Your Smile—A Gift to Share

People of various ages and races smile broadly

WHEN someone gives you a beaming smile, how do you respond? Most likely you smile back. And you probably feel happier too. Yes, genuine smiles—whether from friends or total strangers—are infectious, and they evoke good feelings.

A sincere smile indicates positive emotions, such as amusement, happiness, and pleasure. Indeed, smiling . . . seems built into our nature. Even newborns, are able to interpret facial expressions with great precision. Not only do people deduce useful information from smiles, they also use this knowledge to direct their own behavior.

When the caregivers’ facial expressions were perceived as more warm, caring, concerned, and empathetic, patients felt more satisfied and their physical and mental well-being

improved. The opposite was the case when the caregivers’ nonverbal communications distanced them from patients.

When you smile you may also be doing yourself a favor. The benefits, include increased confidence and happiness and reduced feelings of stress. Frowning, by comparison, may have the opposite effect.

Also, do not wait for others to smile at you. Take the initiative; add a little happiness to someone else’s day. Yes, see your smile for what it really is—a divine gift that enriches you and the people who see it.

The Lantern of the Photuris Firefly

THE lantern, or light organ, of a particular Photuris firefly is covered with jagged scales that dramatically enhance the brightness of the light that the insect produces. * Jagged scales Consider: Researchers have found that tiny scales on the lantern surface of some fireflies form a corrugated pattern, somewhat like overlapping shingles or tiles. The scales tilt up at one end by just 3 micrometers —less than one twentieth the thickness of a human hair. Yet this tiny tilt lets the lantern shine almost 50 percent more brightly than it would if the scales formed an even surface!

An Overview of Indonesia

Land Straddling the equator between Australia and continental Asia, Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago. Most of its more than 17,500 islands feature rugged mountains and dense tropical forests. With more than 100 active volcanoes, it is also the most active volcanic region on earth.

PORTRAITS FROM THE PASTIgnaz Semmelweis

IGNAZ SEMMELWEIS may not be a household name, yet his work has benefited most modern families. Born in Buda (now Budapest), Hungary, he received his medical degree at the University of Vienna in 1844. On taking up his post as assistant to a professor at the First Maternity Clinic of Vienna’s General Hospital in 1846, Semmelweis faced an appalling reality —more than 13 percent of the women giving birth there died from a disease called childbed fever. Various theories as to the cause of this disease had been proposed, yet no one had solved the mystery. All attempts to reduce the mortality rate proved futile. Troubled by the spectacle of numerous mothers suffering a slow, agonizing death, Semmelweis determined to find the cause of the disease and prevent it.

Rielyn Co

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