Long awaited satellite to monitor water cycle reaches orbit

The 658kg (1,450 lb) Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) this week carried a payload composed of a single instrument – the Microwave Imaging Radiometer using Aperture Synthesis (MIRAS). The SMOS is the first ever satellite designed both to map sea surface salinity and to monitor soil [...]

Spider webs hold the key to stronger bioadhesives

Spiders are remarkable animals: with over 40,000 classified species, they are among the most diverse known to man and can adapt to the most radical climatic conditions. The silky substance they produce to spin webs has been extensively studied and is known to rival steel in strength: a less-known fact, however, is that the “glue” [...]

Article: What Is Graves’ Disease? What Causes Graves’ Disease?

Written by Christian Nordqvist
Graves’ disease is an autoimmune disease in which the patient’s own immune system attacks the thyroid gland, causing it to produce too much thyroxine. Thyroxine (T4) is a hormone produced by the thyroid gland that has four iodine molecules attached to its molecular structure. T4, as well as other thyroid hormones help [...]