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Why are heart attacks so dangerous? – Jack, 8, England

December 19, 2024 melissamayer

Dear Jack,

When I go to the veterinarian for a checkup, one of the first things they do is listen to my heart. They want to make sure it’s healthy because it pumps blood to my whole body.

I asked my friend Zhaokang Cheng about heart attacks. He’s a scientist at Washington State University. He works on new medicines to help people who have heart attacks or heart disease.

He told me that a heart attack happens when a big blood vessel that delivers blood to the heart gets blocked. Those blood vessels are called coronary arteries.

They get blocked when fatty gunk and other stuff build up on the walls of the arteries. Over time, the buildup can get thicker and harder. It can make the space inside the artery very narrow, so there isn’t much room for blood to get through. Or it can block the artery completely.

What is the most dangerous insect in the world? – Juan Simon, 9, Chile

May 16, 2024 melissamayer

Dear Juan Simon,

The deadliest animal on Earth isn’t a shark or a bear. It’s an insect. Mosquitoes kill way more people than any other animal.

I talked about it with Jeb Owen. He’s an insect scientist at Washington State University.

He told me mosquitoes are dangerous because of the way they sometimes eat.

“Through blood feeding, mosquitoes can transmit pathogens that make people and animals sick,” Owen said.

Do insects have blood in their bodies? – Raman, 7, Washington

May 4, 2023 melissamayer

Dear Raman,

You probably don’t look like an insect. You don’t have feelers or wings. You keep your skeleton inside your body instead of on the outside. But what about blood? Do insects have blood like yours?

I talked about this with my friend Richard Zack. He’s an entomologist at Washington State University.

“Insects have hemolymph,” he said. “It’s very similar to blood.”

Zack told me hemolymph moves differently through the body, and it doesn’t do everything blood does.

Humans and other mammals have closed circulatory systems. That means their blood travels in blood vessels. A heart pumps the blood all over the … » More …

Dr. Universe: Why are there different blood types? - Sarah, Tacoma, Wash.

August 28, 2017 rcwebber

Dear Sarah,

At this very moment, several quarts of blood are circulating through your body at nearly 4 mph. But as you’ve pointed out, not everyone’s blood is the same.

Your question made me wonder exactly what we mean when we talk about blood types. I decided to ask my friend Amber Fyfe-Johnson, a researcher at Washington State University who studies cardiovascular diseases--diseases of the blood vessels-- in kids.