Alzheimer's disease

Approximately 24 million people worldwide have dementia of which the majority (~60%) is due to Alzheimer's. Clinical signs of Alzheimer's disease are characterized by progressive cognitive deterioration, together with declining activities of daily living and by neuropsychiatric symptoms or behavioral changes.
The most striking early symptom is memory loss (amnesia), usually manifest as minor forgetfulness that becomes steadily denser with illness progression, with relative preservation of older memories. It is the most common type of dementia.
Plaques which contain misfolded peptides called amyloid beta (Aβ) are formed in the brain many years before the clinical signs of Alzheimer's are observed.
Together, these plaques and neurofibrillary tangles form the pathological hallmarks of the disease.
These features can only be discovered at autopsy and help to confirm the clinical diagnosis.
Medications can help reduce the symptoms of the disease, but they cannot change the course of the underlying pathology. The ultimate cause of Alzheimer's is unknown.
Genetic factors are clearly indicated as evidenced by dominant mutations in three different genes have been identified that account for the small number of cases of familial, early-onset AD.
For the more common form of late onset AD (LOAD), ApoE is the only clearly established susceptibility gene.
All four genes can contain mutations or variants that confer increased risk for AD, but account for only 30% of the genetic picture of AD.
These four genes have in common the fact that mutations in each lead to the excessive accumulation in the brain of Aβ, the main component of the senile plaques that litter the brains of AD patients..

Planet Pluto

Pluto, (PLOO toh), is a dwarf planet that orbits far from the sun. It shares the region of its orbit, known as the Kuiper belt, with a collection of similar icy bodies called Kuiper belt objects (KBO’s). From its discovery in 1930, people widely considered Pluto to be the ninth planet of our solar system. However, because of its small size and irregular orbit, many astronomers questioned whether Pluto should be grouped with worlds like Earth and Jupiter. Pluto seemed to share more similarities with KBO’s. In 2006, this debate led the International Astronomical Union, the recognized authority in naming heavenly objects, to formally classify Pluto as a dwarf planet. Pluto cannot be seen without a telescope.
Pluto is so far from Earth that even powerful telescopes reveal little detail of its surface. The Hubble Space Telescope gathered the light for the pictures of Pluto shown here. Image credit: NASA
Pluto is about 39 times as far from the sun as Earth is. Its average distance from the sun is about 3,647,240,000 miles (5,869,660,000 kilometers). Pluto travels around the sun in an elliptical (oval-shaped) orbit. At some point in its orbit, it comes closer to the sun than Neptune, the outermost planet. It stays inside Neptune's orbit for about 20 Earth years. This event occurs every 248 Earth years, which is about the same number of Earth years it takes Pluto to travel once around the sun. Pluto entered Neptune's orbit on Jan. 23, 1979, and remained there until Feb. 11, 1999. As it orbits the sun, Pluto spins on its axis, an imaginary line through its center. It spins around once in about six Earth days.
Astronomers know little about Pluto's size or surface conditions because it is so far from Earth. Pluto has an estimated diameter of about 1,400 miles (2,300 kilometers), less than a fifth that of Earth. Pluto's surface is one of the coldest places in our solar system. Astronomers believe the temperature on Pluto may be about –375 °F (–225 °C).
Pluto is mostly brown. The planet appears to be partly covered with frozen methane gas and to have a thin atmosphere composed mostly of methane. Because Pluto's density is low, astronomers think Pluto is mainly icy. Scientists doubt Pluto has any form of life.
In 1905, Percival Lowell, an American astronomer, found that the force of gravity of some unknown object seemed to be affecting the orbits of Neptune and Uranus. In 1915, he predicted the location of a new planet and began searching for it from his observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. He used a telescope to photograph the area of the sky where he thought the planet would be found. He died in 1916 without finding it. In 1929, Clyde W. Tombaugh, an assistant at the Lowell Observatory, used predictions made by Lowell and other astronomers and photographed the sky with a more powerful, wide-angle telescope. In 1930, Tombaugh found Pluto's image on three photographs. The planet was named after the Roman god of the dead. The name also honors Percival Lowell, whose initials are the first two letters of Pluto.
In 1978, astronomers at the U.S. Naval Observatory substation in Flagstaff detected a satellite of Pluto. They named it Charon. This satellite has a diameter of about 750 miles (1,210 kilometers).
In 1996, astronomers published the first detailed images of Pluto's surface. The images, taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, show about 12 large bright or dark areas. The bright regions, which include polar caps, are probably frozen nitrogen. The dark areas may be methane frost that has been broken down chemically by ultraviolet radiation from the sun.
In 2005, a team of astronomers studying images from the Hubble Space Telescope discovered two previously unknown moons of Pluto. The satellites, later named Hydra and Nix, had diameters of up to 100 miles (160 kilometers) and lay well outside the orbit of Charon.
In 2006, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched the New Horizons probe. The probe was expected to fly by Pluto in 2015.

Agra is a very beautiful city. The Taj Mahal Monument is one of the most beautiful and most visited attraction here.The famous Taj Mahal Monument can be found in Agra, India. For this beautiful structure alone, Agra gains a lot of visitors yearly. Tourists flock to this site just to get a glimpse of this magnificent structure that embodies perfect symmetry. No one goes back home without first having their souvenir photos taken first. The wonderful feeling of seeing this monument in actual is very priceless.Agra belongs to the prominent destinations of tourists. They have a lot of heritage monument like Fatehpur Sikri, Red Fortand and the Sikandara. This is the center of culture, the religious philosophies and art. Their religious philosophies has has very enrich mankind and human thought all over the centuries. This city has been the capital of Mughal Empire. Because of this, the place still has the pass set up that it has years before. The structures that they have represents the time of the Mughal empires. These structures are considered the finest in the world.The Agra is a town that has slow pace. They have a lot of marble works inlay, soastone that were made by the Mughal people and many more. This soapstone is made by the craftsman of Mughal. This city is famous for gold thread embroiders, carpets and shoes with made of leather.As stated earlier, the Taj Mahal is found in Agra. Taj Mahal is one of the eight wonders of the world. It has an architectural beauty that never has been surpassed. This Taj Mahal is a very beautiful and important monument that was built by Mughals. These Mughals were Muslim Rulers of India by that time. The composition of this monument was entirely white marble. It has not just an ordinary beauty but a stunning architectural beauty. This beauty had been very visible during the dawn and sunset. This seems to appear so lively in the light of the moon. Even on foggy morning, the Taj has been very beautiful from the view of the Jamuna River.This Taj Mahal was built by Emperor Shah Jahan who was a muslim emperor. He built this monument in the loving memory of his wife who was his queen during his reign. His wife's name was Mumtaz Mahal but her real name was Arjumand Banu.This was said to be a dream come true because people think that the emperor had made this monument because his wife has always wished for it. The Taj Mahal is called such because it means the Crown Palace by word. This is a mausoleum where the grave of the queen Mumtaz Mahal is housed. The people placed her grave in the lowest chamber. The grave of the emperor Shah Jahan was then placed beside her remains after a few years. The original name of the emperor was Shahab-ud-din. He was the prince Khurram before he became the emperor.The Mughal traditions state that ladies of royal familes will be given a new name on the time of their marriage or on significant events in their lives. This is the reason why the monument was named the Taj Mahal because people have always used the second name of the queen.The Taj Mahal is a very grand and majestic structure. It took over twenty two years to complete. They have employed twenty thousand employees to be able to build it. This cost roughly around thirty two million Rupees and was completed in 1648. The master architect of this project was Ustad 'Isa. This man was known to be the best Islamic architect during this time.The expert craftsmen were also hired to help in putting up this monument. These famous craftsmen were Multan, Qannauj and Lahore. The Muslim craftsmen from Shiraz, Baghdad and Bukhara have also played specialized task for the Taj Mahal Monument.