According to Youth For Wildlife, every 20 minutes, we lose at least 27000 entire species of plants or animals. Less than 1% of African elephants exist today that existed in 1930. Here are some more important facts about animal conservation:
There are 10 – 15 thousand lions in the wild in Africa. A decade ago, there 50 thousand.
Only 2700 rhinos are left on the African continent.
90% fewer cheetahs exist today than in 1900
According to the WWF Living Planet Report, there was an overall decline in wildlife population of 60% from 1970 to 2014.
These are just a few numbers. Humans are clearly having a negative impact on plant and wildlife species. The world needs more people who understand wildlife conservation, and who have the skills to make a difference.
Any person, at any time, can choose to learn about wildlife conservation. They can also choose to use those skills in a variety of capacities to make a difference. However, college students are in a particularly powerful position. That’s why all university students should make an effort to become active in wildlife conservation.
There is No Better Time Than Now to Study Wildlife Conservation
If you are moved to learn more about conservation and to work to make some difference, now is the perfect time to get involved. As a college student, you have holiday and summer breaks, and likely have fewer obligations than you will in a few years. You’re also open-minded, and an enthusiastic learner.
Around 56% of dogs are obese in the U.S, which is indicative of one thing – they need to be more active! Exercise is essential for all pets, and while cats can get fairly active jumping up and down structures and fences, dogs need their owners to take them for at least a half hour walk daily. As stated by the American Kennel Club, the exact amount of exercise your pooch needs varies very much on breed, age and state of health. However, in general, the recommended guidelines work well for active, healthy dogs that do not have a condition such as hip dysplasia or heart and/or respiratory issues. If one of the highlights of your day is taking Fido out to the park, you may wonder what is taking place inside that little body. These are just a few scientific processes that take place during exercise, boosting the physical and mental health of your pooch.
Exercise And Stress
Exercise is a powerful way to naturally lower levels of the stress hormone, cortisol. Cortisol is known as nature’s ‘in-built alarm system,’ and it is produced when dogs are stressed, scared, anxious or angry. Its role is to put your dog into ‘fight or flight’ mode, and it can therefore be very useful when he is in a situation of real danger. When your dog is not in danger but is simply stressed because he is bored or lacks stimulation, he can display behavioral problems such as pacing or shaking, excessive whining or barking, yawning, shedding, panting, frequent urinating, hiding, and even escaping. Bringing cortisol levels down through exercise is key, so if your dog is stressed, extend your time outside and ensure he has plenty of opportunity to run, play fetch, and simply smell the flowers. Exercise is recommended for all pets, but working out with your dog helps you too, since it has similar effects on the human system. Aerobic, strength and holistic exercises (like yoga) will also help reduce your stress levels and improve your mood and vitality.
Roughly 13 million households in the US own a pet fish, statistics from the Insurance Information Institute reveal. Aquaponic tanks are one of the most eco-friendly homes you can make for your fish. They have a symbiotic relationship with plants growing on top of the tank; the two organisms rely on each other to survive and thrive. Aquaponics is an enjoyable and rewarding way to keep fish with some truly fascinating science behind it.
What is aquaponics?
Aquaponics is a fusion between hydroponics, which is a method of growing plants without soil, and aquaculture, or fish rearing. It combines both these elements to create a clever closed-loop and self-sustaining ecosystem. The fish create waste, which bacteria converts into nutrients for the plants to use as sustenance. In turn, the plants clean the water for the fish. All you need to do is regularly feed your fish and make sure the tank conditions are safe and healthy (which includes aspects like the water levels and temperature and pH level).
The science behind aquaponics
Aquaponic tanks run through several steps to ensure both fish and plants stay healthy and alive. The first step in the process is ammonification: the fish expel their metabolic waste in the form of ammonia (which is why they’re known as ammonotelic organisms). However, ammonia is also toxic to fish if it’s left to accumulate in the body or their environment. Fortunately, the tank pump removes the waste and funnels it to the plants growing above. The nitrogen cycle is the next essential step performed with the help of beneficial bacteria (nitrobacter, nitrosomonas, and nitrospira) found in the plant beds and soilless grow media. Plants can’t absorb ammonia, but the beneficial bacteria is able to consume it and convert it into nitrates. The plants then use the converted nitrates to grow and perform photosynthesis.
In turn, the plants work as a bio-filtration system with their roots cleaning the tank’s water. The water is also filtered by the soilless grow media as it passes through the beds. As a result, the water usually remains clean enough for the fish to survive without changing it. However, you may find you do need to sometimes change the water manually. Healthy circulation and oxygen levels are usually maintained with the help of air pumps or air stones. Aquaponic tanks can also provide a small amount of oxygen thanks to gravity — when the water flows between the plants back down to the tank, it naturally mixes with air.
Keeping the tank eco-friendly
Aquaponic tanks are highly eco-friendly systems. However, choosing energy-efficient heating and lighting options can make the tank as sustainable as possible. For example, LED lights are an energy-efficient option — they use 80% less electricity than other aquarium lights. In fact, you’ll make back the cost of your LED lights within one year to 18 months thanks to the energy savings. Energy waste can also be prevented by selecting a heater or chiller that suits the size of the tank. Positioning the tank away from windows can further prevent heat loss, specially if you live in a cold climate. It’s also a good idea to choose a tank no larger than you really need. For example, a 5-10 gallon tank is the ideal size for two fish. Larger tanks inevitably end up requiring more energy to maintain.
Aquaponic fish tanks are an eco-friendly and enjoyable way to keep fish. They’re also low maintenance and an easy way to grow your favorite edible leaves at the same time.
The scientific and medical community have become more interested in lucid dreaming since the discovery that it is possible to improve motor learning through lucid dreaming. As a result, there is a possibility it could have some practical use for people in rehabilitation from a sport injury. This article will look at the results of some of these studies and find out how and why it is possible to improve motor skills while lucid dreaming.
What is lucid dreaming?
During a lucid dream you are consciously aware that you are dreaming, yet you remain in the dream state rather than waking up, as such, it is possible to manipulate your dreams as you see fit. It is thought of as a a safe testing ground for trying things out without coming to harm, for example, practicing a difficult and potentially dangerous sports manoeuvre.
Discerning between reality and a dream state
Research shows that achieving a lucid dream state in the first place is no easy task, as it involves being able to discern between reality and a very convincing dream state, which seems completely real to us at the time, even despite the bizarre nature of many of the occurrence in our dreams. Research shows that discerning between the two is a cognitively complex task, and as such, the ability to do this is evidence of problem-solving skills and cognitive intelligence.
Molds
are a diverse fungi group that have been on the Earth for millions of
years. Even though they can approximate bacteria in size, molds are eukaryotic organisms,
meaning that their genetic material is enclosed within a specialized
membrane that lies in the interior of the organism. Mold plays a
fascinating role in the decomposition of organic material, but it also
poses a health threat to humans who inhale mold spores in the air,
leading to a range of respiratory illnesses.
Understanding The Fungi
Although
there are many variations of mold, all molds are fungi that are
microscopic in size. Like all fungi, molds derive energy not through
photosynthesis but through the organic matter on which they live,
meaning that mold needs a food source and moisture in order for the
fungus to reproduce. Molds reproduce by releasing spores,
which contain the genetic material necessary for the formation of a new
organism. These spores can float through the air and, if landing in a
hospitable moist environment, can germinate to form a new mold. Put
simply, then, mold is caused by excess moisture, which is why surface mold arises in damp homes or places where moisture accumulates, such as the bathroom or kitchen sinks.
Health Effects of Mold
Mold
is a natural part of the environment and plays an important part in
nature by breaking down dead organic matter such as fallen leaves and
dead trees. However, mold becomes a problem when it grows indoors,
because the fungi is associated with various health risks for humans,
particularly humans with asthma or a mold allergy. Public health research from the University of Berkeley has
found that of the 21.8 million people reported to have asthma in the
U.S., approximately 4.6 million cases are estimated to be attributable
to dampness and mold exposure in the home. Because of their minute
nature, the health dangers of inhaling mold come from mold spores in the
air or, in cases of rotten produce, mold spores that grow on the
surfaces of the food we eat.
Getting Rid Of Mold
To cope with indoor mold, bleach and scrub surfaces where mold appears. Bleach kills mold spores, effectively preventing the fungi from spreading.
You will also want to shampoo linens (eg., curtains, towels) where mold
can live in and shampoo carpets with a bleaching agent. Large-scale
instances of mold on the wall can be remedied through mould-killing
paint, which bleaches and kills the spores before masking them from your
new property. Finally, sodium bicorbonate (or baking soda) is an
effective, safe and low-cost mold killer. Place a bowl of baking soda in
your home to gather moisture and discard and replace when the powder
turns clumpy.
Mold
is an important phenomenon across many ecosystems, albeit not one that
most homeowners want to find lurking on surfaces after a rainy day.
Fortunately, though, mold fungi are easily treated with a bleaching
agent and can be controlled to protect vulnerable humans from
respiratory distress.
1 in 10 people around the world becomeill from after eating contaminated food. Chilling and freezing food is essential in preventing bacteria from multiplying on it, which can lead to illnesses, including food poisoning. However, sometimes bacteria can grow quicker than you’d think and by the time it’s chilled it may have already got bacteria growing on it. Research has helped our understanding for the best methods of chilling and freezingfood to prevent bacteria growth and food poisoning.
Refrigerate When It’s Hot Or Cold?
It’s a common question whether you should let food cool down to room temperature before putting it in the fridge. Before modern fridges came along it was a good idea to let food cool down because putting hot or warm food in a fridge caused the temperature of it to rise, affecting everything else in the fridge. However, technology has made fridges more powerful and they can now easily handle warm food being put in them without the temperature of the fridge increasing much. Wait for food to stop steaming and when it reaches 60°F it can go in the fridge. This is better for food as it doesn’t give bacteria chance to multiply which is a common cause of food spoilage and poisoning.
Bacteria In Your Ice Cream
It’s an assumption that putting food in the freezer stops bacteria from growing or that it kills bacteria altogether. Most bacteria can’t survive in freezing temperatures, but unfortunately, this is not the case for all bacteria and some thrive in the cold environment. Freezers limit water and food sources, but some bacteria will thrive on frozen sugary foods, dairy and meat products. Ice cream contains a high sugar and dairy content, making it a perfect breeding ground for bacteria. One case in Kansas found at least three different strains of the Listeria bacteria in ice cream that led to five people being hospitalised and three dying. A study in Egypt found 42 out of 100 ice cream samples contained faecal coliform and 37 contained Klebsiella.
Stop Cross Contamination
If you suspect that your freezer may have had afood in it that had bacteria growing on it then the best thing to do is to throw all food away and thoroughly clean your freezer. This is because the bacteria could have spread further than the originally contaminated food and it has the potential to grow on other foods and the sides of the freezer. You should also store food in containers in the fridge and freezer. This does take up more space, but it will keep food fresh and prevent cross contamination, so it can be beneficial to have a big enough fridge/freezer to adequately store food. This can prevent an outbreak within your fridge or freezer and the containers can be easily cleaned instead of having to throw food away or unknowingly eat contaminated food.
Food poisoning and other foodborne illnesses are often preventable, yet so many people are affected by them every year. A lot of this is down to a lack of knowledge and understanding about safely storing food in the fridge and freezer. As soon as food has stopped steaming, put it in your fridge to prevent bacterial growth. Be aware that bacteria can grow in cold temperatures, so use containers to separate food and prevent bacteria spreading.
The word ergonomics was first used in 1857 in a philosophical narrative by Polish scientist Prof. Wojciech Jastrzebowski. The term derives its name from two Greek words – Ergon, which means ‘work’ and Nomos, which translates to ‘natural law,’ literally translating into ‘how to work according to nature.’ So, ergonomics is a scientific discipline involved in the design and creation of safe and comfortable workspaces so as to best utilize a person’s abilities and boost productivity.
For example, viewing cute pictures to increase workplace productivity is also an important discovery in the field of ergonomics which increases work efficiency by enhancing the mood of workers. In layman language, ergonomics refers to designing products, environments, and systems where people are involved so as to minimize risks of harms or injuries and also, related mental or emotional stress. Interestingly, this principle has been in existence for a long time even though the term itself may have just been coined in recent history.
Where it all began
Ergonomics has been in the very cradle of human evolution, ever since early man began making tools from bones and pebbles to make tasks easier. Archaeological findings have revealed sophisticated ergonomic devices, tools, and equipment from ancient Egyptian dynasties and 5th Century BCE Greece. Several centuries later, we still use axes, plows, hammers and several such tools only in their more improvised and sophisticated designs to fit into our advanced living environment. However, it was not until the 16th century that ergonomics began to be understood and studied. It all started with Bernardino Ramazinni’s medical journal ‘De Morbis Artificum (Diseases of Workers)’ which brought to light the various injuries incurred by his patients, resulting from unfavorable conditions in their occupations and workspaces.
Industrial Revolution
During the historical Industrial Revolution of 19th century, ergonomics was at the pinnacle of attention, being studied like never before. Spinning Jennies and rolling mills were invented to speed up work. Frederick W. Taylor pioneered the process of ergonomics by evaluating the best and easier ways of accomplishing a task and eventually succeeded in improving worker productivity and wages in a shoveling job. Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, on the other hand, standardized materials, work processes and tools and began time motion analysis to make workflow efficient and less tiring.
World War II
With World War II, ergonomics reached a newer height, prompting research in man and machine interaction. This began to prominently reveal itself especially in the design of military systems like naval ships, aircraft and weaponry. The complex devices from radar to aircraft that were manufactured for the war began to demand a better grip of ergonomics without which there was a continuous risk of loss of personnel or equipment. In 1943, a U.S Army lieutenant, Alphonse Chapanis brought to light how so-called “pilot errors” could be greatly reduced. That is when logical and easier to understand control buttons were born in the cockpits of aircraft.
Ergonomics today
Work or ergonomic-related musculoskeletal injuries contributed to a third of day-offs from workplaces as per data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2013. And, most of these were reported from sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, construction, transportation and warehousing, healthcare and entertainment/recreation. These injuries have not only sparked concern but with it, have also spiked renewed interest in the subject of ‘ergonomics’ to inspire futuristic designs for new age tools tailored to modern technological advances and lifestyle of humans.
Ergonomics may be a relatively new term and newer field of study. However, it has been a part of our life since the very moment of Stone Age. Today, Ergonomics is studied in-depth with specializations in cognitive, organizational and physical sciences.
Today I received a copy of Awesome ‘Possom volume 3 in my mail from Angela Boyle, a natural science illustrator and cartoonist who has curated and edited the fourth volume of Awesome ‘Possum. Before I had laid my hands on the book, I had imagined it to be a few-pages-long book that I would sit down and devour in the evening. Boy I was wrong. When I opened my mailbox, I was pleasantly surprised by a 400 page beast of a book. I flipped a few pages and was blown by thinking about the amount of cumulative effort and coordination that must have gone in realizing this book.
Excited, I sat down and started reading every word from the cover and beyond. Not having ever read an illustrated book, I had judged them to be the books for children. I was too old to enjoy them I had thought. When I sent the pictures of the book to my friends, “Aww that’s such a sweet children’s book” is what I got from these other engineers too. I think this is a disease we engineers have, assuming cartoons = children.
Not having experienced something like this, if that’s you, let me tell you, you should get a volume of Awesome ‘Possum to get rid of that delusion. It is indeed a fantastic book for children of all ages. But it is equally good, if not better, for adults! Adults would definitely extract a lot of great experience and knowledge out of it. That is exactly what I told my friends too.
First of course was a beautiful introduction by Ursula Vernon who has a peculiar hobby of taking pictures of moths, and does it despite being a not-so-great photographer or etymologist. With these hobbies in her life she has managed to do big things which I think will touch you better if you read the actual introduction yourself. Maybe, this book right here was a gateway to my own peculiar hobby I thought, and turned the page.
Being an engineer I honestly do now know a lot about animals. A few general things and when I manage to dig few obscure facts, I get excited, do more research and often write about them on my blog here. My point is that the natural world is inherently very fascinating. If you think it is not, you have not known a lot about it.
Awesome ‘Possom was a perfect exposure of the natural world for me. It talks to me about things like, how I should be thankful for little known scientists like Philip Henry Gosse, Anna Thynne and Jeanne Willepreux Power because of whom we are able to decorate our homes with glass boxes (aquariums) with little alien worlds in them. Or things like how rolling bees in sugar could sometimes be a better way to do a mite count and figure if the mite infection is above the threshold to proceed with a treatment. Because alcohol kills the bees.
I noticed a stark difference in the illustration style of each comic and conveniently found the name of the cartoonist or natural science illustrator on top of every page of that chapter. The works of these talented people from across the North America and the world, compiled into this book, refresh you with a diverse subject matter and illustration style every few minutes. And this is just the volume 3 I’m talking about. Then there’s 1, 2 and 4 which is up on kickstarter right now. Volume 4 includes cover art by Eisner-nominated Tillie Walden, creator of Spinning (First Second, 2017) and a foreword by Jon Chad, creator of Volcanoes: Fire and Life (First Second, 2016). I for sure am going to read all of them. In my free time I have been exploring the amazing works of various artists mentioned on this kickstarter page.
Say, Elise Smorczewski for example. She grew up on a farm that fostered a lifelong fascination with animals of all kinds. And Spratty, a cartoonist living near Philadelphia with their various human companions, two snakes, and two cats. They think reptiles are great. More importantly they have had first hand experiences and deep insights to share from their own experiences. Also, they are a wonderfully reliable to get your science facts from!
Chicken Scratch, by Elise Smorcsewski
I have been finding that the snippets of wisdom I get out of illustrations actually stick as if I someone had told me about them. That’s because everything is so visual and is delivered in a way that is easy to digest. You do not get this out of reading dense textbooks. Especially true for people like me who are not directly involved in natural sciences research. We are not great at extracting knowledge out of reference texts without a significant amount of experience in that particularly narrow field. Just within the first few pages I had extracted enough things to delve deeper into and to write about them on my blog. I will be doing that as I go.
I know that the book / scholar world thrives on criticism. That’s not me. i get my style from reading people like Maria Popova of Brain Pickings who believes in book recommendations rather than book reviews. I want to do that. I do not deem myself capable to criticize the work that I myself am not capable of producing. The only thing I see is the endless value in the thousands of human-hours spent in producing carefully curated work for me.
Rattle snakes have infrared detectors on them. How is that not cool, especially for a person who works with infrared spectra on a daily basis. I realize the importance of having specialized detectors for getting the right information at the right wavelength range. And that reminds me of how a son and dad open up the rattle of a rattle snake in their youtube video to see how it works. And who would have known that rattle snakes also are great parents. The rattle snake illustrations making it easier for me to understand actual rattle snake research also inspires me to look for, or think about making illustrated research papers for the layman to understand my own field! This source of inspiration does not stop for hundreds of pages.
Do not forget to go explore the kickstarter to help the artists get their fair share for their hard work.
Now I do not exactly remember where and how I started my journey down this rabbit hole. But the deeper I went the more interesting it became. It was a great learning experience. I’m clearly not an expert. Here I share the understanding I developed of the spider eye over the few hours of exploration. For this I referred to various sources all of which are mentioned in the links. And if you know more or would like to add something interesting to the article please let me know in the comments below.
The first thing about spider eyes is that 99% of spiders have 8 eyes. A little less than 1% of them have 6 eyes. In some fringe species there are 4, 2 or no eyes at all. Apparently, based on the pattern these eyes are arranged in, on their cephalothorax (let us mortals call it the ‘head’ to make things simple), the family to which the spider belongs can be determined. Some blessed human, made the following schematic to help us do exactly that. In case you ever feel the need to do so, here it is:
For their small size and the limited number of photocells, spider eyes, especially the jumping spider’s (Salticids) eyes perform surprisingly well. Their resolution is better compared with larger mammals than with insects. In the human world a camera of such standards this would simply be an engineering miracle. You will understand why I say that soon…
In the image above if you locate the family Salticidae, you will see those two large eye in the front which are particularly very interesting. These are called the principal eyes (or anterior median eyes) and are the ones that allow high resolution vision. So much that the spider would be able to resolve two spots on a screen 20 cm away from the spider, sitting just 0.12 mm apart from each other. An acuity of about ten times that of a dragonfly – 0.04°.
The brain of this spider, show in blue in the image below is pretty big for its size. The proportion of the volume of brain to body is more or less similar to that of human beings. The brain of Salticids also have a rather large region dedicated for visual processing.
The principal eyes we are talking about are in the shape of elongated tubes as seen below, in the front of which is a hard lens and at the other end is a layer of photocells. Inside the tube, near the retina is another little lens which moves back and forth along the tube like a telephoto lens system. These elongated tubes are like the tubes of a binocular which allow for a higher resolution using a small package.
However the downside of such a tube like architecture is that it limits the field of vision. Here’s how that problem is dealt with.
The front part, with the big corneal lens is fixed. It has a long fixed focal length. The farther end where the retina is located, is connected to these muscles shown in red. These muscles allow for the tube’s farther end to move around in several degrees of freedom to make quick movements and scan a larger image in its head, one small field of view at a time.
In the video below you can see the retinal end of the black tubes moving around inside the translucent exoskeleton of the spider as the spider forms a high resolution complete image of its surroundings, one small field of view at a time.
If you peer deep into their eyes you will see a dark (black) when you are looking into the small retina. However when the farther end of the tube moves, you see a honey brown color with spots. This is the inner wall of the tube that you are seeing in the following video.
Then the retina itself is another biological marvel. Unlike our single layered retina, the Salticid’s retina is made up of four layers. The four layers are arranged one behind the other. This lets the nature pack more photocells in a smaller area and also helps the spider see in color as different colors (different wavelengths) with different refractive indices are focused in different planes.
Counting from the rear end, the spider uses different layers of retina to obtain different colors of the image. The retina’s layer 1 and 2 to get the green color (~580 nm – 520 nm wavelengths), blue color using the layer 3 (~480 – 500 nm wavelengths) and layer 4 for ultraviolet (~360 nm).
An important detail in the above image reveals how spiders manage to keep focus on different objects at different depths, in focus. The layer one has photocells arranged in a step fashion, with varying distance from the lens which makes sure that all objects are focused on at least one part of the layer 1.
The other problem of distance estimation which matters a lot for jumping spiders is again solved rather elegantly by the same apparatus. Humans use their stereo vision – two eyes which are far apart to estimate distance. Other animals move heads to do the same but I’m not getting into that.
Jumping spiders employ a completely different algorithm, utilizing degree of blur cues. For which the second layer plays a crucial role. The second layer would have received a sharp blue image, but they are not sensitive to blue light like I mentioned above. The green they detect is rather blurred at that plane. It turns out that the amount of blur depends on the distance of the object and helps the spider determine the depth by processing the amount of blur in the image. Hence allowing it to jump and hunt accurately.
If you are a university student with free access to journals, I think a quick look at the paper titled: “‘Eight-legged cats’ and how they see – a review of recent research on jumping spiders,” will help you delve into greater detail.
Psst: Someone has it uploaded on research gate for free access for I don’t know how long: here.
Please leave a comment below to let me know your thoughts on this, or if you have any ideas for future posts. I plan to reward the top commentators every month so do not forget to say something.
Frozen tissue array is a methodology that is used in modern molecular and clinical research to analyze hundreds of tumor samples on a single slide. It allows a high throughput analysis of proteins and genes in a huge unit. It consists of frozen tissues where separate tissue cores are lumped together to allow simultaneous histological analysis. It has made it easy to streamline several research projects thus saving significant time. It also conserves precious reagents for analysis numerous slides that contain a single section per slide. It is an ideal screening tool that is used before
embarking on extensive research and analysis.
Preparation of frozen tissue array
Each product is produced using the state-of-the-art preparation technique by the use of the finest quality specimens. Upon excision, the tissues are then placed in liquid nitrogen and then sorted meticulously by an expert pathologist. Cores from 20 different tissues or more or with pathologically relevant tumors are then combined in a single block. With the use of unique staining methods, the quality of each
slide is selected. Tissues with a diameter of 2 mm from the region of interest
are sorted from frozen tissue OCT blocks by varying their freezing temperatures, see more here.
Features of frozen tissue array
Every product is designed to conform to the FDA guidelines and must meet the requirements of therapeutic antibody validation and vitro diagnostic device certification. There is a vast range of tissues in every array. The technique is suitable for both radioactive and non-radioactive detection. It combines arrays from variety human donors. Compared to paraffin-embedded tissues, frozen array tissue contains better antigen exposure.
Frozen Tissue array applications
The technique has been employed in various areas such:
Rapid screening of protein expression or novel gene against a large panel of tissues
Diagnostic and high throughput therapeutic analysis in antibody
variations
Analysis of gene expression patterns
In situ hybridization and used together with immunohistochemistry
Novel gene and protein expression comparison
It is also an excellent approach in FISH-based experiments in the
analysis of DNA. In summary, frozen tissue array provides an excellent target
material for an effective study of RNA, DNA, and proteins.
Samples of DNA, RNA, and certain antibodies don’t perform optimally when used in pre-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues. However, they work pretty well when used in frozen tissue array. Again, the procedures that require fixation can be identified and conducted in an appropriate manner. This means it is possible for you to include a wide array of samples in your final analysis than when using the paraffin-embedded
procedure
The only drawback with frozen tissue array is that some cell morphology and tissue architecture distortion is likely to occur. This can be seen by comparing it with the sections from paraffin-embedded. Additionally, a limited number of samples can be embedded in one array. This is due to the fact that there may be a tendency of OCT compound cracking or bending particularly when samples are placed one millimeter apart.
Conclusion
The invention of this technique has become a boon to many scientists from around the world. It has saved scientists and pathologists significant time when conducting several tests. It also has numerous potential applications in basic research,
prognostic oncology, and drug discovery.
Scientific exploration- Determining methods of Automated
Nucleic Acid Extraction
The human body is a complex structure made up of various cells and genes. The central system of genetic identification for humans is focused on one’s DNA, that is deoxyribonucleic acid. It is present in nearly all living organisms as it defined as the main constituent of chromosomes. With the introduction of a variety of communicable diseases, it is pertinent to researches to be able to extract DNA. They do this to run various tests to see how best the world’s population can extend its life cycle through science.
What is Automated Nucleic Acid Extraction?
This speaks to the removal of DNA by mechanical/ automated means. Extraction by this mean is deemed to be more accurate and more beneficial to science as it lessens the margin of error, or so it is alleged. “Automated nucleic acid extraction systems can improve workflow and decrease variability in the clinical laboratory.”[1]There are various methods that can be accessed. As science evolves so does technology and technological research is by extension advanced.
Methods of Automated Nucleic Acid Extraction
There are various methods of extraction and various machinery used by researchers on a day to day basis in efforts to attain much needed samples of DNA. This is done as the fight towards cures for many communicable diseases is a rather tedious process. Let us face the fact that technology is put in place to lighten the work load of many and aid in movements towards more accurate results. Many companies have delved into the creation of different extractors that each operate at varied levels. Some of which were created to be work horses, thereby being able to complete massive amounts of work while others are able to only produce an average turn out. Laboratories vary by size and as such, they would be able to best choose an extractor of their liking to perform their work functions.
There is the manual means of extractions, you can refer to this as good old reliable. Researchers are incredibly consumed by work when they have to utilize manual extraction methodologies as it is incredibly hands on. Of course, there is the usage of some level of technology however, the researcher would need to be present to adjust variables and incorporate other items as the need arises.
Automated Extractors allow researchers the ability to set their research in the machines and be able to leave to complete other tasks. Researchers aren’t needed at every step during automated extractions as technology does most of the work once it is that the samples are prepared and placed therein. It must be noted that with the presence of great technology, companies also incur a greater cost. Where a manual extraction could be performed at approximately $5, the work of an automated extractor could range anywhere from $7.60 to $12.95 per sample.
You may find that, true to human nature, researchers will gravitate towards a more established extractor as it had been around longer and there had been numerous reports done on it. However, it is important to still venture out and try new machinery as prior to the one that is most renowned became that way it was merely extractor X for argument sake, an unknown machine with the potential to create an ease of workload.
Research of two methods [2]
For the purposes of this article we will look at a particular research performed by a group of research scientists, their information will be provided below. After comparing the three methods of extraction, It could be determined that the first extractor; X was reasonably efficient as it varied from 86% to 107% of manual. The second extractor Y’s recovery efficiency in comparison to the manual method varied from 83%-107%. Though the results varied marginally the true variation of extraction came by way of cost. As the extractor X was the most costly means at $12.95 per sample, whilst the Y costed $7.60. There is also a key difference in operational actions as the X doesn’t allow for the researcher to walk away, leaving the machine to perform its extraction. The X also needs a higher volume of samples to perform its task. Automated Nucleic Extraction is a field of science that is beneficial to researchers as it yields greater results than manual extraction. It is however a more costly approach.
[1] Dundas N., Leos N.K., Mitui M., Revell P., Rogers B.B. (2008 June 13) Comparison of automated
nucleic acid extraction methods with manual extraction.
Recently I stumbled upon an unusual documentary from the 80s about the giant American toads (Bufo Marinus) of Queensland, Australia. That’s correct. Who would have thought that this 50 minute movie (embedded at the end of this article) with songs of the toad’s praise would turn out to be one of those surprisingly informative and strangely funny movies.
Well, it was certainly fun to watch. Here’s a gist of all interesting things I got from it and some reading which ensued.
Cane toads were never native to northern Australia before the 1930s. Raquel Dexter an entomologist, during the 1932 world conference of sugar technology in Puerto Rico, suggested that the cane toad was the ultimate solution to deal with a native Australian cane beetle. This beetle had decimated the output of sugarcane crop of North Queensland cane farmers.
So, Mungomery Reginald William brought in 102 cane toads into the freshwaters of little Mulgrave river in Gordonvale from Hawaii to tackle the problem of beetle infestation. Mungomery’s intention to make the toads travel for two weeks from Hawaii to Sydney and for another two days to Gordonvale was a noble yet arduous one:
“We have got these bloody grubs by the balls this time and we will go on to bigger and brighter things”
Here’s the quick and hard truth – Mountain Dew is worse for your teeth when compared to Coca Cola. As interpreted by a young scientist, from a simple yet sharp experiment he conducted, there are two main reasons why Mountain Dew is worse thank Coke.
Firstly, Mountain Dew uses citric acid, while Coke uses phosphoric acid to give them their tangy zing. So, since citric acid is an organic acid, it can breakdown organic matter more easily than the inorganic acid used in coke. This is due to the buffering capacity of citric acid (and similar low molecular weight organic acids).
Secondly, even though as a whole Coke has a lower pH of 2.5 as compared to that of Mountain Dew (pH 3.1), which means Coke is six times more acidic owing to the logarithmic nature of this measurement, there’s more to it than just that.
pH measures the strength of the acid in a solution. pH does change due to dilution, but it needs massive dilution to change the pH.
Thus it is more appropriate here to measure the amount of acid actually present in the drink. Which can be done by measuring the Titratable Acidity (TA). TA is the amount of acid molecules present (both protonated and unprotonated) in milligrams or grams per liter of solution available for interaction with the tooth surface.
It makes great sense to us today that we, or for that matter, so many other living beings around us, have eyes that are made up of organic matter. I’m specifically talking about the lenses of our eyes which are made up of organic material like crystallin. These are squishy, jelly-like biological materials which can change shape as muscles pull them and can focus on objects at different distances. Totally makes sense. But these won’t last long.
Imagine getting extinct, organisms finding our fossils a million years later wouldn’t have the slightest idea of how exactly our eye lenses worked.
Eyes of stone
Whereas the earliest creatures which started seeing, about 400 million years ago, had eyes literally made of stone. Their eyes, unlike any of our eyes would ever be able to do, have been preserved in the fossils we uncover today. [NCBI]
Some of the earliest Arthropods that we know of, belonging to a fossil group called Trilobites had eye lenses that were made up of this transparent mineral Calcite (Calcium carbonate). The closest existing relative of these creatures today are the blue blooded Horseshoe crabs.
With youngsters blaring Spotify on their headphones loud enough for the whole bus to hear, it is only natural for elders to advice you to keep your iPods turned down. Forget that for a minute and listen to this.
Little do we know that a simple and innocent kiss can do a far worse damage to your ears. It is something that sounds like fiction, more like an urban legend and seems like a story I understand, is tough to believe.In case you do not believe me, I have included references at the end of the article. It is weird, but I believe it is important for people to be informed about it.
Symptoms:
Kissing on the ear, a kiss that involves suction, has the ability to create a negative pressure on your ear drum and can cause serious injury to it. It can cause intense pain due to the pulling of ossicular chain and due to the ear drum getting dislodged. The symptoms may vary anything from a constant ringing sound, hearing loss to certain kind of sounds, distortion or even complete hearing loss.
