Leprosy: How does it work?

Leprosy: How does it work? Let's find out the science facts right here

Riddled with sores, maybe missing toes, definitely unclean. Lepers spark some pretty hideous things in our imaginations, don't they? That's imagination and NOT reality. Yet there's a long-standing stigma when it comes to this disease; think about what you're really saying when you call someone a leper. It was even once believed the victims of the diseases were, actually, victims of sin (mentioned — through possible dubious translation — in Leviticus 13:14 in the Old Testament). Although leprosy has a history of being thought of as a highly-contagious (it's not) and deadly, it's actually totally treatable. And there's such a low risk of transmission there's no reason to isolate or ostracize people with leprosy. It may be one of the most disgusting infor from factoflife we’ve enjoyed.

Leprosy has been with us since roughly 1500 B.C.E. (that's when it's first mentioned in the Egyptian Ebers Papyrus, but it's also mentioned in other ancient writings, including in prehistoric Asian writings dating to 600 B.C.E.). But it's probably been plaguing humans for much longer, at least since the ancient civilizations of China, Egypt and India. In 2009, anthropologists discovered evidence of leprosy in a 4,000-year-old skeleton, which dates the infection back to prehistoric India, around 2000 B.C.E. [source: Robbins]. Scientists theorize that the infection spread as empires and trade routes grew, and that it likely arrived in the Americas during European exploration of the New World.

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Wide range of interesting facts about science

If you’re looking for the most amazing science facts, you’re at the right place. Here are list of amazing facts about science:

1. Water can boil and freeze at the same time
Seriously, it's called the 'triple point', and it occurs when the temperature and pressure is just right for the three phases (gas, liquid, and solid) of a substance to coexist in thermodynamic equilibrium. This video shows cyclohexane in a vacuum.

2. Lasers can get trapped in a waterfall

Oh my gosh, yes. Not only is this an incredible example of total internal reflection, it also shows how fibre optic cables work to guide the flow of light.

3. We've got spacecraft hurtling towards the edge of our Solar System really, really fast

We all know rockets are fast, and space is big. But sometimes when we're talking about how long it takes for us to get to distant parts of the Solar System (eight months to get to Mars, are you kidding me?) it can feel like our spacecraft are just crawling along out there.

This gif shows just how wrong that idea is by comparing the speed of the New Horizons probe, which flew past Pluto last year, to a 747 and SR-71 Blackbird.

4. An egg looks like a crazy jellyfish underwater

A cracked egg on land might make a big mess, but 18 metres (60 feet) below the surface of the ocean, the pressure on the egg is 2.8 times atmospheric pressure, and it holds it all together like an invisible egg shell. True story.

5. You can prove Pythagoras' theorem with fluid

Not buying what your maths teacher is selling when they tell you a2 + b2 = c2? You can actually prove it with liquid.

6. This is what happens when a black hole swallows a star

NASA

As the star gets sucked up into the black hole, a huge jet of plasma is burped out, spanning hundreds of light-years. "When the star is ripped apart by the gravitational forces of the black hole, some part of the star's remains falls into the black hole, while the rest is ejected at high speeds," explains Johns Hopkins University researcher, Suvi Gezari.

7. You CAN see without your glasses
According to MinutePhysics, all you need to do is make a pinhole with your hand, which will help you focus the light coming into your retina. Sure, it won't give you 20/20 vision, but it's a good start if you've left your glasses at home.

8. This is how a face forms in the womb

Embryonic development is an incredibly complex process that scientists are still just beginning to understand. But one thing researchers have been able to map out is how the embryo folds to create the structures of the human face in the womb. We could watch this all day.

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