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Solar eclipses are some of nature's most dramatic celestial performances. Solar eclipses occur when the Earth, moon and sun are aligned in the same plane and the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, partially or completely covering our closest star. The next total solar eclipse will occur on Aug. 21, 2017 — learn more on that below. There are four types of solar eclipses: total, annular, partial and hybrid. Here's what causes each type: Total solar eclipses These are a happy accident of nature. The sun's 864,000-mile (1.4 million kilometers) diameter is fully 400 times greater than that of Earth's moon, which measures just about 2,160 miles (nearly 3,500 km). But the moon also happens to be about 400 times closer to Earth than the sun (the ratio varies as both orbits are elliptical), and as a result, when the orbital planes intersect and the distances align favorably, the new moon can appear to completely blot out the disk of the sun. On the average a total ecl

A highly anticipated clinical trial has shown that treating patients with epilepsy with a compound derived from marijuana can significantly reduce and, in some cases, eliminate seizures in children and young adults. In the study, children and young adults with a rare and debilitating form of epilepsy called Dravet syndrome who took doses of  marijuana  extract experienced half as many seizures per month as those who received a placebo. And 5 percent of those treated with the marijuana extract, called cannabidiol, became seizure-free during the study period. [ 25 Odd Facts About Marijuana ] Currently, there aren't any medications that can completely control seizures in children with Dravet syndrome, according to the  Epilepsy Foundation . The study, published today (May 24) in the  New England Journal of Medicine , is among the first to provide solid, clinical evidence to support a form of treatment that is becoming fairly widespread with the advent of medical marijuana, but whi

In 1912, Charles Dawson, an amateur archaeologist in England, claimed he'd made one of the most important fossil discoveries ever. Ultimately, however, his "Piltdown Man" proved to be a hoax. By cleverly pairing a human skull with an orangutan's jaw – stained to match and give the appearance of age – a mysterious forger duped the scientific world. In the decades between the find's unearthing and the revelation it was fraudulent, people in the United States and around the world learned about Piltdown Man as a "missing link" connecting ape and man. Newspaper articles, scientific publications  and museum exhibitions  all presented Piltdown Man as a legitimate scientific discovery supporting a particular vision of human evolution. Historians, science writers and others have  investigated the Piltdown Man controversy  over the years, shedding  new light on the fraud . As we reconsider the nature of " facts ," " fake news " and knowledge

A morbidly obese macaque who lives near a floating market in Thailand is raising eyebrows for his sheer size. At about 33 lbs. (15 kilograms), the chubby monkey, dubbed "Uncle Fatty" by tourists in the park, dwarfs his average-size comrades, who typically weigh about between 13.2 and 15.4 lbs. (6 and 7 kg), said Patricia Turner, a pathobiologist at the University of Guelph in Canada, who has studied  obesity  in macaques. The portly primate is now entering a special wildlife rescue center to get to a healthier state. But how exactly did Uncle Fatty get so rotund, and are the causes and consequences of obesity in animals similar to those found in humans? "Like humans,  macaques  become obese from consuming excess calories — regardless of the type of food," Turner told Live Science in an email. And it turns out that Uncle Fatty isn't alone: As animals that live in association with humans take up the habits of people, the animals too are facing increased rates

  Popularly referred to as Vitamin B12, cobalamin is the most complex of all proteins, it's complex structures comes as no surprise as regards it's vast biological functions.   Cobalamin is essential in erthropoesis and also in the functioning of the nervous system, it is also vital in cell metabolism of amino acids and fatty acids, it is also essential in DNA synthesis.   This wide area of function of cobalamin makes it a very essential vitamin as it's deficiency spans many biological processes in the human body.

Having access to the internet is increasingly  considered  to be an emerging human right. International organizations and national governments have begun to formally recognize its importance to freedom of speech, expression and information exchange. The next step to help ensure some measure of  cyber peace  online may be for cybersecurity to be recognized as a human right, too. The United Nations has taken note of the crucial role of internet connectivity in " the struggle for human rights ." United Nations officials have decried the  actions of governments cutting off internet access  as denying their citizens' rights to free expression. But access is not enough. Those of us who have regular internet access often suffer from  cyber-fatigue : We're all simultaneously expecting our data to be hacked at any moment and feeling powerless to prevent it. Late last year, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an online rights advocacy group, called for technology companies to

Tattoo artists may have a role to play in reducing cases of advanced skin cancer, researchers say. That's because tattoos can sometimes hide  skin cancers , and make it harder for doctors to diagnose these cancers early, according to a new study. The researchers found that tattoo artists typically don't have a standard way of dealing with the moles that they may see on their clients, and contrary to what doctors would recommend, many will tattoo right over a mole if a client requests it. Meanwhile, less than a third of the tattoo artists (29 percent) said they had recommended that a client see a dermatologist for a suspicious skin lesion. "Our study highlights an opportunity for dermatologists to educate tattoo artists about skin cancer, particularly melanoma, to help reduce the incidence of skin cancers hidden in tattoos," the researchers, from the University of Pittsburgh, wrote in the Jan. 18 issue of the journal JAMA Dermatology. Tattoo artists could also be t