Space Station as part of a deal with NASA.

The company thanked NASA for its support in this endeavor as well, noting that the U.S. space agency has encouraged private space travel in order to help defray long-term government costs and helping to increase flight reliability data, "benefiting both government and private missions."

A total of 12 astronauts set foot on the moon in the 20th century as part of NASA's Apollo missions. A total of 24 traveled to the moon, but many only orbited and never set foot.

Eugene Cernan, the last man to set foot on the lunar surface, passed away earlier this year at the age of 82.

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SpaceX announces private mission to moon in 2018

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It's been decades since anyone traveled to the moon -- but SpaceX is set to change that next year with a historic, private moon mission.

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NASA Prepares For Risks In Private Space Travel

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NASA Prepares For Risks In Private Space Travel

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As NASA somberly marks the 25th anniversary of the space shuttle Challenger accident, the agency is looking ahead to the retirement of its aging space shuttle fleet later this year. The next astronauts to travel to space may go instead by private spacecraft designed and owned by commercial companies.

But a deadly accident like Challenger could have serious ramifications for the fledgling commercial space industry as it tries to take over the job of ferrying astronauts up to low Earth orbit and the International Space Station.

Any accident would probably result in a long investigation and spaceflights being grounded - after Challenger and Columbia, it was years before the shuttles flew again. What would that do to a private company?

"A lot depends on how the private company reacts, and a lot of it depends on the root cause of the failure," says Ken Bowersox, a former NASA astronaut who now works on safety issues for SpaceX, one of the private companies vying to someday take NASA astronauts and other paying customers to orbit.

"But you can imagine that any company in that situation would have a lot of pressure on it," says Bowersox.

NASA would also be under scrutiny, even if it didn't own the spacecraft carrying its astronauts, says Ed Mango, who heads the space transportation planning office at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

For a few years after the space shuttles become museum exhibits, NASA astronauts will get to space on Russian Soyuz capsules. But Mango says that by around 2015 or 2016, it's possible that astronauts could be riding on the outer space version of rental cars - spacecraft designed and owned not by NASA but by private companies.

Even if that happens, though, "the responsibility for the mission is still ultimately accountable to NASA," Mango says. "And if the vehicle does not fly right, then we will be held accountable for what has happened."

Designing To NASA's Standards
So NASA has been preparing a list of safety standards that a private spaceship would have to meet before any NASA astronaut climbs onboard. Some space industry watchers have criticized a draft of these standards as being too onerous.

But Bowersox says his company is just glad to finally get this guidance from NASA.

"Safety is our No. 1 priority at SpaceX when it comes to building our rockets," he says.

An unmanned test version of the SpaceX capsule has already launched, orbited Earth and returned as planned. If the company has a number of successful missions carrying cargo, people could be next.

And just because the SpaceX rocket ship is designed to be cheap, that doesn't mean it won't be safe, says Bowersox. "Let's look at a Ferrari and a Honda Civic," he says. "They're greatly different in cost, but would you say that the little economy cars are less safe or more safe than the Ferrari?"

Other companies, such as Orbital Sciences Corporation of Virginia, also hope to soon offer crew launching services for NASA.
Handling A Disaster
Mango says government officials are discussing what might need to be done to ensure that a commercial space company could financially survive the aftermath of a disaster, if NASA had come to depend on its launch services for astronauts. "In general, we are looking at that," says Mango. "We don't have a solution that's pounded flat. We are looking at it."

It's unclear how the public would feel about a major disaster with a private spaceship, if people started riding them. John Logsdon, a space policy expert with George Washington University, says if an accident occurred during some of the first commercial trips up, it might create doubt about whether private companies can really manage the risks of human spaceflight

"But if it's three years in to a regular service, I think it would be, not exactly ho-hum, but more akin to an aircraft accident than a space accident," says Logsdon.

After all, these private space companies wouldn't be boldly exploring a new frontier, as NASA used to. They'd just be providing a kind of commuter flight to the space station.

"Yes, there are risks involved, but there is nothing written in stone that says the government can manage those risks better than the private sector," says Logsdon.

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NASA Prepares For Risks In Private Space Travel

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With the space shuttle program on its final flights, NASA may soon turn to private companies to build and transport astronauts and equipment to space. But if a deadly accident happens, who's ultimately responsible, and how will the public respond?

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If You Want To Go Into Space, Don't Expect A Seatbelt Sign Or A Flight Attendant Lecture

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If You Want To Go Into Space, Don't Expect A Seatbelt Sign Or A Flight Attendant Lecture

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From Texas Standard:

It's a bird. It's a plane. It's a space shuttle filled with tourists?

While that idea sounds like science fiction, the reality of sending tourists to space is right around the corner - at least if you believe Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. He recently announced that Blue Origin, his private space company, could begin flying private citizens to the edge of the atmosphere by next year.

Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX and Bezos' chief competitor in private space flight, says his company plans to send two people around the moon and back by the end of 2018.

All of this raises the question of who will be writing and enforcing safety protocols for private space travel. As of now, the companies themselves will be writing their own safety rules, says Tim Fernholz, a writer for Quartz.

"We're moving into a brave new era now where private companies are taking on more and more of the share of space work," he says. "NASA is primarily a scientific and exploratory agency and they don't want to be in charge of wrangling everybody in the country that wants to go to space."

The Federal Aviation Administration, the agency that regulates airlines, will be in charge of creating and enforcing safety regulations. But its purview goes only so far.

"The FAA's main jurisdiction is making sure nobody on the ground is hurt if something goes wrong, [like] if a rocket blows up," Fernholz says. This is already happening in Van Horn, Texas, where Blue Origin has its headquarters.

The question of who will be in charge of keeping space tourists safe during flight is a gray area because the FAA doesn't currently have control over that aspect of space flight. The agency has made rules only about things crew members must be protected from, or must have, because the crew is considered part of a flight's safety system.

"Passengers are just told, 'Hey, the U.S. government did not certify this plane, here are the risks and sign on the dotted line,'" Fernholz says.

Until the number of private space tourists increases beyond the single digits, the question of who will write the rules remains on the back burner. There have been discussions about whether an independent commercial space flight regulatory body that is separate from the FAA should be created.

Fernholz says that the important thing to remember about space tourism is that it's an industry with lots of delays. He cites Virgin Galactic as a prime example; the company has been working to send a private citizen to space since 2005 and still hasn't launched a successful flight. It's unlikely that the company will even begin operations before 2019.
Written by Molly Smith.

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If You Want To Go Into Space, Don't Expect A Seatbelt Sign Or A Flight Attendant Lecture

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From Texas Standard:It's a bird. It's a plane. It's a space shuttle filled with tourists? While that idea sounds like science fiction, the reality of...

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Going green: SpaceX sends the first recycled spacecraft back into orbit

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Going green: SpaceX sends the first recycled spacecraft back into orbit

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Newsela | Instructional Content Platform

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Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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By DONNA GORDON BLANKINSHIP, Associated Press

KENT, Wash. (AP) - Private space travel company Blue Origin expects its first test flights with people in 2017, company founder Jeff Bezos said Tuesday during a tour of the venture's research and development site outside Seattle.

And Bezos said thousands of people have expressed interest in eventually paying for a trip on a suborbital craft.

For now, the man who founded Amazon.com is spending some of the billions earned from the Seattle-based online retailer on high tech equipment and about 600 employees working in a former Boeing airplane parts facility. Bezos said he's convinced the company - a vision of his childhood dreams_will eventually be profitable.

The company isn't taking deposits yet, so it's unclear whether thousands of interested space travelers will translate into sales.

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Blue Origin, founded in 2000, has launched a ship twice, and it landed safely. The company plans to keep testing until its usefulness is done then switch to other ships being built to test human flight.

The real money will be made selling rocket engines to others planning to launch satellites and spaceships, Bezos said. United Launch Alliance has asked Blue Origin to build the engine for its new launch vehicle so it can stop relying on Russian-made engines.

Bezos, who still has his day job at Amazon, said he's deeply involved at Blue Origin and spends time in the Kent facility, about 17 miles south of Seattle. He enthusiastically shared technical details and explanations during a media tour and one engineer said he was as knowledgeable about the technology as anyone in the building.

"I only pursue things that I am passionate about," Bezos said. He spoke of dreaming of space travel and building rockets since he was 5.

He said he wasn't ready to share exactly how much he has invested in the space venture, saying just that all the high tech equipment and about 600 employees have added up to "a very significant number."

The media-shy company said welcoming the press to their development floor was a first step toward more openness, but all but a few photographs of the facility were prohibited.

Bezos said he wasn't concerned about his competition to build the next generation of rocket engines because society will need lots of help moving industry and people off the planet.

A handful of other U.S. companies are currently competing in the private space business, including SpaceX and Virgin Galactic, which are also at the testing stage.

Bezos doesn't care about being the first private company to offer space tourism to the masses. The real goal is to perfect their equipment by flying as many as 100 suborbital flights a year. Bezos said safety is the No. 1 goal.

The company also wants to eventually decrease the cost of space launches by enough to put projects like building a colony on Mars within reach. The key is making spaceships reusable, which is Blue Origin's goal, Bezos said.

"What I know you cannot afford is throwing the hardware away," he said.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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KENT, Wash. (AP) - Private space company Blue Origin expects it will launch its first human test flights into space in 2017.

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National Geo Kids: History of Space Travel

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National Geo Kids: History of Space Travel

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The first earthling to orbit our planet was just two years old, plucked from the streets of Moscow barely more than a week before her historic launch. Her name was Laika. She was a terrier mutt and by all accounts a good dog. Her 1957 flight paved the way for space exploration back when scientists didn't know if spaceflight was lethal for living things.

Humans are explorers. Since before the dawn of civilization, we've been lured over the horizon to find food or more space, to make a profit, or just to see what's beyond those trees or mountains or oceans. Our ability to explore reached new heights-literally-in the last hundred years. Airplanes shortened distances, simplified travel, and showed us Earth from a new perspective. By the middle of the last century, we aimed even higher.

Our first steps into space began as a race between the United States and the former Soviet Union, rivals in a global struggle for power. Laika was followed into orbit four years later by the first human, Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri A. Gagarin. With Earth orbit achieved, we turned our sights on the moon. The United States landed two astronauts on its stark surface in 1969, and five more manned missions followed. The U.S.'s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched probes to study the solar system. Manned space stations began glittering in the sky. NASA developed reusable spacecraft-space shuttle orbiters-to ferry astronauts and satellites to orbit. Space-travel technology had advanced light-years in just three decades. Gagarin had to parachute from his spaceship after reentry from orbit. The space shuttle leaves orbit at 16,465 miles an hour (26,498 kilometers an hour) and glides to a stop on a runway without using an engine.

Space travel is nothing like in the movies. Getting from A to B requires complex calculations involving inertia and gravity-literally, rocket science-to "slingshot" from planet to planet (or moon) across the solar system. The Voyager mission of the 1970s took advantage of a rare alignment of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune to shave off nearly 20 years of travel time. Space is also dangerous. More than 20 astronauts have died doing their job.

That hasn't stopped people from signing up and blasting off. NASA's shuttle program has ended, but private companies are readying their own space programs. A company called Planetary Resources plans to send robot astronauts to the Asteroid Belt to mine for precious metals. Another company named SpaceX is hoping to land civilian astronauts on Mars-the next human step into the solar system-in 20 years. NASA and other civilian companies are planning their own Mars missions. Maybe you'll be a member of one? Don't forget to bring your dog.

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Learn about the history of humans traveling into space.

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For centuries, people dreamed about leaving Earth and travelling to other worlds. Then, in 1957, the Soviet Union made the first small step into space by launching a small satellite, called Sputnik. The Space Age had begun.

Early space activities were dominated by the United States and the Soviet Union. However, as time went by, Europe and Japan also learned how to build their own satellites and rockets. Today, countries such as China, India, South Korea, Israel and Brazil are developing their own space industries.

During the last 60 years, unmanned probes have been sent towards all of the planets in the Solar System, as well as many satellites, asteroids and comets. Spacecraft have soft-landed on half a dozen worlds, while rovers have driven over the surfaces of the Moon and Mars. The Sun has also been explored in great detail by a fleet of spacecraft.

Many space observatories, such as the Hubble Space Telescope, have been launched to look at the distant Universe. They have sent back some amazing pictures taken in visible light. But they can also observe stars and galaxies at wavelengths that are invisible to human eyes - radio, infrared, ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays. The flood of discoveries has changed the way we look at the Universe.

More than 500 people have also flown in space since Yuri Gagarin paved the way in 1961. 20 people have travelled to the Moon and 12 of them have walked on the Moon. Space stations have been built, and astronauts have learned to live and work in space for many months, or even years.

Last modified 26 January 2011

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For centuries, people dreamed about leaving Earth and travelling to other worlds. Then, in 1957, the Soviet Union made the first small step into space by launching a small satellite, called Sputnik. The Space Age had begun.

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The New York Times: Monday July 21, 1969

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The complete edition of the New York Times published on Monday July 21, 1969.