Fungi

Fungi represent a very important part of the thallophytes and are separated from the rest by many definite characteristics. They have no chlorophyll and no starch is present in their cells and it is easy to see from the example of a few familiar toadstools that they are quite different in actual make-up from all other plants. They do not live on their own manufactured food, but rely either on the decaying remains of other plants and animal life(these types are called saprophytes)or on living plants or animals(parasites). The fungi may be single celled plants such as yeast, which is used for baking bread and brewing beer, or multi-celled plants such as the mushroom. In these more advanced forms the main part of the plant is an intricate web of threads known as hyphae, the whole web being called the mycelium. This often lives underground or inside the host plant on which the fungus is living. The hyphae threads run about either in or between the cells of the plant and have the power of dissolving the cellulose of the cell walls and living on the contents. The saprophytic ones act in a similar way on dead organic material and are not generally harmful to plants or animals. These parasites on the other hand cause man a great deal of trouble and expense in trying to get rid of them. Some fungi attack animals, including man, an example being the fungal disease athlete's foot. With the larger fungi, the hyphae sometimes come above ground and form a special structure which can produce spores. This is the fruiting stage of the plant and the mushroom and toadstool are examples of this. The hyphae have another property which is important to the fungus and this is the formation of a hard tuber like body called sclerotium(again a resting stage) which is capable of existing for a long time without actually growing, or doing damage in the case of harmful fungi. This stage makes it difficult to get rid of some fungal diseases for they can withstand a lot of adverse treatment, and then germinate when conditions are suitable. As fungi lack chlorophyll they cannot make their own food by photosynthesis. They must therefore absorb carbohydrates from the plant or animal matter on which they live. Having got s source of supply of carbohydrates they can themselves convert these substances into the more complicated ones needed to make cellulose for cell walls, and for proteins and protoplasm. The last two can only be formed if the fungus has a source of nitrogen and other more complex chemicals from an outside source, so for this reason a lot of fungi are rather specialized in their choice of where to grow. Like the animals, fungi are dependent upon green plants for their food and could not live without them. So it is that the first living matter to colonise a new piece of ground will be something which can manufacture its own food, without depending on any other life form and it must therefore be a green plant whether one celled or multi celled. When this is established, fungi and animals will appear either to grow on or eat the plant or live on the organic matter which occurs when it dies.

Algae

Although there are freshwater species the majority of algae live in the sea and the various seaweeds found at low tide are familiar examples. A lot of the most primitive of these plants are single-celled and invisible to the naked eye, whereas the large, more advanced seaweeds are made up of countless cells which may be divided into groups or tissues performing different tasks. Such plants may have primitive roots. These algae are very similar to other plants in the way they obtain their food, for they contain chlorophyll and photosynthesis takes place in the same way as it does in the advanced forms of plant life. Although many are green, quite a number have pigments in their cells which are stronger colours than green, giving the algae red, brown or even bluish colours. Their method of increase can be either by simple division of the original plant or sexual reproduction. There are thousands of different species of algae and it would be impossible here to describe even a small proportion of them, but one or two examples can be taken to show what life-forms exist in this group. Some of the tiny single-celled species are capable of movement and such a plant is Chlamydomonas, which is found in ponds and ditches. It is roundish in shape and is built up in the same basic way as other cells. At one end are two thread-like arms which project through the cell wall. These are called flagella, and by waving them around the cell can move in the water. The cell contains a nucleus and chloroplasts for manufacturing food, and in addition an orange-coloured object known as the eye-spot. This helps the chlamydomonas find its way towards brighter light, and in doing so gives the chloroplast a better chance to produce food. Other single celled algae do not go through life individually, but group themselves into a calony and hundreds or thousands together may just be visible without a microscope. These types are interesting in that they all use their flagella together and move as a whole colony towards light. Sometimes in bright weather the rate of reproduction is so fast that the water in ponds may be coloured green by their presence, and can easily be seen. The hard green covering often seen on older wooden fences is formed by large numbers of a small land alga known as Pleurococcus. It can withstand long periods of drought but like those which live in water it only becomes very active when there is plenty of moisture and it is warm. Many of the other algae in water can also form what are called resting stages so they can withstand adverse conditions such as the drying out of the pond in which they live. One of the commonest alga in ponds and slow steams is the plant which sometimes forms the slimy green masses familiar to all who spend some time near the water. This is called Spirogyra and is a long thread like plant formed from short cylindrical cells joined end to end. Among the most advanced of the algae are the common forms of seaweed called wracks which inhabit rocky costs all over Europe. Fucus vesiculosus commonly called bladder wrack, has a portion as its base which is adapted to clasp on to rocks and prevent the plant being washed away. This part of the plant has no powers of absorbing foods and is entirely an anchor. The stem is cylindrical at first then higher up it is flattened out and has built in bladders of air which act like water wings and keep the plant upright in the water. The whole plant is very slippery, being covered with a jelly like substance and it is rubbery to withstand the buffeting of waves. Reproduction is either by the simple breaking off of sections of the stem which in these plants is called the thallus, or by the formation of two kinds of special cells, one of which is capable of movement like chlamydomonas plants.These special cells are set free when the tide is in and the mobile ones swim to the others and they fuse together forming a spore. This can germinate and develop into another plant.

Woodpecker

Woodpeckers are real tree- dwellers, where they dig for insects and grubs. The loud drumming made by the beak is a male's warning to other males, and also an invitation to a female. A hole is bored in a tree for a nest. Common in Europe are the Lesser Spotted (no larger than a sparrow) the Great Spotted and the Green Woodpeckers. The largest European species is the Black Woodpecker, as big as a crow. Largest of all is the Ivory – billed Woodpecker of Mexico, fifty centimeters long. Some gaudily coloured birds related to woodpeckers are the toucans of South America, which have enormous beaks and look top-heavy. In fact the beak is quite light, and a toucan can hold and play with a grape or an egg without damaging it.

Vertebrates

The animals we know best for man is one of them-are called vertebrates, or animals with a backbone (vertebra, Latin for a twisting joint) there are five classes: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fishes. Some zoologists give this group another name, the Chordata, so as to include a few very primitive sea- creatures like sea- squirts and lampreys which also have a kind of simple backbone, called notochord. In the true vertebrates this is found in the embryos only(when the animal is in its earliest stage of development and is slowly replaced by a bony, jointed vertebral column down the back.

Tortoises and Turtles

Tortoises and Turtles are unique among animals, having their whole bodies enclosed in a bony box. This is built from the rib cage which grows and joins up outside the limbs. The earliest tortoise show separate ribs but even these are already flattened as if about to join together. This peculiarity goes back even before the dinosaurs, so that chelonians (the name of the order to which tortoises and turtles belong are the oldest group of reptiles. They even have the oldest individuals on earth today- the giant tortoises which can live to a hundred and fifty years or more. Chelonians are of three kinds-tortoises, turtles and terrapins. Tortoises are land reptiles with domed shells and stumpy legs. They move about clumsily and feed mostly on plants and fruit. The largest are the giant tortoises of the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific, and the Aldabra Islands in the Indian Ocean. They can weigh up to 550 kilograms and measure almost two meters in length. Tortoises sold in shops as pets come from the Mediterranean countries, and have been known to live up to a hundred years. Eggs are laid in the ground and left to hatch in the sun. Turtles are sea-going chelonians, with flatter shells than tortoises and more paddle – like feet for swimming. At night the females come ashore on some lonely tropical beach where there is sand. They dig pits in which up to 150 eggs may be laid. These are covered up and the mother then returns to the sea. Later the babies hatch out, struggle to the surface, then make as fast as they can for the water. On the way many are caught by the waiting sea-birds. Because turtles are also caught for food and their eggs dug up, some are now becoming rare. One or two countries do protect turtles by fencing off some of the beaches where they lay their eggs, later collecting the young and taking them out to sea where they will be safe to grow up. The largest turtles, up to 400 kilograms and one and a half meters long, is the Leathery Turtle. The Green Turtle is the species usually caught for making turtle soup, and the Hawksbill Turtle for its shell, called tortoiseshell. Terrapin is an American Indian name for freshwater tortoises which swim in rivers and marshes, catching fish and water animals. They spend hours basking in the sun at the waterside, but dive in at any sign of danger.

Rubber

One of the most interesting stories of plant life is the history of the rubber tree(Hevea brasiliensis). From the very early days of its discovery in South America, when the conquering Spanish saw children playing with rubber balls it was realized that rubber had water proofing and other properties which made it valuable. The real boom for the rubber industry came when rubber tyres were made. Whole books have been written about it and the way in which world history has been changed by this indispensable substance. Although originally from South America, rubber trees are now grown throughout the tropics, especially in South-East Aisa. The rubber begins life as a white latex which is obtained by cutting grooves in the bark of the trees. First it goes through a chemical process which results in a sheet of crepe rubber and in this form it can be transported. Further processing is necessary before it is made into such items as tyres. Nowadays synthetic materials are generally mixed with natural rubber. A few other plants have been used to produce rubber, particularly in war-time when the transport of tropical rubber was difficult. A species of dandelion was used for this purpose in the Second World War, the white sticky latex producing a rather inferior grade of rubber. Another form of latex, from trees of the Sapotaceae family, is used for chewing gum.

Parasitic Worms

Most annelid worms live freely in the soil or water, but some worm-like groups live inside other animals, even man. One of these is the group called Nematoda, or roundworms, containg some 10,000 species. They are pale in colour, without segments, and have pointed ends. They move about in a curious figure – of-eight fashion. Some of these nematodes, can be up to fifteen centimeters long, but many kinds are microscopic. All told there are vast numbers of these nematodes living in all sorts of animals, also plants, and a great number n the soil. Each animal victim of a parasite is called a host. The human is host to another kind of worm, called a tapeworm. This belongs to the group of 6,000 species called Platyhelminthes or flatworms. In this case here are two hosts, the human and another animals which he may eat as meat, such as pork or beef. The pig or bull may pick up a tapeworm egg and swallow it. This hatches into a larva and bores into the flesh. Another type of flatworm, called a fluke, has the shape of a small leaf. One example is the liver-flike which attacks sheep.

Arthropods

This is one of the most widespread divisions of the animal kingdom, certainly the largest. Arthropod means jointed legs but whereas vertebrates have only four legs, some of these invertebrates have many more. The main classes of arthropods are insects, arachnids(spiders, scorpions and mites), millipedes and centipedes, and crustaceans(crabs, lobsters and shrimps)

Reptiles

Reptiles are air-breathing vertebrates which have limbs (except snakes and some lizards), are cold-blooded and have horny covering of scales or horny plates. There are about 3,000 species. The four orders of modern reptiles are the crocodiles and alligators, tortoises and turtles, snakes and lizards and the Tuatara. The last-named order means break headed, and the Tuatara, which is a Maori name, is the only survivor of it. Looking rather like a lizard with a beaked face it lives on some of the lonely islands off the coast of New Zealand. It is truly a precious living fossil, since this reptile order goes back to the time of the dinosaurs. The Tuatara seems to be slow in everything it does, even to its movements. It lives in underground burrows, often in company with a sea-bird, a species of petrel. The reptile sleeps there by night and the bird by day. The eggs have a long incubation period and it is sometimes as much as eighteen months before the young hatch out.

Hydrophytes

These are plants which grow in or near water and are adapted according to whether they live on the surface, or are submerged, or grow in the mud at the edge of the water.Some are a combination of all these and have several different types of leaves. Some hydrophytes (for example water lily) are anchored to the bottom by roots, and send up leaves on long stems until they reach the surface, when they unfold and spread out. The giant water lily(Victoria regia) is an extreme example of this. The flowers too come up on a long stem and open out above the water. Some water plants are not rooted to the bottom and merely float on the surface (for example duckweed)or under the surface (for example bladderwort).Such water plants can only live in still waters but some submerged plants are anchored to the bottom by roots and produce long growth with small leaves and these are better adapted to life in running water. The leaves of most water plants have large air cavities in them to act as 'water wings', and some produce large bladder-like swellings for the same purpose(for example water hyacinth). The water crowfoot is amphibious, that is it can live both in water or at the edge in the damp mud. It has surface leaves which are flat and large compared to the submerged leaves which, when living in water, are finely divided with narrow lobes. These smaller leaves disappear if the water level drops and the plant is left at the edge.

Parasites and Saprophytes

These are plants which depend entirely or partly on other organisms. We have already dealt with the fungi, which are the largest group of parasites and saprophytes in the plant kingdom. But there are other plants which exist on living material (parasites) or make use of dead organic substances (saprophytes) Parasites may be total or partial that is they either get the whole of their food materials from the host plant on which they live, and have no green parts, or they have chlorophyll of their own and can manufacture a certain amount of their own food, but also need some from the host. Dodder, in the Convolvulus family is a total parasite and can be seen on the stems of plants such as gorse and heather. This is a stem parasite but other plants such as broomrape are root parasites and penetrate and live on the roots of a host plant. Mistletoe is another good example of a parasite which occurs on the stems and trunks of trees, while several members of the foxglove family live on the roots of grasses in meadows. Saprophytes make use of decaying matter and usually occur in woodlands where there is plenty of rotting vegetation. The bird's nest orchid can be seen growing in woods and is a brownish plant which only appears above ground when it sends up a flowering stem. The roots actually live in association with a fungus which breaks down the rooting materials it lives on into soluble substances. The fungus also penetrates the roots of the orchid and gains some of its materials from the cells there, while the orchid gets its supplies of food materials through the fungus. Thus the two plants are living together and depending on each other for their existence, this being called symbiosis.

Insect eating plants

Although green plants are self-supporting as far as their food requirements go, some plants do rely to a certain extent on other living creatures. One group of these, known as insectivorous plants (plants which live on insects), gain part of their nourishment by trapping insects in various ways. The plants digest the insect's bodies and take the dissolved proteins into their systems. Several of these interesting plants occur in Europe, and there are many others in tropical countries, often large and with weird methods of trapping insects. Insectivores are usually plants of marshes and bogs where the soil is poor in the nitrogen compounds so necessary for their continued healthy existence. Although they are mostly green plants, producing some of their own food, they do need the proteins of the insects to make up the lack of nitrogenous food. Some plants produce hollow leaves containing liquid in which the insects drown, the Sarracenia being an example of this. The leaves are rather funnel-like with a lid to the opening at the top. The rim of the funnel has nectar to attract insects, and the whole plant is often brightly colored. Inside the funnel is a slippery area, and downward pointing hairs, which prevent any insects crawling out again. Nepenthes, the pitcher plant, produces curious pitcher-shaped extensions to the leaves which act in the same way as Sarracenia. They are usually climbing plants rather than bog plants, and are widely grown in greenhouses in hanging baskets. In both of these plants, the insects bodies are decomposed in the watery fluid at the base of the pitcher, which contains many bacteria, the plant then using the dissolved substances.

Xerophytes

These are the plants of the deserts or other dry places. For this reason they must have some method of withstanding long periods of drought, very bright light, strong winds and, perhaps, very high temperatures – although not all deserts are hot. There are various ways in which plants can overcome these conditions. With annual plants, the seeds often have a long life and will only germinate after rainfall. They then grow very rapidly and complete their life cycle before the drought occurs. On the other hand perennial plants have to exist through bad spells and usually have some method of storing up moisture to tide them over. Cacti are a good example of this with their swollen fleshy growth. Large thin flat leaves would be of no use in the desert as they would evaporate too much moisture from their surfaces, so leaves are often very small or narrow, and usually have very thick outer layer (cuticle), preventing water loss. They might even be reduced in size to hard spines as in many cacti and succulents. The Yucca has leaves which are narrow and with a very tough cuticle to withstand the desert conditions in America. Roots may be adapted to store water, becoming thick and fleshy, and it is noticeable that in drier parts of the world, such as the Middle East, there are many plants which produce underground bulbs, corms or tubers. Leaves can also be thick and fleshy for water storage, or develop only during the rainy season, to drop off again when the dry summer comes. Some grasses can roll their leaves inwards from the edges in dry spells, thus leaving a smaller surface exposed to the sun, while acacias in Australia can turn their leaves sideways on to the sun so that it does not scorch down on to the flat surfaces. Leaves sometimes have dense coverings of hairs to protect them from sun and drying winds. Plants which grow in places where the soil is very salty, such as by the sea, in river mouths or salt lakes inland, and have adapted themselves to overcome the peculiar conditions, are called halophytes. Most normal land plants are killed by salt in the soil but these plants are so successful that they can be important to man when trying to reclaim new land from the sea.

Epiphytes

Some plants which may be mistaken for stem parasites are the Epiphytes which grow in trees usually in tropical areas, and many of the mosses come into this group. The difference is that epiphytes are normal green plants which have taken to a life of growing on the bark of tress but do not gain any of their nourishment from them. They live entirely on what food materials happen to be lodged in the crevices of the bark and a lot of orchids which live in this way send out thick white roots capable of extracting water from the damp tropical atmosphere.

ALL ABOUT HUMAN LIVER

The liver is the largest organ inside our body weighing  nearly 1.4kg. fifteen per cent of the total blood in the human body would be circulating at anytime in the liver alone. It is so substantial that even at rest, 2.5 pints of blood passes  through the liver. It has a wonderful regeneration power. Even if 75 per cent of the cells inside get damaged, it regenerates them within  a week . The liver's capacity to remove toxins from our blood stream is tremendous. Any man made machine of the same size cannot accomplish the task of toxin removal at the same rate as liver.

Great Wall of China

The 'Great wall of China' was built 2000 years ago.  The construction is said to have begun from the 5th century B.C.  The construction of the wall spread over many dynasties and  across many years.  The Great Wall is the only longest human made structure. The wall spans to a distance of about 6,400 kms.    

The construction of the wall was begun by  Qin Shi Huangdi, the first emperor of China during the Qin (Ch'in) Dynasty . In Chinese the wall is called "Wan-Li Qang-Qeng".  The wall was built as a primary defense  against the nomadic tribes.  The king positioned armies near the wall to give warning signals about any attack.   The wall was initially constructed with earth and gravel.  As it was difficult to transport resources to build the wall local resources which were available were used.  Rocks were used near mountain ranges and earth and gravel in plains.  The wall got eroded in due course and was repaired and rebuilt several times by the ruling dynasties.

The present form of the Great Wall was done during the Ming dynasty.  The Ming were defeated by the Mongols in the northern border.  Hence to protect themselves the Ming adopted the strategy of building walls in the northern side.  The Ming construction was of higher quality as they used bricks and stones instead of earth.  The Ming also allocated ample resources to maintain the walls to withstand the frequent attacks. 

The wall was well equipped with watch towers at regular intervals.  The watch towers often housed weapons, food and army.  The steps that form the Great Wall of China are very steep and tall in some areas.  It is said that the Great Wall is visible from the earth's orbit.

Camel - Ship of the Desert

Camel is called the 'Ship of the desert'. Camels are friendly animals and the best suited to live in the desert.  They can travel very long distances. They can live without food and water for about 3-4 days time.  Their strength and endurance have made them valuable to the desert. 

There are two varities of camels the 'Arabian Camel which has a single hump and the Bacterian camel with the double hump.  Camel's milk is a wholesome food. The people in the desert consider camels's milk as a boon to them.  Camel meat is also a delicacy and is also known for its nutritive properties.

Camels are very tall animals.  They stand up to a height of more than 7 feet. Their height protects them from the heat reflection of the hot sand.  They have tear glands and long eyelashes to protect themselves from sand stroms.  Their feet are well padded and insulated to travel in the desert sands.  Their webbed toes prevent them from sinking into the sand. They are herbivorous.  They have a leathery mouth which is suitable to thorny food. Their capacity to recycle water from their bladder helps them to survive without drinking water for longer periods.  Energy producing fats are stored in the camel's hump.

What are Mummies?

The Egyptians believed life after death.  Hence they adopted a method of embalming the dead bodies and preserving them in tombs along with the possessions of the dead like clothes food etc, this process of embalming is called mummification. The Egyptians believed that the mummified body was the home for this soul or spirit.  Mummification in ancient Egypt was a very long and expensive process. The embalmed bodies are called mummies. They drained the dead body completely of moisture and retained the dried form so theat it would not decay.  The procedure of embalming is a very long procedure.  This practice was followed in Egypt for  more than 2000 years.  The procedure adopted to embalm varied from century to century.  Usually this was done only for the royal family members.

 

The process of mummification almost took 70 days and this was carried out by special priests who had detailed knowledge of human body and were experts.  The first step which they did was to remove the vital organs like the brain, liver, lungs, stomach and put them into special jars called 'Canopic Jars'.  The brain was removed by a very critical operation else the face could get disfigured.  The other organs were removed by through a cut that was made in the left side of the abdomen.  The heart was left in place as it was considered the persons center of intelligence. 

 

The embalmers used 'Natron' which is a type of salt that has drying properties.  The bodies were immersed in Natron until all the mositure is removed. Packets of Natron are place in the insides of the body to ensure the insides are completely dry. They then did some filling to bring the body back to shape. The body was then wrapped with lots of linen, it is in this stage were the relatives and friends of the dead can donate linen for wrapping.  This procedure requires 100s of yards of linen and it took atleast fifteen days to complete wrapping.  Warm resin coating was used at stages of wrapping and wrapping was continued. 

 

The tomb preparation, decoration and collection of items for the dead are all done well in advance.  Once the wrapping is complete the priests perform some rituals at the tomb entrance and then put the mummy in a coffin and the tomb is sealed.

 

Facts About the Moon

The Moon is the only natural satellite of Earth.  The Moon, has been known since time immemorial. It is the second brightest object in the sky after the Sun. As the Moon orbits around the Earth. I takes approximately one month to complete one rotation. The Moon is the only celestial body that humans have travelled to and landed on and have brought samples.  The Soviet spacecraft Luna 2 was the first one to land on the moon on the July 20, 1959.  Neil Armstrong became the first man to step onto the surface of the Moon On July 20, 1969.

By simply viewing through the naked eye one can see two major types of terrain: relatively bright highlands and darker plains. The Moon has no atmosphere. The lunar sky is always dark as the diffraction of light requires an atmosphere. Various samples obtained reveal that there are three types of Terrain on the moon, the Regolith, the maria, and the Terrae. 'Regolith is the outermost part, the relatively bright, heavily cratered highlands are called "Terrae" and the dark, lightly cratered  is called "Maria".

Meteorite impacts on the moon brought a variety of "exotic" rocks to the Moon.  The samples obtained produced many different rock types for study. The underlying crust was also thinned and cracked due to the impacts. Due to the lack atmosphere nor any water, the components in the soils do not weather chemically as they would on Earth. Rocks more than 4 billion years old still exist there, yielding information about the early history of the solar system that is unavailable on Earth.

The gravitational forces between the Earth and the Moon cause some interesting effects. The most obvious is the tides. The Moon's gravitational attraction is stronger on the side of the Earth nearest to the Moon and weaker on the opposite side. Since the Earth, and particularly the oceans, is not perfectly rigid it is stretched out along the line toward the Moon. From our perspective on the Earth's surface we see two small bulges, one in the direction of the Moon and one directly opposite. The effect is much stronger in the ocean water than in the solid crust so the water bulges are higher.

The Moon has no global magnetic field. But some of its surface rocks exhibit magnetism which indicates there could have been a global magnetic field early in the Moon's history. The Moon's surface is completely exposed to the solar wind and many ions form the solar wind have become embedded in the moon's Regolith.

Newton's Laws of Motion

Newton's laws of motion are three physical laws. These laws provide relationships between the forces acting on a body and the motion of the body.Newton's laws were first published together in his work Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (1687). The laws form the basis for classical mechanics. Newton used them to explain many results concerning the motion of physical objects.

Newton's First Law of Motion:
Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it.

Newton's Second Law of Motion:
The relationship between an object's mass m, its acceleration a, and the applied force F is F = ma. Acceleration and force are vectors (as indicated by their symbols being displayed in slant bold font); in this law the direction of the force vector is the same as the direction of the acceleration vector.

Newton's Third Law of Motion:
For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

The first law is termed as the "Law of Inertia".  The second law aid in quantitative calculations of dynamics.  This law explains the velocity chnages that happen when a force is applied.  The third law exemplifies by what happens when we bounce a rubber ball on the ground it pushes back itself witht he same force in the opposite direction.