by Meg Evans Smith Between five and six million Americans age 65 and older live with dementia, a form of memory loss most often caused by Alzheimer’s disease. Anyone facing their retirement years undoubtedly hopes to avoid similar cognitive decline and the challenges of daily life that often follow. Now, a long-term nationwide study seeks […]
Author Archives: Meg Evans Smith
Young Entrepreneurs Donate Germ-Killing Cell-Phone Cases to Healthcare Workers
Even as a coronavirus vaccine starts rolling out, many Americans still worry about becoming sick with SARS-CoV-2, the disease known as COVID-19. Scientists and public health professionals continue to recommend wearing masks, social distancing, and sanitizing hands and surfaces – including germ-laden cell phones – to minimize the risk of catching or transmitting the virus. […]
ETHS Alumni Create Self-Sanitizing Copper Cell-Phone Case
Two Evanston High School graduates, eager to help on the current pandemic frontline, have created a product that could help reduce transmission of the new coronavirus: a cell phone case made of copper, which is known for its ability to kill microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi and viruses. Nick O’Brien and Isaac Lichter – both […]
Staying Busy at Home During the Covid-19 Health Crisis
Self-quarantine. Social distancing. Lockdown. Pandemic. These are words many of us never thought we would use in our lifetimes, but with the continued spread of the new (or “novel”) coronavirus, which causes the disease called Covid-19, this vocabulary is the new normal. To help reduce transmission and contain the virus, companies around the nation are […]
International Polar Years Science Collaborations on a Global Scale
Spiky, beeping Sputnik took the world by storm in late 1957 when Soviet rockets flung it into orbit during the global science collaboration called the International Geo-physical Year (IGY). Humanity looked to the skies with awe and doubt as U.S. and Soviet space programs launched a handful of satellites during the 18-month IGY. Back on […]
Close Encounters of Many Kinds Part 2
Part 2In his 1972 book, “The UFO Experience: A Scientific Inquiry,” Dr. J. Allen Hynek introduced two divisions of UFO reports: those seen from a distance and those seen close-up – his now-famous Close Encounters classification system. Reports from a distance include UFOs seen at night (“Nocturnal Lights”), during the day (“Daylight Discs”) and on […]
J. Allen Hynek: The Northwestern Professor Who Gave UFOs a Chance Part One in a series
Northwestern University has long held the open secret that one of its most popular astronomy professors was also a world renowned seeker of … unidentified flying objects. That’s right: UFOs. Space ships. Flying saucers. Extraterrestrials. Little green men. Evanston’s own Big Ten school had perhaps the first “ufologist” on staff, or at least the first […]
Operation Moonwatch: Citizen Scientists Spot the First Space Age Satellites
One thing astronomer Mike Seeds remembers about the winter of 1957-58 in Danville, Ill. It was cold. He and some fellow astronomy club members spent much of that winter outside, watching for satellites that were scheduled to launch during the International Geophysical Year (IGY). And this could be done only at night, when everyone else […]
International Geophysical Year, Part II Space Age Ups and Downs
The 1950s brought a number of booms to America. The post-war baby boom led to a suburban housing boom. A technology boom created microwave ovens, pocket-sized transistor radios and the TV remote.Scientific research boomed, resulting in the polio vaccine, pacemaker, antihistamines, oral contraceptives, and the DNA double helix. Consumer goods boomed, bringing us Saran Wrap, […]
Women of NASA Immortalized By Lego
“Hidden Figures” introduced the country to just a few of the talented women at NASA who helped advance America’s early space program. To learn about other trailblazing NASA women, one could go to the library, search the internet … or play with some Legos. Last November, Lego released its Women of NASA set, featuring four […]