How Do Plants Control the Shoot:Root Ratio

Both Carbon and Nitrogen are essential in plant development. The carbon is the fuel for cell division, growth and a respiratory substance and the Nitrogen enables amino acid production and DNA synthesis. In turn this growth causes the shoots and roots to extend and consequently there is normally a fixed ratio between how the plants allocate these resources.

The intimate association between these to essential compounds is effected by the way the plant acquires them. The Nitrogen enters the plant through the root in the form of Nitrates and the Carbon enters in the form of CO2 and is converted to sucrose: the photoassimilate. The Nitrates move up through the xylem from the, carried by the capillary action of the water. The sucrose, produced by photosynthesis, is exported into the phloem and is then transported down to the roots to enable sufficient metabolism in the light deprived areas of the plant. In general, the source for the Carbon is the sink for the Nitrogen and visa versa.

Bis-Tris Western Blots: A Sharper Alternative for Protein Detection

Western blotting is the most common assay to measure protein levels from cells and tissues. Standard western blots start with soluble proteins in a detergent-containing buffer. Normally, these proteins will be denatured by boiling and reducing agents (e.g. Beta-mercaptoethanol). Bis-tris westerns begin the same way, and, in fact, are completely identical to standard western blots, with a few major exceptions.

First, the buffer used to make the gels is different. As you can probably guess from its name, bis-tris gels use bis-tris-HCl buffer, whereas traditional western blots use standard tris-HCl buffer. The second difference is that the stacking gel and resolving gel use the same buffer during bis-tris western blotting. In standard applications, the stacking gel is acidic (pH 6.8) and the resolving gel is basic (pH 8.8). For bis-tris westerns, the entire gel is run under acidic conditions at pH 6.8.

Carbon Nano Tubes in the Human Body - There Are Some Real Opportunities and Challenges

You may not know this, but human blood causes degradation of carbon structures. You shouldn't be too surprised about this because the human body is partly made of carbon, so obviously the species has evolved to handle it, which is kind of funny if you think about it, especially for one of those people who is trying to reduce their carbon footprint. The best way to do that is go on a diet; do you see what I mean? Okay, but all jokes aside I'd like to discuss this with you for a moment if I might.

Last year, I was talking to a scientist and researcher about the possibility of using graphene and Carbon Nanotubes in the human body and human brain to interface with the human biosystem. That would be a challenge if the enzymes in the blood attacked the structures, and yes, there's probably a way around that challenge, but it is exactly that challenge which may help us deliver drugs to certain parts of the body encased in carbon nanotubes.

Biology Review: Proteins and Enzymes

Proteins

Proteins are long chains of amino acids joined by peptide bonds that fold up into complex three-dimensional structures.

The functions of proteins are so diverse and important that almost every function of every living organism depends on proteins.

This helps explain why evolutionary biologists tend to believe that protein synthesis preceded the evolution of the first cells.

In cells, proteins account for about half of the dry mass.

What Does Water Do For The Body?

All around us is a little molecule that is found in the air, makes up all the rivers, lakes, and streams, and is more important to life than any other. This little guy is a simple combination of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, but is so important to our existence that when scientists are looking for worlds that might have life, they look for water first. No water, no life. Water, maybe life.

The fact is that water makes up about 70% of our bodies. Cells are mostly bags of watery stuff floating around. Some cells have more or less, but some, like blood cells, are made of as much as 90% water. Most of this water is a mixture of substances within cells are a common molecule existing within a larger one, but there is nowhere that water alone is stored in the body with the exception of the bladder. And of course it is only stored here until excretion and is still a combination of water and other waste products, although it is more than 95% water.

Top 10 Things You Wish You Knew About Butterfly Wings

We tend to admire butterfly wings for their captivating beauty. Our negligence in overlooking other fascinating facts about these wings is therefore quite excusable... but wouldn't you like to know more? Here are our top ten (well, maybe more) facts that you will be excited to learn.

Butterflies Have Scaled Wings

The scientific name for the butterfly/moth family is Lepidoptera. This word is derived from Greek roots meaning "scale wings." For scientists, the most obvious feature that separates butterflies and moths from other insects is their scaled wings. While we may not notice this immediately, closer inspection of a butterfly reveals the fact that their wings are made from tiny scales that are actually bulbous, modified feathers. The pigments of the scales on their wings come either from chemical pigments such as melanin or from plants and waste that build up during metamorphosis. 

10 Big Animals Discovered Since 1900

1. OKAPI

By saving a group of Congolese Pygmies from a German show-man who wanted to take them to the 1900 Paris Exhibition, Sir Harry Johnston gained their trust. He then began hearing stories about the okapi, a mule-sized animal with zebra stripes. In 1901, Sir Harry sent a whole skin, two skulls and a detailed description of the okapi to London, and it was found that the okapi had a close relationship to the giraffe. In 1919, the first live okapi were brought out of the Congo River basin, and in 1941, the Stanleyville Zoo witnessed the first birth of an okapi in captivity. The okapis, striking in appearance, are now some of the most popular attractions at the larger, more progressive zoological parks of the world.

2. MOUNTAIN NYALA

Depletion of Biodiversity of Jharkhand State of India

INTRODUCTION:

The term biodiversity was coined by Walter and Rosen in 1985, which is the abbreviated word of Biological Diversity. The biosphere constitutes a vital life support system for man and its existence of human race. The newly formed state Jharkhand of India is very rich in biodiversity due to its diverse physiographic and climatic conditions. The Jharkhand state is situated between 21°58'10" to 25°18' N Latitude and 83°22' to 87°57' E Longitude. Jharkhand forms part of the Chotanagpur plateau province of the Deccan Peninsula Biogeographic Zone. As the name of the state suggests, it is having a good covering of forests (reserved forest 4,387.20 sq km, protected forest 19,184.78 sq km and unclassified forest 33.49 sq km). The forest of the state includes tropical dry deciduous, moist deciduous, dry peninsular and dry mixed deciduous forest. The forests form catchments of the three main rivers - Koel, Damodar and Subernekha. 

Amazing Terra Cotta Sculpture From Iron Age

One of the earliest examples of sophisticated sculpture in sub-Saharan Africa came from the Nok culture, an Iron Age civilization. The culture appeared around 1000 B.C. and mysteriously vanished around 500 AD in the region of West Africa.

In 1928 Lt-Colonel John Dent-Young was leading mining operations in the Nigerian village of Nok. Close to the village and the Jos Plateau region one of his miners found a small piece of terra cotta sculpture. Later, terra cottas scattered at various depths throughout the Sahel grasslands were unearthed. The sculptures range in size from small pendants to life-size figures. Today several items of them can be seen at the Barakat Family Museum. One of them is worth of our special attention, a 31x 16 cm sculpture of a sitting couple.

Memorialized in clay, this couple represents a pair of conjoined, or Siamese, twins who makes the artifact unmatched and breath-taking.